12. WYNTER

12

WYNTER

“ I thought we were going back to your place?” Rather than leaving the city the way we came, Bones drives us in the opposite direction. We reach a rundown area. Somewhere I’m more than familiar with. I’ve had to walk these streets almost nightly to get to and from work.

Maybe this is when he finally gets rid of me? Will he sell me or kill me?

Either way, nothing good can come of us being here.

As we pull around a corner I see the neon glow from Onyx.

Keep driving. Keep driving .

Bones brings the car to a stop outside.

Fuck .

Trying to hide the nerves in my voice, I ask, “Why are we here?”

“I need to drop something off. I was hoping to leave you in the car for a minute, but I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore.” The way he looks at me makes me feel like a naughty child being told off. I wish he’d make his mind up on what he wants from me. One minute he likes me acting out, the next he wants obedience. It’s exhausting.

Reaching into the glove compartment Bones gets the gun back out and a shiver runs down my spine. By do something does he mean kill someone ?

It’s not the gun or that thought that scares me the most though, it’s the black ski masks beneath the weapon that I didn’t notice before.

“Why do you have so many of those?” My voice trembles as dark memories start clawing their way back to the surface.

“Things usually end up getting bloody so it’s easier to have spares.”

No matter how hard I try to stop the memories from replaying in my head they’re all I can see. Those dark masks making the men look demonic in my drugged state. The fear, so cold and crippling that would freeze me in place. I’m right back in the basement.

Hoping that speaking the words aloud will repel the monsters, I tell Bones another truth. “That’s what the men wore.”

Feeling his hand on my knee helps bring me back to the present. The world’s a blur when I look around.

“They’re not here now. It’s just you and me. Do you remember it all?”

I stare numbly at his hand on me. The way it burns through my clothes and heats my skin is comforting. I hate it and I hate myself for wanting more of it.

“Most of the moments where I was awake, yeah, but that was mainly just me waiting alone in the dark." With a sigh, I look at his concerned face. It's confusing why he cares so much about me. "Are you going to tell me why you brought me to my old workplace?”

A deep crease sets in his forehead as he looks from me to the sign on the building. He seems puzzled as he says matter-of-factly, “No, you worked at a restaurant.”

“I think I know where I worked. Anyway, shouldn't you know that already from all the cyberstalking or whatever it was you did?”

“My research told me nothing about you working at a strip club. How long did you work here? Were you servicing the customers?” He’s not even hiding the disgust in his voice.

Tearing his hand from me, I lash out. “So what if I was? Am I too used up for you now or something? It’s fine that I was raped, but god forbid I ever put myself out there willingly.” My voice is filled with hurt. I know how filthy my body is, I don’t need him to make me feel worse about it.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I need to get some air. To have some space away from him.

“Unlock the door,” I shout as I pull on the handle.

“Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” My head’s getting light as I struggle to breathe.

Suddenly his hand is on my throat, pinning me against the seat.

“I need to know whose hands have touched you.”

My vision goes white as he blocks off my blood flow. It doesn’t make me panic though. A stillness settles over me and when he loosens his grip, endorphins flood my body. I gasp in lungfuls of air and it's like I'm breathing him in with his face this close to mine.

“So you can tell me how disgusting I am? Call me broken then fuck me anyway?” I glare at him.

“Wynter. I need to know so I can kill every last person who dared to make you feel that way.”

All those breaths I just managed to take leave my body at once.

“You are nothing less than perfect to me. In fact, you’re more than that. I don’t care how many other men have touched you. What I do care about is how they made you feel. If it was anything less than the overwhelming joy you deserve then they deserve to die.”

He can’t mean that. He can’t.

Just let me hate you. Don’t make this harder than it already is.

His fingers are still on my throat, but he’s not squeezing anymore. He’s stroking my scars.

“I wasn’t a stripper. My job was behind the bar so you don’t need to kill anyone.”

His fury doesn’t lessen at all. I’m not sure if it will until he kills someone or gets something else. Looking down at his lap, I see how hard he is. That can’t possibly be for me?

“What about your boss?” he asks. “I know what he’s like. Did he make you sleep with him?”

I turn my nose up at that image. “Jackson? No.”

That seems to relieve him the tiniest bit and he fully releases my throat. I rub at my windpipe, sure there’ll be a fresh bruise there tomorrow.

Taking a few deep breaths I manage to center myself, but now that I can think straight I’ve noticed how wet I am. Fuck. That is not good. Turns out having a man say he’d kill for me is a turn-on, even when he’s my captor and his hand is around my throat.

“Wait. Why are there no records of me here?” Come to think of it, I remember Kara saying those guys were friends with Jackson. That was right before they took me. “Did he have something to do with me being taken?”

“That is what I intend to find out. Seeing you should jog his memory.”

Just a second ago I thought he might have been planning on killing me and now he wants to kill for me. Things are never going to be simple with him, are they?

I’m not sure what’s going on or who to even trust anymore.

Inside the club, the place is almost empty. It’s still early so I’m not surprised it’s quiet.

There’s a dancer on stage performing for two guys on the floor and another guy’s leaning against the bar enjoying the show from afar while chatting up a bartender I don’t recognize. My replacement probably.

A tall blonde with bouncy curls saunters past us in a dark blue bikini and I shout out, “Cassidy?”

Bones’ hand comes to my shoulder and squeezes firmly. A warning.

Cassidy spins to look at me, her eyes wide with shock. “Oh my god! Wynter? Where have you been? Everyone was worried sick!”

“I…” I don’t know how to answer that. “Will you give me a minute to talk to my friend in private?” I ask Bones quietly.

“Not a chance,” he whispers in my ear and Cassidy eyes us apprehensively. “Sorry, darling, I’ve been keeping her pretty busy.” He flashes her one of his most charming smiles.

She raises an eyebrow at him, looking him up and down, then her face pales as she seems to recognize him.

“You’ve been gone for months,” she says directly to me. “You just up and left us. Stef and Kara were worried sick. You could have at least text them if you were just off with some guy.” She frowns at me and eyes my clothes.

“How long has it actually been since you saw me?”

“Like over three months ago now.” She shrugs. The timescale means nothing to her, but to me it’s world-changing. Three months? My time in the dark felt endless. Like years could have past. But it was only a few months?

Letting out a sigh, I say, “I’m sorry. Can you let them know I’m okay?”

“You can’t do that yourself?”

I’m really not sure what Bones would do if I told her the truth, so rather than risk her getting hurt I lie. “My phone’s not been working. I’ve been meaning to get a new one. Are they working tonight?” I hope they’re not. Now that I’m here, I don’t want anyone else I know to see me like this.

“No. They jumped ship once your replacement stopped showing up. Everyone’s been getting seriously bad vibes and no one wants to be the next missing girl. Are you sure you’re okay?” She looks at Bones again. He’s not paying her any attention. His focus is on the men in the club.

“I’m—fine.” I’m not sure what else to say that won’t sound so obviously false.

She rolls her bottom lip between her teeth, but seems to settle on believing my lie.

“Alright. But if you disappear again…” she trails off as Bones clears his throat.

“We have an appointment. You’ll have to excuse us.”

Cassidy glares at him and puts her hand on my arm as she leans in close. “I don’t know what you’ve got yourself into, but please be careful.”

Bones’ eyes burn into the back of my head, watching my every move. I know the gun is snug in his waistband which means I can’t make a scene.

“Honestly, Cass, I’m fine.” I give her one last smile before Bones leads me away.

“She seemed to know you,” I say, feeling oddly put out.

The way Bones shrugs makes me think I don’t want to know the answer. If he’s been here before then chances are he’s more than familiar with the employees.

That shouldn’t get me worked up with jealousy.

There’s no time to think as he grabs my wrist and leads us towards Jackson’s office.

Without bothering to knock, he swings open the door. Jackson is sat behind his desk, leaning back as a woman’s blonde head bobs up and down in his lap.

“Jesus Christ Bones!” he startles and shoves the woman off him, quickly tucking himself away.

“Out now,” Bones snarls at the woman I don’t recognize, another new hire. She looks scared to death as she hurries past us. Bones kicks the door shut behind her and the sound makes me jump.

“I think there’s something you need to tell me,” Bones says surprisingly calmly to Jackson.

He looks behind Bones and straight at me. Swallowing nervously as he recognizes me.

“What can I help you with?”

Marching up to Jackson, Bones grabs him by the collar and slams his face down onto the desk. “Don’t give me that shit. Why the fuck is she not in your employee records?”

“I—I don’t know who she is! I have lots of girls come and go. If she's one of mine her information probably got misplaced.”

Bones takes hold of one of Jackson’s arms and bends it behind his back at a painful-looking angle. “Don’t fucking lie to me!”

“It’s—it’s just easier with the paperwork to have the girls down as working at one of my other businesses. If a cop comes in and finds them soliciting then it’s not going to be linked straight to me.”

Stepping up to the desk I ask, “How many did you do that to? Everyone I worked with here was a good person. They had families they were caring for. You just let them get arrested like that?” I ask.

“It doesn’t happen that often, but yes.”

Bones bends his arm a bit more and Jackson bucks wildly from the pain. “Why didn't you do anything when Wynter stopped showing up for work?”

“Girls go missing all the time. It’s not my problem.”

Stef was right after all. They didn’t just quit.

“Not your problem?” He puts more pressure on Jackson’s arm and I hear a snap that makes my stomach turn, but I don’t look away as Jackson screams in agony. I'm transfixed by the torture taking place right in front of my eyes.

“Not your fucking problem?” Bones roars.

“No, I’m not getting myself involved when some gangster comes in and takes a fancy to someone. I’d rather they take a few girls than threaten me and my business.”

“You…you let them take me? What about Evie?”

Jackson looks up at me, sweat dripping down his red face. “This is her, isn’t it? The little captive you mentioned before.”

“Shut your mouth,” Bones snarls and twists Jackson’s arm causing another snap.

“Bones, stop!” I say grabbing his shoulder and trying to pull him off.

“Why the fuck would I stop? He practically served you up to them on a silver platter!”

“Jackson, who were they?” I ask, hoping he’ll have a heart.

“I don’t know!”

“But I thought you knew them? They were in here all the time.”

“I didn’t know them like that. They were good customers. Drank and fucked a lot. I’d be stupid to not act like their best friend!” Jackson laughs weakly, sounding pained and desperate.

Bones pulls him off the desk and shoves him to the floor. “Don’t you dare fucking move. Wynter, come here.” He snaps his fingers at me as he sits in Jackson’s chair and I go to him. Not because I want to obey him, but because I don’t want my arms to get snapped in two.

Standing next to Bones, I see him attach a tiny device, no bigger than a thumb tack, to the side of the computer tower while Jackson is preoccupied with his broken arm. “Where the fuck’s your surveillance footage?” Bones snarls as he opens and closes various tabs on screen.

“I wipe it all at the end of each month,” Jackson replies as he tries to sit up on the floor.

“The contracts?”

“Wiped as soon as they’re completed.”

“Fuck!” Bones slams his fist down onto the desk. He looks like he’s about to smash the entire computer to pieces, but he thinks better of it at the last minute.

“I do it all because I have to! You know better than anyone what it’s like needing to keep your shit secret. I’m sure daddy doesn’t know what his son does as a hobby now does he?”

Bones storms around the desk and grabs Jackson off the floor, pinning him against the wall.

“This isn’t about me! Give me a fucking name! There’s no way you didn’t get to know them enough to not know that. I know what you’re like. You’re always up in everyone’s business.”

“D-Dmitri Volkov was the one I spoke to the most.”

Volkov. I don’t recognize the name, but it sounds Russian, which lines up with the accent of the man that took me. That can’t be a coincidence.

Jackson looks past Bones, towards me and smiles. “You should be blaming him as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Bones snaps and Jackson slowly looks at him.

“Bones here could have saved you himself. You were here that night, with Carver if I remember correctly. The pair of you were kicked out because your friend pulled a knife on one of my girls.”

I stumble backward until I hit the wall.

“That’s the corpse fucker and his playboy friend,” Cassidy’s words play in my head.

“He had a drink thrown over him,” I say numbly as I recall that night. “You were both being assholes. You looked straight at me. You smiled at me like you wanted to…” My breath hitches as I see how truly dangerous Bones is.

“Wynter. I—I don’t remember that. I’m sorry.”

He was definitely high that night, but I can’t trust anything he says. All he does is manipulate me.

What if he actually had something to do with me being taken? He could have had me tortured for months before swooping in to pretend to save me just so he could hurt me some more.

Bones lets go of Jackson and starts walking toward me. “If I had known anything I do now, I would never have let you out of my sight. I was a different person then.”

Keeping my distance from him, I shift closer to the door. “I can’t trust you.”

He looks heartbroken and for some reason, my heart aches as well.

Jackson takes advantage of the moment and lunges at Bones. I’m not sure why exactly I do it, but I shout, “Look out!”

As Bones turns and narrowly avoids Jackson I make a break for it. Pulling the door open and running for my life.

“Wynter! Wait!” Bones roars.

Cassidy calls out to me as I sprint out of the club, but I don’t stop. I need to get away from this place.

Running without direction I find myself coming toward a familiar street sign. My feet have carried me home.

When I reach the steps to my apartment building I collapse against them and catch my breath. My lungs burn and my eyes sting from the brim of tears on my lower lashes. Wiping them away, I lean against the rough exposed brickwork. The familiarity of the building tugs at my chest. Happy memories try to come to the surface, but they hurt more than the torture I’ve endured. I put them securely back into the safe little box in my mind. One that I’ll only open when this is over.

There’s no way into the building without my keys, so I reach up to try the buzzer to Charlie’s apartment.

There’s no answer. It’s just my luck that the one time I get away she’s not here.

I must be a real glutton for punishment because the next thing I do is press the buzzer to my apartment.

“Hello?” An elderly woman’s voice asks.

My chin quivers with disappointment. I suspected that the place would have been rented out to someone else since I couldn't pay for it, but the reality of the situation still hurts.

I have no idea where Summer is. She could be living in a foster home or trapped somewhere awful like I was.

Without answering the woman, I sink back down onto the steps and press the heels of my palms into my eyes so I don’t cry.

I’m not sure how long I’m sat here. Eventually, I hear a car pull up and I look up only when I hear footsteps in front of me.

Bones stands on the sidewalk. A dark shade come to collect my soul.

“How did you know I’d be here?” My voice sounds far away.

“Where else would you go?”

He’s right. There’s no police station around here. It was obvious I’d come looking for Summer straight away. I’m so stupid. If she was here I would have put her in danger.

“Are you ready to come home?”

I rise up, standing tall on the apartment steps. “This is my home.”

“It’s gone.”

My shoulders slump in defeat. He’s right. But I don’t want to admit that being with him is home now.

“Do you know where she is?” If there’s anyone that can find Summer, surely it’s Bones.

He’s silent for too long as he stands there flexing his knuckles that are now covered in blood. The sight of them makes my chest tighten.

“Bones, please, if you know where she is you have to tell me.”

His eyes soften as he steps towards me. “When I found out everything about you, I also checked into Summer. She’s missing.”

“No.” I quickly shake my head. “You would have told me that already.” Would he though? For all I know it was him that took her.

“How long has she been gone? Are the police doing anything?”

“Calm down.”

“I’ll calm down when I know she’s safe!” I shout, moving down to the next step so we’re eye level. Something dangerous flashes in his irises.

“The cops are corrupt. If you go to them you can guarantee they’ll hand you straight back to the monsters that took you.”

I didn’t think my life could get any more complicated. I thought that the horrors I’ve lived through would be the worst of my nightmares, but this…this is my deepest fear come to life.

"What about my friend Charlie? She lives in the apartment opposite mine, but she's not answering. Do you know if she's okay?"

Bones sighs and his chin dips slightly, making me think I'm in for even more bad news. "She's safe, but you should forget about her if you want to make sure she stays that way."

I hate to admit it, but I think he's right. If I stay away then Charlie won't get dragged into my shit show of a life and she can keep living her normal one.

“Now that you’ve got this out of your system it’s time to accept what we have. Running from me was expected, but I’m not going to let it go without consequence.” Bones takes hold of my wrist and pulls me down the few remaining steps. I stumble at the bottom and wrench my arm free.

“ Consequence ? Running is a normal fucking response to being kidnapped.” I back away from him, unsure of where to even go. Being with him shouldn’t be an option, but with Summer gone I need someone with power and money on my side to get her back.

“Wynter, if you don’t sit your ass in the car I will put you in the trunk. Either way, this ends with you leaving with me. There’s no one around to help you, so do the right thing and don’t piss me off.”

“I’ll scream.” I know my response is contradictory to what I really want, but everything he does pisses me off. He’s worked his way under my skin and I can’t exist without feeling his presence. I want to tear him out of me and at the same time I want his gnarled roots twisting deeper into the dirt that makes me who I am.

“Make a scene and I’ll put something in your mouth to keep you quiet.”

My stomach tightens. His words awakening a need deep inside me. It’s not him though. It’s my fucked up body. All it’s been subjected to for months is sex and now that disgusting need is wired into my dna.

“Fuck. You.” I punch him in the stomach, but only end up hurting myself. The pain makes me feel good. Alive . As long as I’m feeling it then I’m still in control.

I hit him again and again and he takes it all. His solid stomach absorbing everything I throw at him. He doesn’t break a sweat, doesn’t move a muscle. Unlike me. Sweat drenches my forehead and it feels like I’m going to pop a vein if I don’t calm down. My entire body screams at me to stop.

All my energy goes into fighting him until I can barely stand straight.

As I stumble back, he catches me, pulling me against him. He’s hard. My fighting turned him on.

“You’re sick,” I whimper, feeling too weak to scream at him anymore.

Bones grabs my chin, tilting it up. “You’ve infected me, little viper. I’m full of your toxins and I’ll gladly take any more you give me. So keep hating me, keep fighting me if that’s what gives you some peace.”

Why? Why does he have to say these things? He’s twisting me up inside and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be feeling anymore.

Exhaustion takes over me and my forehead falls against his chest.

The smell of him makes me feel safe. But it’s a lie. One I have no choice but to believe.

Leaning against him I weigh up my options. I could wait here for Charlie, but Bones is guaranteed to stay and that’ll put her at risk. Running’s no longer an option, I barely have the strength to hold myself up. Neither is screaming. I know what this neighbourhood’s like. So many times there were domestic disputes, fights, arguments, kids vandalizing properties. Not a single time did the police do anything about it.

My only option is him.

“I’m ready to go with you,” I say into his chest, unable to look at the face of the man that’s won me.

Bones leads me to the car and I look at the trunk, expecting him to put me in it for fighting him, but he lets me sit up front.

I thought he’d be angry, ready to hurt me for running, but he seems oddly relaxed. It puts me on edge.

I’m sat in the eye of the storm, waiting for the calm to pass and for the devastating force of him to hit me any minute now.