6. WYNTER

6

WYNTER

I had to do it for her. For Summer. That’s the only reason why I let him touch me at all.

If he finds out my name then he can easily track her down and hurt her to get me to comply with even worse things.

The men in the last place did that a lot. They said they knew everything about me and told me if I wasn’t good then they’d hurt the people I loved.

I was never sure if they were bluffing or if they really were sick enough to hurt a child.

The more I think about it the angrier it makes me feel. I have no idea if she’s alive at this point. Taking a breath, I calm myself down. If I want to find her I need to get my anger under control.

I’m left alone, unsure what I’m supposed to do here. Before it was spelled out what was expected of me. He didn’t get what he wanted in the end though.

Negative. The test was negative.

Bones wasn’t lying.

I was captured and sold as an incubator to some old fucked up man, with an ego too big to think he might have been the reason why I never got pregnant.

His voice replays in my head from when he picked me out. Asking one of the men keeping me captive if I was fertile, as I and a bunch of other girls were lined up against the wall in a tiny room. They had already started frequently drugging me then. Probably to stop me from remembering anything. Seems like it worked for the most part.

Leaning against the bathroom counter, I can feel my reflection staring back at me. I refuse to look at the girl watching me. She’s not me. I’m not some emaciated corpse of a person. I’m not covered head to toe in bruises.

I’m still me, she is a stranger.

Turning away from the mirror I look over at the shower. Bones left me alone so long last night that I felt safe enough to get clean. I still feel dirty though.

Not that it makes much difference anyway. I’m in his house, at his mercy. Whatever he wants, he’ll take it, sooner or later. He’s made that perfectly clear.

I check the bedroom’s clear before turning the shower on.

Cranking the temperature up, I hold my arm out underneath the stream until it scalds me enough to turn my skin pink.

I toss my shirt onto the floor next to the hamper as a little fuck you to Bones.

What sort of name is that anyway? He thinks he has the right to know mine when that is what I’m expected to call him. I suppose it’s better than the alternatives he could choose like sir or master. My skin crawls at the thought.

After my shower, I feel a little lighter. Like some of the hurt has washed off my skin along with the dirt.

I’m not sure how long this feeling will last, but at least it’s helping me not want to curl up and die.

Every day I think of new ways to end it all. Now that I’m not locked up a lot of those options are closer than I’d like. They’re tempting, but the only thing stopping me from following through with my thoughts is Summer.

She still needs me. I have to survive this place.

Bones’ words still linger in the air. His promise to kill for me. Killing a person for someone else must be the biggest thing you could do for them. If he did that for me, what would he expect in return?

When I go back into the bedroom in just a towel the coast is still clear. I’m not sure why he left here without fucking me, I saw how hard he was throughout that entire doctor’s examination. He’s a man. That’s what they do best. Take and take until there’s nothing left of you.

I’m not about to jinx it by trying to figure out why. He’s just insane.

I head into the closet to find something to wear. That’s another thing that surprises me. He's not mad about me wearing his clothes. My restrictions here are far less than they were before. But just because I’m not chained up or locked in a tiny cage doesn’t mean I’m no longer a prisoner.

It means that I have to be more careful. Especially of whatever web he’s spinning to trap me in. He’s arrogant and acts so carefree, I imagine that lets him get away with a lot of things, but I can tell how calculating he is underneath it all.

I slip into another dress shirt and find some more of his sweats. I’m tall enough to be able to wear them without needing to turn the bottoms up and all I need to do is cinch the drawstrings in at the waist so they’ll stay up.

For a quiet moment, I let myself soak in the feeling of wearing clothes before I await whatever the rest of the day will bring. I’m not sure if it’s something about his smell that I find so comforting or if it’s due to the lack of sensory stimulus I’ve had up until now, but it helps me to relax a little.

Sitting on the bed reminds me of what he did to me. The way he touched me during that messed up examination. I wasn’t a virgin before I was taken, but no one had ever touched me like that before. It was all rough fumbles and quick fucks. I had needs that I checked off when I could, but my priorities were work and Summer, so actual dating was out of the question.

To have someone touch me like they were handling delicate porcelain was more than unexpected. As much as I know it was just my body naturally reacting to his stimulation, I can’t deny how the gentle caresses affected my heart.

Then when he went down on me. God, he played me so well. Got everything he wanted from me.

I’m not sure what’s worse, having to piece together what was done to me by my previous captor by finding the new marks on my body and feeling the violent ache between my legs or watching my current one feast on me like I’m his new favorite meal.

In another life, he would have been exactly my type.

He knows he’s beautiful. If sex appeal were a person it would be him. That makes him even more disgusting.

I hate him. I’ve never felt such rage inside me before.

Bones thinks he can toy with me, manipulate me, and play games. Well if he thinks that I’ll break that easily he’s in for a surprise.

I spend the day wandering around the house by myself. There’s no sign of Bones and I’m glad for that, but I can’t help but feel like I’m being watched the entire time.

It’s easy to get lost here, but I’m slowly starting to get a feel for where everything is.

It’s more a mansion than a house really. I don’t see how one man can live here alone. It’s huge and empty. There are so many rooms, some of them are locked and the others all feel too quiet and lonely.

My apartment may have been tiny but it felt like the perfect size for me and Summer. It was always home. I imagine it’s all gone now. Everything about my existence has probably been swept away.

In my exploration, I stumble upon a large dark room, and when I find the light switch my heart aches at the sight. It’s a huge cinema room with a flatscreen television mounted on the wall and shelves full of gaming consoles surrounding it.

Summer would lose her mind if she saw this.

I need to stop thinking about her, it’s not helping. I don’t have the luxury of breaking down and crying. There’s nothing I can do for her right now.

Walking around a little more, I find all sorts of rooms. One is set up with a record player in the corner next to a large comfortable-looking chair, and rows upon rows of vinyl on the shelves. Another is a fully equipped gym. There’s even a library stacked with hundreds of books. Bones seems to have a room for everything.

Eventually, I find the kitchen. I startle as I see Bones stirring something on the stove. He’s got a distant look on his face and he’s not noticed me yet.

His long hair is tied up in a top knot, a few strands hanging loose over his face. He blows one out of his eyes and I have to resist the urge to go over there and move it for him.

He’s wearing more casual clothes now, plain black joggers and a tight-fitting short-sleeved t-shirt, with a thin metal chain around his neck. It all fits him perfectly. Everything he does is done with perfection. There’s not a single thing about him that’s sloppy.

I should sneak back upstairs since he hasn’t seen me, but he’s the one thing between me and my freedom. I can’t keep away from that.

Deciding to make the first move, I clear my throat and he looks up.

A warm smile lights his eyes. “Evening. You hungry?”

He’s back to being that charming and calm version of himself. That person I can handle.

I nod and he says, “Good girl. Grab the wine. I’ll be right through with the food.”

I hesitate before moving over to grab the bottle of red and the two glasses waiting on the counter.

“It’s not drugged. Promise. If you don’t believe me, grab a new bottle.”

To make a point that I’m far from trusting him, I grab a different bottle from the wine rack and he smirks. He’s acting like nothing happened earlier. Like we’re friends, not prisoner and warden.

“Do you not have a cook?” I ask, out of sheer curiosity of this enigma of a man.

“No. Didn’t need one for just me. I like to think I’ve become a pretty good cook over the years.”

“You really live alone?”

“Not anymore,” he winks at me as he lifts the pan off the stove and places it on the cooling rack on the counter.

“Mmhm,” I hum to myself as I head through to the dining room. The same two places are already set at the table. To piss him off I take his seat at the head. There’s this irrational need in me to defy him at every turn.

Bones follows through a few minutes later with two plates of food. He doesn’t say anything about the seating arrangement and takes the other seat with a smile on his face.

Curiosity getting the better of me I ask, “Where were you all day?”

“You missed me?”

My cheeks flash red with anger. “Of course not. I just didn’t know if I was expected to fend for myself or if you wanted me to starve.”

“You have free roam of the house. It’s yours now after all. Help yourself to anything.”

That’s it then? I’m stuck here for the inevitable.

“If you are curious, I was driving my friend and his girl home from the hospital.”

Oh .

“Why were they there in the first place?” Did it have something to do with the blood on his neck?

“He got shot while I was saving you. Don’t worry he’s fine, he shrugs shit like that off real easy and his girl will look after him.”

I didn’t say I cared. Still knowing that someone who aided in getting me away from my tormentor was shot puts a weird spin on my emotions. All I want is to hate everyone involved, but it’s way more complicated than that.

Before I lose my nerve, I get straight to the point of what I really want to know and ask, “What do you want with me? And no games this time.”

He doesn’t react to my question, his small smile remains there on his lips.

“You’ve put me on birth control, you made me sleep in your bed, you’ve even forced me to come.” That makes one of his eyebrows shoot up. “If you want to keep me for sex then what are you waiting for?”

“You heard the doc. Gotta wait to find out if you’re clean.”

Yet he still ate me out?

I can’t believe I’m saying this. “Condoms exist.” It’s like I’m begging him to have sex with me. That’s not what this is. I just want to ease the anxiety of the unknown.

He pulls his chair closer to me and leans in until our noses brush. Then he cups my jaw with his large hand and brushes his thumb over my lip. “You look good in that chair. I’ll gladly sit by your side.”

I reach up to push him away, but he pushes me back into my chair. “When I fuck you, little viper, and believe me, I will . I’ll be fucking you raw. There’s going to be no condom between us. Your pussy’s going to be dripping with my come and you’re going to be begging me for more.”

“I’m never going to want that.” My stomach twists and I’m unnervingly aware of how close our lips are.

“Fuck. You still smell like me.” I’m not sure if he intended the words to leave his lips, but they hang there in the air. He runs his fingers through my hair and my breath hitches as he brings a strand to his nose and inhales.

“You wanted it, didn’t you?” His voice is soft and soothing. Another trick to lure me in.

I come back to my senses and tear his hands away from me. “No! Screw you! You don’t get to keep saying that. You think I wanted you to touch me? To have a doctor manhandle me? You think I wanted to be forced into a man’s bed so he could try and impregnate me? Make me have his fucking demon spawn while countless men hurt me?” I clamp my mouth shut as soon as I realize how much of the truth I’ve spilled. I was hoping to never have to tell anyone what happened to me unless it was the cops and it guaranteed him paying the price.

Bones’ lips slowly part, then he closes them tightly. His throat bobbing as he swallows. “That’s why you were so relieved about the pregnancy test.”

I turn away from him and focus on an abstract black-and-white painting on the wall, but he forces my gaze back to him.

“Whatever happened to you, I can help. Tell me who I need to kill.”

“Don’t act like you know shit about me, Bones. You’re just as bad as him. Maybe even worse. So either tell me why I’m really here or shut the hell up!” I know I’m pushing my luck.

“Because I want you. But I won’t rape you.”

I dig my nails into my palms. “That’s what it will be though. I’m never going to want you.”

“You may not want me, but you want your freedom. You can have that with me. If you let me in.”

That will never happen. Even if I have to put on a new mask to make him think I want him, it’ll never be real. I’ll never fall for him.

“I can help you kill them. Tommaso Abato, the man who wanted you pregnant is already dead, but I can help you get to the rest of them.”

Tommaso Abato? All the things he did to me and I didn’t know his name until now.

I have to blink and steady my breathing before I say anything. “I don’t understand. You killed him?” I should feel relieved that the monster is gone, but I can’t let my guard down just like that. This man could be lying to get me to trust him.

“Well, technically Dean did, but he’s dead all the same.”

“The friend that was shot?”

He nods his confirmation.

Why don’t I feel happy about that?

Of course, I wished him dead, I fantasized about doing it myself. In the dark, my mind would go to even darker places and I conjured up so many morbid ways of getting rid of all the men in that house. I’ve not got it in me to actually kill a person though. All I want is to bury the past and move on.

“Why not let me go? Am I some sort of prize to you?” It feels like I am and it makes sense what with all the other collections he has around the house. He’s like a dragon hoarding treasure away in his fancy cave.

He runs his finger along my jaw and his lips curve up in a cat-like grin. “The best prize.”

I’m not a trophy to be passed around, but I can’t tell him that. He’s made me lose my words.

His touch is disarming. One stroke of his finger breaks down the walls I’ve built so high to protect myself from people just like him.

“Did he suffer?” I ask.

“Not as much as he should have, but yes, it was hardly quick and pain-free.”

Good. I hope he’s still suffering down in hell.

I feel slightly better knowing that he’s gone. As long as none of the other men come looking for me or try to hurt Summer then maybe I can be content with what I’m stuck with. Or who I’m stuck with more like.

“I’m not going to be like him, but I’m also not going to be able to wait forever,” Bones' tone is serious now.

“Well, you’re going to die from a nasty case of blue balls before you get anywhere near me.”

“God, you’re vicious. I love it.” He sits back in his chair and stares at me. I’m not about to go another day without food so I purposefully ignore him and eat.

He was right about being a good cook. His food actually tastes delicious, but I’d never admit that to him.

After a while, the questions in my head become too loud to go unanswered and as much as I’d love to wait for him to break the tension first I can’t hold them back anymore.

“Why were you in his house?”

“For my job.”

“Your job was to kill a man?”

He nods like it’s the most ordinary profession in the world.

Somehow I’m not surprised that he makes his money from murder. This huge fancy house, the cologne, and the jewelry he wears. He reeks of danger and seduction. It’s the allure a killer like him needs to be able to walk the streets freely.

“If you’re going to be purposefully vague about everything I’m not going to bother opening my mouth.”

Leaning forward on his elbows, he sighs. “It’s not supposed to be my job, but that’s a whole other story. I sign up for hits on people, take them out for money. Simple as that.”

“Bad people?”

He shrugs like he’s not entirely sure. “I try to make sure they are.”

“Who took the hit out on…him then.” The mere thought of saying his name makes me want to vomit.

“That is what I intend to figure out.”

What if they knew about me? Did they hope to take me and sell me on elsewhere? Or was I supposed to have died along with him?

They could have found out about Summer and—-

Bones’ hand settles over my own, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts. I stare at the tattoos that creep up his wrist to the black hair tie around it.

He strokes the back of my hand with his thumb, calming me down and I finally look up at him.

“How many people hurt you?”

I push back the tears along with my chair.

“Stop trying to get me to relive it! If you have some twisted fantasy of being a white knight to someone then find someone else. I don’t need you to save me.”

He stands up with me. “I know you don’t. But you’re not in a position to tell me what I can’t do.”

When he reaches out for me, I stumble back. “I just want to go home. This isn’t right! You can’t just keep someone under the pretense that you’re helping them. This is still keeping me captive. You’re ruining me just as much as they did.”

“You’re mine! Understand that?” he roars in my face and I’m afraid. Of him. Of every monster lurking outside the walls of this place. And of myself.

“You said you wouldn’t—”

Composing himself, he runs a hand over his face. “No, I’m not a goddamn rapist, but I’m also not a good person. I’ve never had restraint before and I’m not sure how long the little I’ve managed to find for you will last. I do know that all I want is to claim you. Take you in every position until you’re screaming my name and passing out on my cock. And I know that every time I take you, because there will be multiple times, endless times, you’re going to be begging for more. Eventually, you’ll learn to love me.”

“No, I'll hate you forever.”

His face softens a little. “I can live with that. I’ll take all your hate, little viper. I'll take everything you give me.”

What the hell does that mean?

He wants my love and my hate, but surely a person can’t have both?

I can’t bear to be around him anymore. My head's pounding and my chest is tight. I need air. Need to breathe in a space that isn’t already consumed by him.

Outside. That’s where I need to be.

I run to the front door and tug at the handle. Locked .

This isn’t fucking fair. What did I do to deserve any of this shit? I was just an ordinary person.

“You’ll be able to go out when I think you’re ready. Until then you’re stuck in here.”

I spin, pressing my back to the door.

“Stuck with you.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he gives me a half-smile. “Afraid so. Best thing you can do is accept that.”

“Never.”

I run around him to the stairs and he lets me go. It’s not until I’m in the bedroom and the door is securely closed behind me that I scream.