Chapter 49

HARPER

M y arms ached pinned above my head in an unnatural position, bound and strung up like

freshly killed game, and my head throbbed. I couldn't see through the warm blood dripping from my forehead.

My gaze drifted through the damp and musty darkness of the room. The sole light source was a small, barred window barely allowing the streetlight to seep in.

I could tell I was in a basement because of the concrete floors and the wooden stairway leading up to the interior of the building. Above me, I could hear footsteps and muffled voices. Voices I could recognize from anywhere.

What am I going to do? How will I get out of here? How will I survive this again?

My mind was reeling trying to plan an escape, but I was so blinded by the emotions of being played and tricked by the only man I have ever trusted. He lied to get me to let him in, and then just handed me over, like I meant nothing.

What would have happened if I hadn't run away? Was he going to just walk me to their car and buckle me in for the journey?

I had no idea how much time had passed as I hung there, drifting between consciousness and darkness. I fought like hell when I woke up after they brought me in here to chain me up but one of them hit me so hard in the head, I lost consciousness again.

* * *

Bright lights blinded me as my eyes struggled to adjust. I must have dozed off again. One minute I was plotting my escape route and the next I was waking up to the warmth of a large disgusting hand groping my breast. I pulled away from him but there was only so far I could go being hung up by my hands and stretched out forced onto my tiptoes.

This is not how I saw the night ending.

"Havoc, get back. We aren't playing with her yet." I heard one guy say to the other.

Havoc must be his name. Maybe a nickname because what kind of parents would name their child Havoc?

I chuckled at my amusing thoughts as my gaze fixed on the other man. They hadn't changed at all. Every tattoo, piercing, and scar was all the same. He was staring at me with an eager menacing glare. I could tell he was conflicted, but for what?

"Gah Malice, can't we just have a little fun?" Havoc asked over his shoulder while he stood against my body breathing down my neck, pressing his disgusting erection against me. His lips were so close to mine. The thought of either of them being so close sent shivers down my spine.

Havoc and Malice had another thing coming if they thought I was going to make this easy for them.

"Do you think he will sign the papers?" Havoc hissed. Snapping his jaw closed causing his teeth to clamp together making a loud chomping noise close to my earlobe. The two of them exchanged a look that I couldn't decipher.

"He better if he wants to see his little princess alive again." Malice said with a chuckle. Raising his knife to his gloved hand as he carefully examined the long shiny blade. Slowly rotating the knife over and over in his palm for no other reason than intimidation.

He probably doesn't even know how to use that thing.

Do they really believe I don't know they are working together? Is this all part of the plot? What do they want from me?

"What papers?" I asked, my voice hoarse and raspy, my throat parched, and in desperate need of water.

"Let's just say your little lover boy has something we want. If he doesn't sign it over, we will take something from him." Havoc responded with a toothy grin waggling his eyebrows at me as he pulled on the front of my dress and leaned in to get a better look.

I pulled back again, and he threw his hands up in a fake surrender stepping back a step, as soon as he stepped back far enough my knee came up with all my might crashing into his balls so hard It would be surprising if they weren't taking a rest inside of him following that impact.

He let out a high-pitched scream as he fell to his knees cupping himself in a fetal position. I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my face watching him lay there whining like a baby.

Malice took a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. The click of a Zippo lighter opening and the rasping sound of the flint wheel as his thumb rolled over it made me flinch. For a brief instant, I was taken back to a time I'd struggled hard to erase from memory. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead and my breath hitched as I closed my eyes and could smell the mildew of the room, they had me trapped in years before now. For a moment I was back there tied to a bed begging them to stop, begging them to have mercy on me as they laughed at the pain they inflicted, but I pushed past the bile that threatened to spill. I shook my head trying to clear my mind of those awful memories that I had fought so hard to suppress. I tilted my head back to stop my tears from falling. I would never, ever let these assholes see my tears again.

"Get up zasranets. " Malice snarled with his cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. He grabbed Havoc by the collar dragging him to the other side of the room, where there was a small rickety table and two chairs.

Walking back towards where I was chained, his eyes fixed on mine, his face unreadable. I stared back glaring with my lips tight. He stopped directly in front of me leaving space between us, obviously learning from what happened to his buddy.

He took a dramatically long drag of his cigarette and then slowly released it straight into my face. I immediately start choking on the smoke. He didn't move or react he just stood there staring and smoking. Every drag brought the same outcome, directly impacting my lungs each time.

He took the final drag and dropped it to the concrete floor stepping on it with his alligator boot. His eyes locked on mine.

"You've grown some testikalys," he said matter of factly, excitement glistening in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes and grinned because he didn't realize just how accurate his statement was, assuming my interpretation of the word he chose was correct. The first chance I had, I would be taking that stupid piercing he had on his eyebrow in my fingers, and I'd rip it straight from his stupid little face.

"That's good koshechka , I like it when you fight back." He licked his bottom lip and reached out grabbing the loose strands of my hair that had fallen, framing my face, rubbing them between his fingers. I cringed at the nickname.

His phone started to vibrate in his pocket when he turned sharing a puzzled look with Havoc who was still nursing his balls.

"I hope you have come to your senses." he cooed into the phone in a taunting tone.

There was a long pause. Malice must not have liked what he heard, his jaw tightened as he grounded his back teeth audibly.

"You aren't in charge here Jasper." he spits out Jasper's name like it was poison. Something wasn't adding up.

"I've already told you how this was going to work. Sign the papers or else you've signed her death warrant. And I promise you it won't be quick." he whispered the last part turning to glare at me.

"You have one hour," he said, ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket. He then reached down, grasped Havoc by the forearm, and hauled him to his feet, dragging him toward the stairs that led to the main part of the building.

talking to Havoc, making certain I could hear, he said, "Come on, zasranets, Harper darling needs a timeout in the dark to contemplate her actions."

He helped Havoc up the stairs, reaching the top step. As the door flung open, the lights flickered out, followed by the echo of metal scraping against metal as he locked the door behind them.

I pulled and tugged at the chains I was bound with and thrashed about praying something would give. After I didn't know how long, I finally gave up. My wrists were burning from the metal Digging into my flesh. The warm blood burned my lacerations as it slowly trickled down towards my elbow. I closed my eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks, reflecting on the people who have been important to me.

I thought of Aster, my closest friend, almost a sister. Then there's Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, who've been like parents to me over the years, and old man Frank, who's been a sanctuary since my move to Miami. And then there's Jasper, who barged into my heart, making me feel in ways I never imagined, even if he ended up being everything, I hoped he wasn't.

This can't be how my story ends.

My head fell in defeat.