Chapter Twenty-Four

Alana

W ITH A GROAN, I wake up and let the pain flow through me. There isn’t a single inch of my body that’s not hurting or aching. For the first few tortuous minutes, I have no clue why I’m in so much pain. Ghost and Geek would never do anything to hurt me and I know that for a fact. They’d hurt themselves before they even thought about harming me. They simply don’t have it in them to hurt a woman for any reason. At least not physically. Even when we have sex they don’t get as rough as I know they can with me. Both of them hold back and restrain themselves. It's something we’ll need to talk about moving forward because I don’t ever want them to feel as if they can’t be themselves when we’re together. Anyway, my head is where most of the pain is coming from. I vaguely remember being hit in the head before my body was stuffed in the trunk of a car by Terrence. That would be where all the pain is coming from. This shit is gonna last for days.

I look around the room as all the training my family has given me over the years starts to penetrate the fog surrounding me. Honestly, I’m surprised I’m not having a panic attack right now. However, since I know Terrence is behind this and that he’s not here right now, I think that’s the only reason I’m okay. If I see him, I can’t say that I won’t have one of the biggest panic attacks I’ve ever dealt with since all of this started. Right now, I need to take mental notes of the room I’m in so I can figure out the best way to get out of here and away from Terrence. I will definitely get my hands on the fucker who thought it was okay to abuse me in almost every way possible. While I know my men and the men of my family want to get their hands on the stupid fuck, there is no way in hell I’m not about to beat this fucker for every single time he made me feel like a piece of shit or caused me pain when he beat me up.

The walls of the room I’m being held in are so old it looks as if they’re crumbling to nothing. There’s dust and pieces of drywall littering the floor and the lone window in the room has been boarded up. Mixed in with the dust and drywall are shards of glass as it glints in the light from the lone bulb hanging in the middle of the room. It’s one of those old ones that doesn’t have a light fixture in the ceiling but hangs from a chain. Since there isn’t one of the chains like on a ceiling fan also hanging down I know the light switch right inside the door is the way to turn this shit on and off. Even the light bulb is covered in dust and there’s a brownish coat of grime all over the bulb. There are only two doors in the room and I have a feeling this one doesn’t have a bathroom so it’s a closet while the other door is my way out.

My wrists are strapped down to makeshift arms of the metal chair I’ve been tied to. Zip ties are wrapped around my wrists so I know it’s going to be almost impossible to break through them in order to get away. However, since my arms aren’t behind my back, I’ll be able to have a slight advantage if I find anything in the room I can use to escape. My ankles are also tied to the legs of the chair. Looking down I notice a thin rope is wrapped around each ankle before wrapping around the leg of the chair and knotted in a way that will be easy to break free from. The knots are honestly already almost coming undone on their own. I just need to work my legs a little bit and I’ll be able to break free.

When I turn to look over my shoulder, I find a single bed with a mattress covered in blood and other stains I don’t want to think about along with dust and other debris. There aren’t any blankets or sheets on the bed. The bed frame is metal and a ton of spots are rusted out letting me know it’s not going to hold up against anything. I honestly think if I were to even touch the bed with my pinky finger it would collapse in a heap. Next to the bed is one night stand with one of those old alarm clocks on it. The kind you wind up and hope it goes off in the morning. I can hardly see the face of the clock even though it’s not working any longer through the dust and grime covering it. This shit is disgusting and I’m thankful Terrence has left me in my clothes. However, laying behind the alarm clock is what looks like a pocket knife. It’s folded closed but I can make out the curve of the knife and know that’s what I’m looking at. Pops and my dads made sure I saw knives of all kinds over the years. I need to get to that knife.

While I continue to look around so I can mesmerize every detail of the rundown room I’m being held in, I can faintly hear Terrence moving around in another room of the house he’s holding me hostage in. He’s stomping around whatever room he’s currently in and either on the phone or talking to himself. I can’t make out the words, but his voice is just loud enough for me to hear him talking. As long as he doesn’t come in here, I’m good. The second he comes in this room I’m gonna be fucked because I don’t have my hands free to beat the hell out of Terrence or keep him away from me. I’m exactly how the asshat likes me since I can’t fight back against him. Not that I was ever able to fight him off before.

The difference between then and now is I have something so good to fight for. I have the love of two men and I know they’re going out of their minds and won’t rest until I’m back in their arms. Terrence is nothing more than an egotistical bully who will never fight a man because he knows he won’t win. Since I’ve never once been able to fight back against him, Terrence won’t be expecting me to put up a fight. I plan on beating the hell out of him because he deserves nothing less than that.

I start moving my legs around as the ropes become slightly looser than they were before I began. It doesn’t take long for one of the ropes to come completely undone. I twist and move my ankle around in order to get the blood flowing to my foot once again. It wasn’t really cut off since the ropes were loose. However, my feet are starting to go numb. It doesn’t take me long to get my other foot free with the ropes laying on the floor next to the legs of the chair. Using my feet, I move the ropes out of the way so Terrence doesn’t see them. He won’t pay attention to the finer details as long as it doesn’t fuck with him getting exactly what he wants. It’s how he’s always been. As long as he gets his way, he doesn’t throw a tantrum and will disregard anything else in the area he’s in.

With my feet loose, I try to inch the chair closer to the nightstand so I can grab the knife and hide it somewhere. While I’m not exactly worried about Terrence noticing the knife, or remembering it’s here if he’s the one who put it there, I don’t want to risk me not having a weapon to use against him. Terrence isn’t as large as Geek or Ghost and they’re not the biggest men in the club. However, he’s bigger than me in height and weight. Terrence has no muscles to speak of because that means he’d have to go to a gym and he’s a lazy fucker. When I think of him now, I honestly can’t think of a single reason why I ever started dating him in the first place. He has no tattoos to speak of and doesn’t take a shower on a regular basis. The only times I’d ever let him touch me, and it wasn’t often, was right after he’d actually taken a shower. I can’t wait until this is all over with so I never have to think of the pathetic excuse of a man again.

Terrence’s footsteps end up heading my way. He’s stomping and I tighten my body in preparation of him showing up and confronting me. I’m not sure if he thinks I haven’t woken up yet from him bashing me in the head or if he’s trying to make me pay for leaving him and not following along with whatever plans he has in his mind. All I know is I won’t ever take him back and the second I can break free, I’m gonna take my chance and leave him beaten and bloody on the floor of this disgusting house once again.

The door opens and slams against the wall of the room causing dust to fill the room, making me cough as it all seems to fall around me and all over my body. Terrence stands in the doorway of the room with a sinister smile on his face. He doesn’t move in the room or say anything as he looks me over from the top of my head down to my feet and back up again. I try not to let his lingering gaze affect me, but it’s hard when I know he’s nothing more than a piece of shit.

“It’s nice to see you awake, Alana,” he says, his voice full of anger and sarcasm as he continues to look at me, making me feel as if my skin is crawling under his gaze. “I’d ask if you slept good, but I truly don’t give a fuck if you did or not. Did you really think you were gonna get away from me?”

“I did get away from you, Terry,” I return, calling him the one name he hates more than anything as he sneers in my direction and I laugh. “And I’m not going to be back with you. I’ve got my men and when they get their hands on you, they’re gonna rip you limb from limb. Then you’ll have to deal with my dads, brothers, brothers-in-law, my uncles, cousins, and all of my friends. They won’t stop until one of my men gets the kill shot and ends your miserable, pathetic life. I will live the rest of my life with nothin’ but love and peace while you rot in a shallow grave as your soul burns in hell where you fucking belong.”

Terrence’s face transforms as he glares at me while that red color he’s known for creeps up his face from his neck. The veins in his forehead and neck are all standing out and pulsing more than normal as his fists clench and unclench at his side. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t gotten in my face or put his hands on me yet. This is the first time since I met him that he’s showing any kind of restraint.

“You fucking bitch! I always knew you were a slut. I just didn’t know you’d be with two guys at one time. I guess you truly will spread your legs for anyone, won’t you Alana?” he questions me, his voice hard and cold as I simply start laughing my ass off.

“I’ve been with less men in my entire life than you’ve been with in the last month. And I will still have fingers left over with all the men I’ve ever been with. The men I’m with now are the loves of my life and they go above and beyond on a daily basis to show me how much they love me. It’s in their gentle touches, the way they worship my body, and every word they whisper to me. It’s in the memories they create with me on a daily basis and the ones we dream of for our future. Things you know nothing about because you can’t even love yourself. You’re a vile piece of shit who believes he’s God’s gift to women but your dick is short as fuck and thinner than a pencil. You’re the reason the term pencil dick was invented, Terry,” I return, my voice cold as I glare at the asshole who truly has no feelings other than hate unless he’s thinking about himself.

Terrence’s clothes are stained, wrinkled, and have holes in them. I’ve never seen him wear anything less than knockoff suits with cheap dress shoes in his pathetic attempt to impress those around him. Right now, he’s wearing a pair of joggers that look as if they’re too small for him. The tee-shirt he’s wearing is way too big for his thin body and hangs off of him making him look even more pathetic than normal. His normally styled hair is all over the place and his cheeks are sunken in like I’ve never seen him before. All in all, Terrence looks like shit and I know this has taken a toll on him more than he’ll ever admit because that would be telling me he’s weak.

“Don’t fucking call me Terry!” he screams, finally stepping in the room as his glare turns even harsher if that’s even possible. “And I know you’re lying about the number of men you’ve been with. I’ve heard all about you spreading your legs for every man in this new club. Even the men who are married or seeing someone. You’re nothing more than a whore that’s a homewrecker! It’s what I always thought about you and now I have the confirmation. See, I’ve been making new friends and one of my new friends has seen you in action.”

I take in his words and try to figure out who he would know that has seen me in any capacity since I moved to Pine View. Especially someone who’s connected to the club. The only person I can think of is Liz. She would definitely spread lies about me to anyone who will listen to her. Especially considering I continually put her in her place and make her look like a desperate slut every time she even looks at my man. I can’t stop laughing once I start because if Terrence is working with Liz then I know it’s just a matter of time before the guys put everything together and question her. I hope my mom and aunt beat the fuck out of her because she’s such a piece of shit.

“Liz is a lying bitch who’s desperate to get her hands on one of my men. A man who wants nothing to do with her. She’s been put on probation through the club and no one will touch her now. If she’s working with you and filling you in on what I’m supposedly doing, that means she’s even more desperate than I thought she was. Not to mention the men in the club are loyal to a fault and would never cheat on their wives. They treasure them beyond belief and love them with every beat of their heart. Things you know nothing about because you’re a cold-hearted bastard who will never love anyone,” I tell him, not able to contain my laughter once again as I look at the fucker in front of me with my own glare because I see him for the monster he truly is now. Not just because of what he’s done to me in the past but because that’s simply who he is as a person. If Terrence weren’t terrorizing me and treating me as his property when I’m no one’s property.

Even when Ghost and Geek claim me as their ol’ lady, they will know I’m not a piece of property. I’m their woman and they will treat me as a precious woman because they love me and only want the best for me. My men will support and encourage me in anything I want to do. That’s what a man claiming an ol’ lady means in the club.

“There is nothing funny about this situation,” Terrence yells, getting so close spittle lands on my face, causing me to gag until I eventually throw up all over the front of the asshole in front of me.

Between the spittle covering my face and the body odor wafting off of Terrence is too much for me to deal with. I was slightly nauseous before Terrence got close to me but after him hitting me in the head and adding in the smell of him, I can’t hold it back. Terrence freezes as he glares down at me and then at the vomit covering him. Without saying another word, or hitting me, Terrence disappears back through the door and slams it shut so hard it splits down the middle.

Knowing it’s only going to be a matter of time before he reappears and beats the shit out of me. I don’t worry about the mess I’ve made on myself as I start moving the chair toward the night stand. It’s screeching against the floorboards and I worry Terrence will hear me and rush back in the room to find out what’s going on. When I don’t hear him making his way back here, I move faster. It takes me longer than I’d like to admit to get to the nightstand. Even then, I have to use my core strength and legs to crouch over in the chair to the best of my ability so I can get close enough to grab the knife. I can barely get it in my hands as I finally get it. Somehow I manage to get it under my fingers to capture it between the arm of the chair and my skin. There’s some weight to this knife and if I can get my hands free, I know it will make a good weapon to use on Terrence when he eventually comes back in this room.