28. Chapter 28

28

R yker is a different man. Within twenty-four hours Blake was able to not only break down his walls and have Ryker shed some light on his past, but was also able to make the man smile and laugh more than the frightening chuckle he has when some shit is about to hit the fan.

But as much as I love and enjoy the new relationship between the three of us, Ryker and I knew we needed to know more about her.

And I could see from the way Blake stills against Ryker, eyes glaring at me, hand tightening around the fork. She has no intention to tell either of us what happened and why she needed protection, not fully.

"Just hear me—us out," I try to reason with her. Blake, the stubborn girl that she is, is thinking about stabbing both of us. Maybe she would take Ryker out first so I could get away.

"Blake, I know it's hard to talk about, but we're here. Both of us, and we need to know why Dimitri would need to send you away to be protected."

She shakes her head, glaring down at her plate. Ryker sighs, looking up at me, and it's a warning. I know what he's going to do and as much as I hate resorting to this, we need to know sooner rather than later .

I give him the smallest nod, hating myself. In an instant, Ryker is shoving the food off the table, slamming the top half of her body onto the table.

"Sorry, pet, but you either give us the answers we need willingly, or we can make you." I hate when Ryker gets like this. He has a way of getting into people's minds, how to play games. And I don't want him to do it to her, but I also need to know what we're getting into.

"We can start off easy." Ryker holds her neck on the table. "Why did your dad hire us to protect you?"

That's Ryker starting off easy? I roll my eyes, blowing out silent raspberries. She's going to hate not only him but me by the time this is finished.

Blake stays silent, her hand tightening on the side of the tables, her eyes closed. I hate this.

"Come on, that was an easy question, little pet." Ryker reaches under the table, and I can only imagine what he's doing to her. Fuck, tilting my head up, I count down from ten, trying not to get a hard-on from the idea of Ryker touching her.

"Blake," Ryker whispers.

She stays radio silent. Not a good sign, not at all.

I could just tell them. It would be easy; tell them all the dirty little secrets I've been hiding. It would feel good to tell them, to finally tell someone. But some part of my brain shuts down and refuses to even acknowledge I'm safe with them.

Even if I'm pressed to the table by Ryker, I can feel the knife against my inner thigh. I can't see Jace, but I know he won't stop Ryker either. They're both hitmen and right now they're not in the mindset of protecting me. They want information and while I refuse to speak and I won't use my hands, Ryker thinks he can get me to talk.

The cartel thought they could get me to talk, too, thought they could make me tell them all about my father's and brother's operation. Besides the fact I didn't know anything, they didn't believe me.

I wouldn't talk with them, and I wouldn't when my family asked me what happened. I couldn't tell Uncle Zane that half of them ran out before everyone showed up for us.

So if Ryker thinks he was going to do anything that hadn't already been done to me, he was sadly mistaken.

"Ryker, she's already shutting down," Jace sounds like he's whispering. He might be, but my brain is between reality and what the cartel did to me. What Henry did to me.

"She's going to tell us what happened one way or the other, Jace. You gave me the okay, and if you can't fucking handle it, then I suggest you fucking leave!"

I don't see anything, I can barely hear them, so I'm not sure if Jace leaves or not. All I feel is Ryker standing from the table and the grip on the back of my neck. Would Ryker hurt me? I know he likes causing pain to others; he enjoys making me bleed. And while I also loved him taking that blade to me, I didn't like it from Henry and the rest of them.

"Now, pet." Ryker licks along my neck. I don't move, I'm frozen against the table. I could try and fight back but it would be useless. "Why did Dimitri hire us?"

"You think Daddy's going to come and save you?" Henry laughs. "It's been hours, and he's nowhere in sight. "

Blood coats my mouth, and I can feel the burned flesh of my tongue. Blood drips down my chin. Ringing echoes from my ears into my head, my vision nothing but darkness.

"Nah uh, come on, little one," Ryker growls. Grabbing the back of my thigh, he pulls my legs further apart, slamming something into me. I bite down on my lip, stopping myself from showing too much of a reaction. Don't show him fear, don't show him emotions.

"Fine, let's take a little nap," Ryker hisses right as his hand wraps around my throat, my vision darkening before it goes black.

My mouth is dry and the pulse in my head throbs. I reach forward to touch my head when something clinks together, my hand not moving anywhere.

My eyes snap open, my breath caught in my lungs.

I'm back. They've kidnapped me again.

Tears cling to my eyes, threatening to drop. The room is too small, it's freezing, and the smell of the tiny mattress I'm lying on has seen better days.

My heart speeds up as I lay there. I need to get my bearings. But how can I? No one knows where I'm at. Dad can't come to rescue me this time. No one is coming this time.

"Why did Dimitri hire us?" that familiar voice comes from the door. Snapping my head over, Ryker stands there, arms crossed over his chest .

I shake my head. He wouldn't understand. And I can't believe he knocked me out, let alone tied me up, to ask these questions.

"Who took you?" he asks, stepping further into the room. "Just answer the fucking questions!" Wrapping a hand around my throat, he starts choking me, pulling the life out of me. I almost beg him to finish me off, to just end it all.

I stare into his once beautiful hazel eyes that are now filled with so much hate, so much anger. It's not the Ryker that told me about his past. It's not the Ryker that fucked me like he owned me.

This is the monster, the hitman, the one who doesn't care about anyone's feelings.

"Let's see if I can add some more scars to this flawed body." Ryker chuckles. His nostrils flare, hand tightening around my neck. Our eyes stay locked together. Pleading for him to have some sort of remorse won't do me any good. Ryker's made is mind up. He wants to torture me. He knew I wouldn't talk, and he tied my hands up.

Ryker pushes me away, grabbing the chain from my wrist. Yanking hard, I'm pulled up, hanging by my tippy toes. I narrow my eyes at Ryker, hating this game he wants to play.

"I'll give you one more chance." Ryker walks over to a duffle bag that I hadn't realized was there. My breath hitches, knowing what's to come. "Who took you?"

I shake my head, dropping my chin to my chest. I brace myself, but it doesn't matter, the whip hits my stomach. My body tenses and my hands grip the metal chain. Ryker doesn't stop. He hits me across the stomach and chest over again. Not breaking a sweat. He's getting off on the pain he's inflicting on me.

"Tell me, pet, why won't you answer?"

I shake my head. Ryker is in front of me in a second, wrapping a hand around my throat. "Answer the fucking question."

I take a deep breath, realizing no matter what, Ryker's not going to give up. Jace isn't here to stop him from doing anything too damaging. Not that it doesn't surprise me. I might have been looking at my plate, but I saw the nod Jace gave him. The permission he gave Ryker .

Ryker rears back, smacking me across the face. Tears slip down my face, and I bite down on my lip to stop myself from sobbing. I broke in front of those men; I can't give Ryker the same pleasure.

Ryker reaches into his back pocket pulling a knife out. I hold my breath, eyeing the silver blade. I need to feel it slash across my skin. I want to see my blood run down my skin and feel it drain from my body. Would Jace stop Ryker before he went too far? Would I regret wanting to feel the pain? Or would I become the monster that's lurking underneath and finally accept that I get off on being controlled and in pain now?

"Will I make you scream?" he whispers. I glare up at him, doubting he would, even when he slid the knife across my collarbone. Blood spills down my chest, Ryker's shirt that I'm wearing soaking up some. "So red…so beautiful."

A shiver runs down my spine, my toes curling. Hating that wetness pools between my legs, and, unfortunately for me, I'm not wearing any panties.

Ryker bends forward, forcing me to look at him. Sliding the blade between my tits against the shirt, he slowly cuts it in half, leaving it open and hanging on my shoulders. My breath hitches, my eyes snapping between his and the knife he's moving around.

"I love the shape of your tits, they're so…" He trails off pointing the blade at my nipple, pricking it just a bit, but it still draws blood. Rolling my tongue between my teeth I swallow the bile that rises in my throat when he presses harder against my nipple. More blood flows down my tit, hitting my stomach.

"Hmm," Ryker hums. Catching my eye, he bends forward, flicking his tongue across my nipple, licking the blood. It stings, and I love it. "Tastes like wine, sweet and addicting," Ryker mumbles, sucking my left nipple into his mouth.

I pull on the chain around my wrist, a sharp tingle running down my arm. Ryker sucks harder into my nipple, biting and drinking my blood. It's wrong and dirty, and I'm positive it's not okay for anyone to drink blood. But I love it. I would cut my arm open and let Ryker lick me clean.

"Would you fuck me like this?" he asks .

I shake my head, lying out my ass. Something is wrong with me, but I'm done fighting what feels so good, even if it's wrong.

"I want to feel you squeeze my cock while I cut you open." Ryker brings the blade to my mouth. "Hold it," he orders. Opening my mouth, he places the blade between my teeth, and I bite down, holding it. Ryker reaches down, sliding a finger through my pussy lips, groaning when he realizes how wet I am.

"My girl likes this," he mutters. "Let's see if I can get you to scream?"

I don't know why he keeps trying. Nothing he plans on doing is new. It's all been done.

Ryker grabs the back of my thighs, lifting. My legs wrap around his waist, and one of Ryker's hands helps hold me up while he holds the base of his cock. Shifting on his feet, he presses the tip against my opening. My eyes widen as he presses inside me, my walls clenching around him.

"Holy shit!" he hisses, both hands cupping my ass. I bite down harder on the knife, the blade pressing into the corners of my mouth. Ryker widens his stance, and my arms strain as he picks up his speed, pounding into me as if it's his mission on Earth to ruin my pussy. His breathing becomes hoarse and I'm clenching my teeth so hard my jaw ticks from the pressure.

"Scream for me," he growls.

Pleasure vibrates through my body, my toes curling. Ryker pushes deeper, hitting that sweet spot inside. My legs tremble, my eyes drifting close.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Pain radiates through my ass at the force of him smacking my ass. I throw my head back, and my mouth opens in a silent scream, the knife scattering to the ground. My orgasm triggers his, and Ryker growls out his release. He holds me up the entire time. Our breathing slowly comes down. Ryker reaches up, unlocking the chain from my wrist. I sigh in relief when my arms fall around his neck.

"There's nothing I can do that will make you talk, is there?" he whispers, walking towards the door. I shake my head.

"You can trust us, Blake. "

Leaning back, I stare into his pale hazel eyes. I trust them physically; I know they would take a bullet for me. They would fight my battles for me, help me hide a body, and figure out a way to get me cinnamon rolls. But can I trust them emotionally? Can I tell them that I'm weak? That while I might be the mafia princess and even if I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of what they did to me?

You can't torture those who've already been tortured, I sign, hoping it's enough of an answer for him and Jace.