CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE

NATE

ITOSS HER into the driver’s side of the truck that I borrowed from a friend. I didn’t want her to see me coming.

She falls across the center console, and I shove her over as I hop inside and slam my door. “I—” She coughs, her bleach-blond hair sticking to her now bloody face. “Need a hospital.”

I ram my elbow into her face, slamming her head back and knocking her out. Her body slides down the seat a little, and I don’t even bother putting a seat belt on her. I’m going to do worse things to her than a car wreck could.

Throwing the truck in drive, I step on the gas and pull back onto the road.

I never meant to hurt her. Not like this. But this isn’t about her. It’s about Colt and his friends. They humiliated me by forcing me to watch her beg him for sex. To get off.

I was disgusted with myself that it made me hard.

She told me what she liked, and I was repulsed by it. Told her it wasn’t for me. Then when I watched Colt show me exactly what she had been explaining to me, I fucking enjoyed it.

Pulling into Mike and Mitch’s parents’ house, I drive around the back to the in-law suite. I was told last night that Mike is in jail. I can’t take her to my house because my roommate will find out what I’m doing. He’s at work, but his girlfriend has practically moved in with us. She’s always fucking there. Plus, I’d much rather take her to the place where they humiliated me. A dose of her own medicine sort of thing.

Bringing the truck to a stop, I get out and walk over to the passenger’s door and yank her out of it. I throw her over my shoulder and walk her inside.

Laying her on the couch, I make my way over to the kitchen table and grab a few things that I’m going to need.

Colt might have humiliated me, but he has no clue that I’ve got his slut right now. And he won’t know until I want him to. By then, it’ll be too late. I’ve always considered myself a nice guy, but if she wants to be a whore, then I’ll treat her like one.

I roll her onto her stomach and pull her arms behind her back, taking the roll of duct tape and wrapping it around her wrists several times before ripping it off. Then I shove her onto her back again. A moan escapes her busted lips, but her eyes remain closed.

I tear off her T-shirt and am not surprised to find her braless. Looking over her chest, I see a bruise already from where the seat belt stopped her from hitting the steering wheel. That’s going to hurt. Smiling, I shred the material and throw all but one piece to the floor.

I tie a knot in it and then shove it into her mouth, bringing it around the back of her head and tying it off to gag her. I don’t need to hear her beg. I heard enough of that shit last night.

It was pathetic. The way she willingly did whatever he told her to like she was a trained pet.

I didn’t train her to be the good little slut she is for someone else to use. That is what Colt had told me. Five fucking years they’ve been hooking up. How did I not see it? How did no one know this? Well, obviously his friends did. Maybe that’s why he allowed them to fuck her too. To keep their secret.

I wonder how he’ll feel when he realizes I used her too. Satisfied with what I’ve done so far, I fall down onto the chair they tied me in last night and prop my feet up on the coffee table, waiting.

I want to make sure she’s awake for what I’m going to do to her. Just because I don’t want to hear her beg doesn’t mean I don’t want to see her cry.

The front door opens and in walks Mike. He comes to an abrupt stop when he sees me. “What the fuck are you doing here, Nate?”

RAYLEE

MY HEAVY EYESflutter open and immediately close. I feel like I’m spinning. The world tilting. I can taste blood, and my tongue is swollen. My head pounds worse than when I woke up in Colt’s bed this morning.

What happened?

Why does everything hurt? My body feels … sluggish.

I open my eyes again to see a white ceiling. It looks familiar. Where am I?

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in jail.” I hear a voice far off.

“I got released a few hours ago.”

“I need to borrow your place for a day or two.”

“Okay,” the man says slowly. “You can stay as long as you need to.”

“Thanks, man.”

I look around, my eyes starting to focus better. My body is regaining feeling, and I realize that my arms are underneath me. And it feels like some kind of tape is wrapped around my wrists. My breathing picks up, causing my chest to hurt, and that’s when I feel something in my mouth.

I immediately close my eyes, pretending to be asleep while taking inventory of my body. To what all I can use. What I can feel.

“What the fuck?” I hear the second man bark, and I realize it’s Mike’s voice. “What in the fuck are you doing, Nate?”

Fuck?Why am I with Nate?

Mike goes on. “What is Raylee doing in my fucking house?”

“Calm down.” He chuckles. I lie still, trying to come up with a plan, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. The more I know, the better my odds are of getting the fuck out of here. “No one knows she’s here.”

My stomach knots at that. I had run out of Colt’s house. Then I hit the truck. It was a setup. Nate must have been watching me. My cell was dead in my car. I have no means to reach the outside world.

“What the fuck, man?” Mike hisses. “She has to go. She can’t be here.”

“No one will think to look for her here.”

“I know she’s here,” Mike argues.

“They humiliated me, Mike.” Nate growls. “Colt, Alex, Finn, and Jenks. They fucking tied me up, then held me down and jerked off all over me last night.”

“Some people pay good money for that kind of shit.”

“Mike!” he snaps. “This is not a joke.”

“What are you going to do, fuck her?” Mike snorts.

“You did. You took her virginity.”

“I had no clue she was a virgin. Once I realized that she was, I was out. Colt beat my ass the next time he saw me at practice for that shit. Coach had to bribe the principal from suspending us both.”

“So you’re saying you’re afraid of him?” Nate scoffs.

“No, I’m saying she’s not worth it. She’s his fucking whore, Nate. She always has been and always will be. He’s ruined every relationship she’s ever had. Or will have in the future. Let her go.”

A hand grabs hold of my hair and yanks me off the couch to my knees. I bite into the gag to keep from making a sound. Nate yanks my head back and forces me to look up at them while he kneels behind me. I look around aimlessly, pretending to be in and out of consciousness.

“This is your chance, Mike.” He reaches around and touches my breasts, and that’s when I realize I’m topless.

I feel vomit rise, and I try to shake him off, but he wraps an arm around my throat from behind and takes away my air.

“You can have a piece. And when we’re done with her, we’ll cut her up and dump her body in the woods. Animals will eat her. She’ll never be found because nothing will be left of her.”

Tears blur my vision, and my chest heaves, trying to suck in a breath while he holds me in place. He’s got it all planned out.

“Look.” Mike glances down at his watch, unbothered that I’ve been kidnapped and gagged. “I have to be somewhere in fifteen minutes. If I don’t show up, they’ll come here. And since you’re using my place as a stash house, we don’t want that. I’ve got to go. Stay here with her, and I’ll be back in an hour.”

Nate lets go of me and shoves me forward, my body hitting the floor. I open my mouth as wide as it’ll go to try to suck in a breath around the gag while I hack up my lungs, making my already sore chest hurt even more.

“Take your time.” Nate waves him off.

“Don’t touch her until I get back,” Mike warns.

“So you want a piece?”

“They work for the Lords,” he barks out as if that’s supposed to mean something.

“The Lords are a myth. Some made-up shit,” Nate argues.

“Whether you believe in them or not, Colt, Jenks, Alex, and Finn kill people. That’s a fact,” Mike growls.

“And you’re afraid they’ll come after you.”

“No, Jesus Christ, Nate. I don’t want you doing anything that can’t be covered up. I don’t need cops at my house because they found a dead body. And a blood trail that leads them back here. So sit your ass down, have a drink, and keep your hands to yourself. When I return, we’ll figure out a plan. Together.” Mike turns and runs out the door, slamming it behind him.

“Guess it’s just you and me.” A boot kicks my shoulder, shoving me onto my back, and I close my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. Maybe if he thinks I passed out, he’ll leave me alone.

I feel his boot against my neck. He presses down on it, taking away my air again, and I can’t fake it. Panic sinks in as the pressure gets heavier and heavier, crushing me. My eyes spring open, and I look up at him glaring down at me while I kick my legs, trying to fight for a breath.

“Well, Ray.” He gives me a chilling smile. “You’re not as good of a faker as you thought.”

When he removes his boot, I roll onto my side and suck in a shaky breath while I cough, making my throat burn. The gag makes it even more difficult to breathe.

He grips my hair and yanks me up, dragging me up onto the couch. Then he’s untying the gag from around my mouth and tosses it onto the coffee table.

“God, I never thought you were a coward,” I say roughly as he walks around to go sit in a chair across from me.

He throws his head back laughing, making his Adam’s apple bob. “I always knew you were a whore, Ray. Why do you think I dated you in the first place?”

“Fuck you!” I shout, my hands trying to fight the tape around my wrists. I need something to cut it with. If I could break some glass…

“Ah, Ray.” He removes his phone from his pocket and punches in a password, then stands it up against a bowl on the table, facing me, and I see it’s recording. “Since you like to record yourself.” He stands from the chair and walks over to me.

I lift my feet, since I still have my tennis shoes on, and try to kick him away, but he shoves them down and slaps me across the face. So hard it knocks me off my sore ass and down to my side. I cry out into the couch cushion, tears stinging my eyes at the force. I like being slapped during sex, but Colt has never hit me that hard.

“Shh.” He sits me back up. “It’s okay.” He pushes my hair from my tear-streaked and snot-covered face. I duck my head, but he grips my hair and yanks my head back before slapping me again.

I spit on him.

He wipes it from his face and smiles at me. Yanking me from the couch, he shoves me to my knees and holds me hostage in front of his phone by my hair. “Tell him,” he growls in my ear. “Tell Colt that you’re my dirty fucking slut now.”

“No—”

He slams my face into the coffee table, and I see fucking stars. Pain explodes behind my eyes, and my vision goes black for a moment. Blood runs out of the corner of my already busted lips.

Pulling my limp head back, he reaches forward and fixes the phone that got knocked over in the process. “Tell him,” he snaps. “Tell him how much you’re going to enjoy me tying you down and letting my friends fuck you.” He grips my busted face with his free hand. “Hmm? They’re going to use you like the whore you are, baby.”

Showing my bloody teeth, I look at him in the phone, “Fuck you, you piece of—”

“Fucking hardheaded bitch!” He slams me into the table again, but he lets me go and I fall to my side on the floor this time.

Coughing, I spit blood out and close my heavy eyes. My right one is swelling. I can feel my heartbeat in my cheek, pounding away.

He steps over me and goes into the kitchen area. I see the phone has fallen off the table as well but it’s still recording, laying on its side in front of me.

I look like I’ve been stung by a bee. My upper lip is so swollen. I’ve got multiple cuts on my bloody face. I’m not sure if they’re from the car wreck or him.

Tears sting my eyes, and I have to look away from the phone, so I don’t get upset. Now is not the time. I can cry about it later when I’m alive and free from this psycho.

Looking around, I see him standing in the kitchen. His hands are on the table. There are a lot of power tools, along with tape and ropes, covering the surface. I’m sure I can use something on there to fight him off with. I just need my hands free.

Rolling more onto my chest, I move my wrists, twisting them back and forth, trying to loosen the tape. There’s more give than there was when I woke up, and it gives me hope.

My adrenaline is pumping, making my breathing pick up. It’s up to me. No one is coming to save me. I refuse to let Nate kill me and feed me to the animals. Who knows how long he’ll drag this on? He’s already proven that he’s going to torture me for the hell of it. Have his fun like I’m a toy.

And Colt? He’s not going to be out looking for me. He thinks I’m mad at him. Hate him. He won’t send out a search party when I don’t come home tonight.

“They humiliated me,” Nate says to himself. “Fuck them!” Then lets out a scream, leaning over and shoving everything off the table and onto the floor. “Son of a bitch!”

I sit up, pressing my back into the front of the couch to hide my arms from his view. Not wanting him to see what I’m doing. I’ve only got an hour before Mike returns. He wasn’t on Nate’s side, but he also wasn’t on mine. There’s no way I can get free from both of them.

“They jerked off all over me. Those sick bastards covered me in their cum.” He keeps mumbling to himself. “Fucking humiliated me because of you.” His eyes lock on mine, and I freeze, praying he can’t tell that I have a plan. Pushing away from the table, he walks over to me but pauses, his eyes on the floor. My throat tightens when I see what he’s looking at. I try to take in a calming breath.

No. Please, God. No.

Bending down, he picks up the roll of duct tape and continues to walk the short distance over to me. “They fucking gagged me. I’ll do the same to you.”

I lift my chin, refusing to give him the satisfaction of my fear. “You also got turned on. What’s that say about you?” I don’t remember what happened, but Colt had told me that this morning. And by the way his face morphs into rage, I hit a nerve. Good. I want him irrational. I can control the situation better.

He grips the back of my neck and shoves my face into the floor while he straddles my back, cramming my restrained arms between me and his body. I grit my teeth at the pain. Gripping my hair, he picks it up off the floor and starts wrapping the tape around my entire face. I fight him with all I have, but I’m just too weak. Some gets in my mouth, and I taste my hair. He wraps it over and over until I’m afraid he’s going to place it over my nose too, suffocating me. But he stops and stands up off me.

My head falls to the floor, and I suck in a breath through my nose, reminding myself to stay calm. The last thing I want to do is have a panic attack. I’ve never had one before, but I know if I do, it won’t be good. My air is already restricted.

He grabs my ankles and pulls me across the floor back toward the kitchen, and then he’s ripping my shorts and underwear off. I cry into the tape, unable to stop myself because I know what’s coming.

Rolling onto my back, I kick my feet out and buck my hips, trying to harm him in any way. But he drops to his knees, straddling me, and wraps both hands around my neck, cutting off my air. Tears run down the corners of my eyes, and I fight harder. Refusing to give up and let him win.

“Beg him now!” he screams in my face, spit flying from his mouth. “Huh, you fucking whore. Beg Colt to fuck you now.”

I arch my neck, trying to get my face away from his, but he starts shaking me, and dots cover my vision, and that pounding in my face intensifies. My body starts to convulse while my chest heaves, and my attempt to fight back grows weaker. My eyes grow heavy, rolling back.

He lets go, and the blood rushes to my head. I’m wheezing, face pounding, and throat burning. I blink the tears out of my eyes, trying to get my bearings back. My body is too heavy to move, which gives him enough time to unzip his pants. He readjusts himself between my legs, spreading them wide, and he spits on my pussy.

I arch my back as a sob wracks my body at how weak he’s made me. I don’t have any strength left right now.

“Fucking bitch,” he mumbles to himself. “I’ll show you all who is in charge here.” When he pushes his cock into me, my body stiffens, and he slaps my face.

The force has me looking underneath the coffee table, and that damn phone is still propped up, still filming. I just stare at it as my body rocks back and forth on the floor.

“Whose slut are you now, Raylee?” he asks. “Mine.”

I let my eyes fall closed. Maybe if he thinks I’m dead, he’ll stop. But I’m not giving up yet. No. I just need a few more seconds to recover. To have a little more strength.

“Look at me when I’m fucking you.” He grips my cheeks and rips the side of my face up from the floor. “Look at me. I want to see you cry for me, baby.” I feel him spit on my face, making me flinch.

Swallowing the bile that rises so I don’t choke on it, I look up at him and spread my legs wider for him.

He pauses, his cock pushed inside me. Tilting his head, he gives my neck a little squeeze. “See, I knew you’d like it, you fucking whore.” Leaning down, he runs his tongue across the tape that keeps me from telling him to go to hell. When he pulls away, he removes his hand from my face. And I realize this is my chance. “I’m going to fuck this cunt.” He kisses my taped lips. “Then I’m going to fuck that ass—”

I lean up, ramming my face into his, causing my already busted face to bleed more.

“Fuck.” He sits up, his hands flying to his face. “Bitch.” He pulls his hands away to see they’re now bloody.

I rise to a sitting position and do it again. My forehead hitting right on the bridge of his nose this time.

His cock slips out of me when he falls backward onto his ass.

My heart is racing, but this is it. My only chance. If I don’t make it, he’ll for sure kill me. But I refuse to go without a fight. I slam my foot into his neck, knocking him to the floor, and he starts coughing.

I stand on shaky legs and bend over. I slide my arms down over my ass and the back of my legs. Sitting on the edge of the couch, bent over, I slide them out from under my feet. They’re still tied, but at least they’re in front of me now. Jumping up from the couch, I run toward the kitchen. The bastard didn’t tie my legs together. It’s hard to rape a woman with her legs closed.

He reaches out and grabs my ankle, tripping me. A scream erupts from my taped lips as I land on my face.

“Fucking bitch!” he growls, yanking me back to him. My naked body slides across the cold tiled floor. “I’m going to keep you alive while I feed you to the fucking animals.”

I reach out in front of me, trying to grab one of the power tools he knocked off the table, but they’re too far away. I cry into the tape when his fingers dig into my skin. I can feel his nails clawing at my legs.

Turning over, I kick at him and manage to land a few to his face, and he lets go.

I crawl across the floor the best I can and reach what I need just as he flips me over. I lift the heavy orange nail gun and pull the trigger, but nothing happens.

He laughs at me. A deep rich laugh that makes his body shake, and my stomach sinks. “Really, Ray?” Falling to his knees, he straddles my hips, slapping my tied arms above my head. I hear the nail gun clank to the floor as his hands wrap around my throat once again. “You think that’s going to save you?”

Panic grips my chest, and I do the only think I can think to do. Feeling around, I touch the nail gun and grab a hold of it and bring it up with all I have, slamming it into his already bloody face. Hard enough to knock him off me. I blink rapidly to clear my watery eyes and look at it in my hands once again. A green light blinks on the side. It has to work. I need …

“Fucking bitch!” He goes to yank it from my hands, but I press the trigger again, and he jumps back, screaming when it makes contact with his arm. “What the fuck?” Pulling his hand away, it’s bloody.

Hope soars that I did it, and I take the opportunity to get to my feet. What did I do different? His wide eyes meet mine, and he charges me. I shove it into his chest and push it again. He stumbles back. His head drops while his hands feel around his chest. Fresh blood slowly starts to seep into his white T-shirt. “Bitch—”

I shove it into the side of his face and press again. He falls to his knees, screaming. If I could smile, I would. Standing behind him, I kick his back, shoving him facedown, and I bend over, pushing it into the back of his head and press the trigger five more times.

There’s a loud sound coming from the gun, resembling a fan. I can barely hear it over the blood rushing in my ears. Taking a second, I stumble back and fall to my shaky knees, tears running down my face along with snot and sweat. He lies there motionless, and I hold my fingers over the trigger, ready to shoot him again if I need to.

I just need a second to regroup. To catch my breath. I’m suffocating with this duct tape on my face.

The front door opens, and I push myself up against the side of the couch as Mike enters.

“Holy shit.” His wide eyes look over his house before they land on me.

I can’t speak.The tape is too thick around my mouth for me to remove, and I’m not letting go of my only weapon. I’m still not even sure how to use it.

“You’re okay,” he says gently, his eyes falling to what I pray is a dead body that lays next to me. Swallowing, he blinks a few times. “I’ll help you.” I allow him to walk over to me. He reaches down to grab my arm, and I shove the end of the nail gun into his and press the trigger.

“Fuucckkkk.” He retreats toward the kitchen. “Motherfucker,” he mumbles, watching a thin line of blood run down his arm.

I pull my legs up to my chest, trying to cover my naked body from him while sniffling.

“I’ll call Colt.” He pulls his cell from his pocket. “Is that okay?” he asks me through gritted teeth.

I don’t nod or shake my head because I can’t. All that matters is that I keep the one weapon I have to survive. He’s going to have to pry it from my restrained hands. And if I have to pull the trigger again, I won’t stop until it’s empty.