Chapter 6

The doorbell rang while Aaron was at work, and my heart stalled. People weren't allowed at the house when Aaron wasn't there. I pulled up the app on my phone to view the camera feed and saw Ryan standing on the doorstep. I ran to the living room and flicked off the power to the router to make it look like we lost our camera service because the Wi-Fi went down.

"Hold on!" I called out. I viewed the clip of Ryan walking up the driveway, hoping Aaron hadn't seen it yet. Among clips of all the men coming and going on the regular, I found the one from today and hit delete.

I drew my robe tighter to my body and tied the belt again. I eased open the door, the fear of the devil probably all over my face. "Get in here," I snapped.

He came inside and stared at me with wide eyes when he noticed the new marks on my face. Samuel did a round two once Ryan left, and it went as expected. He reached out his hand and touched a cut on my cheek.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

He took a step back. "I had to know you were okay. Clearly, you aren't." He spoke in such a matter-of-fact tone. And my answer was a matter of fact. I wasn't okay. I'd never be okay.

"I'm fine, but you need to leave!" I peered out the window at the empty driveway. "What were you thinking? You think someone like Aaron doesn't have cameras?"

He rubbed his chin, messing up his neatly groomed beard. "I guess I didn't think about it. As someone who works with shit like this for a job, I probably should have."

My phone rang. My heart wanted to beat out of my throat. "Hey," I answered. With my eyes, I pleaded with Ryan for complete silence.

"The cameras aren't working," Aaron's voice blared from the speakerphone.

"They aren't? Let me look." I tapped my foot on the carpet, counting the seconds. "Damn it. Yeah, there's no light on the router."

"Is it plugged in?"

"Yeah."

"I'll call the damn internet provider. Fucking idiots," he said, loud enough that I needed to pull the phone away from me.

"Hopefully it's just down for a little while." I listened to Aaron's annoyed sigh over the other end.

"I'll see you when I get home. Love you, my girl."

I cringed. "I love you too. Bye." I hung up. "See?" I said with my own frustrated exhale.

"You love him?" Ryan cocked his head.

"That's the only thing you took from that?" I rolled my eyes. "You're putting me in unbelievably deep shit and expecting me to wade through it unscathed, and all you can ask is if I love him?"

"How?"

How?I don't fucking know how. Probably stupidity and desperation. I had to play my part for Aaron. He took care of me, and I owed him at least that much.

"He treats you—"

"Horribly?"

"It's more than that. Look at you." He took a step forward and placed his warm hand on my cheek. I melted into his touch for only a moment.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "None of it matters. You have to leave. Aaron—"

Ryan grabbed the phone from my death grasp and tossed it onto the couch. "I parked down the road and walked." He put his hands on my shoulders. "Stop for a minute and listen to me." His rugged hands tightened their grip. "Aaron doesn't scare me. He has some shit on me, but that's it. Come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe."

One hundred and fifty thousand dollars is more than just some shit. I shook my head. "I can't leave, Ryan. He's more influential than you think. I put myself in the wolves' den, and now I have to sleep with them."

"I don't care if you walked into a goddamn bear's cage. You don't deserve to be mauled."

Oh, Ryan. Innocent Ryan. You aren't from this world."I can't," I said firmly.

He took another step forward, grasped the belt around my robe, and pulled it open. The fabric spread, exposing a barrage of discolored skin. I fought back tears and tried to cover myself.

"Come here." He grabbed my arm, and I dug my heels in as he dragged me into the hallway where a full-length mirror lined a closet door. He positioned me in front of it, drawing the fabric away from my body again. "Look at you!"

I couldn't. I refused to lift my eyes to see my reflection. I hadn't looked at my body in so long. I just felt the painful areas as I put on a new outfit each night. He grabbed my chin and forced me to face myself. What stared back at me made me sick. It was me, but it wasn't me. I ran a hand along the bruises on my stomach.

"Look what you let them do to you. You have to know you're better than this," he said with a hint of desperation. He covered my hand with his.

"If Aaron comes—"

"Then Aaron comes home. I'm already eager to get my hands on him. I have things I need to take care of, one of those things being getting you out. But he'll get his. I promise you that."

I flashed my sad eyes up at him. I pitied him. He had no idea what he was getting into. With a soft but firm touch, he pushed me against the wall. He leaned into me as he closed the fabric of my robe, tying the knot between us. His lips met mine. A sting of guilt, a buzz of fear, and a wave of excitement swam through me. His hand slipped behind my neck, and he kissed me deeper.

"I didn't serve my country to let some entitled prick ruin my life, and I sure as shit ain't letting him ruin yours." Ryan brushed my hair away from the slick of cold sweat on my forehead.

"He's going to make you hurt me, you know," I whispered against his lips.

He shook his head. "I'm going to do what I can to avoid it. But if I have to, while I try to figure out how to unfuck what I got myself into, I'll make it up to you."

I dropped my gaze. If I was the first woman he slept with since his wife, it would explain why he was obsessing over the one person he shouldn't. He couldn't. He would get himself killed, and for what? Me? I wasn't worth it. That I could promise him.

I knew he wanted me. He'd been hard since he kissed me. I wanted it too, but that couldn't happen. Aaron would know. I didn't know how he'd know, but he would. To protect Ryan, even more than myself, I could never allow that. He wasn't like them. He was the only man to show me kindness in years. To treat me like I wasn't a piece of meat whose only purpose was to be devoured.

He lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist. He pinned me against the wall, his hands firmly on the backs of my thighs. He was so fucking strong, and it let me be weak. Which was real fucking shitty of him. I didn't survive by being weak.

He kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned every ounce of affection he offered me. It made me feel like a person again. Like I was more than what was between my legs. He had no idea what he was doing to me. He was changing how I saw my world, which was horrible because I would still continue to chase the feelings that got me there in the first place. Changing my view wouldn't make it any less my fucking world.

He squeezed my thighs and bored into me with his dark eyes. "I'm getting you away from him, Scarlett. I'll play his game for now, but the moment I can, I'm taking you away, whether you want to come or not." He gave me a reassuring smile that let me know he meant every syllable coming from his mouth.

When he left and I plugged the router back in—arming my prison—I had dreams beyond those walls, and that was a really painful thing.