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I roar my rage, pick up a coffee mug that’s sitting on the end table beside me, and throw it against the wall.
That fucker not only has Anna, but Bailey now as well. I knew I shouldn’t have left her. My gut told me to stay with her, but I ignored it. Bailey knew I needed to go out and look for Anna myself. Now, as much as it hurts me, I know she was wrong. Our attempt to find Anna was fruitless and because of my need to be a part of the search, Bailey is out there suffering. He somehow got to her. Or got her to go to him.
I look around to the sea of faces watching me; most of them have sympathy stamped across them but some show hatred. The emotions aren’t directed at me, but for me. But most especially for Anna and Bailey.
My chest hurts and I rub my knuckles across it hard. I take in a deep breath, but no matter how much I breathe in it doesn’t seem like enough. I clench my hands into my hair and scream at the top of my lungs. Fuck! This can’t be happening! I can’t lose her! Breathe, Jaxon, breathe! You have to think!
Nick walks up to me and places his hand on my shoulder. I don’t shrug his off. I know the pain he’s going through right now, as I’m going through the same. We both turn to Mac when he starts speaking.
“Is there any place we haven’t looked? There’s got to be something we haven’t thought of,” he asks the group.
There are a few murmurs, but no one speaks up. Jaded Hollow is a very small community with not too many places around….
“Old Man Pepper’s cabin. Did we look there?” I almost shout.
“Jax, that place is barely standing. I don’t think—”
“Has anyone looked there?” I snarl at him.
He barely has the word “no” out of his mouth before I look at Nick and say, “Let’s go.”
We both practically run out the door to the truck. Without looking behind us to see if anyone is following, I start my truck and shoot off dust behind me as I peel out of the driveway. I aim my truck toward Route 14, hoping and praying that the women are there and that we’re not too late.
22
WHEN I STUMBLE through the doorway, I’m thrown to the floor. I look up to see Steven leering down at me.
“You’ve been a very bad girl, my pet. You should have never left. You know what happens when you break the rules, don’t you?”
When I don’t immediately reply, he steps on the back of my hand with his shoe, grinds down hard, and shouts, “Answer me, bitch!”
The pain in my hand is excruciating, and I feel the skin ripping apart. It feels as though the bones are being fractured and crushed. I cry out and try to pull my hand back. Steven just laughs at my attempts and applies more pressure.
Knowing that he won’t let up until I answer him, I tell him through the pain, “You punish me.”
He removes his foot and crouches down beside me. He runs his finger along my scar, which almost causes me to gag. His touch repulses and sickens me. Just the thought of it makes me want to vomit. “You don’t look as pretty with this, but I’ve still missed you. I missed our games we used to play.”
“Where’s Anna? You promised you’d let her go,” I whisper to him.
Steven shifts to the side, and I get my first glimpse of Anna. I was so caught up in my own pain and misery that I didn’t realize she was in the same room as us. My hand flies to my mouth, and I stifle a sob. A cramp forms in my stomach at the sight of her.
She’s lying face first bent over a table with her arms out to the side with ropes wrapped around her wrists. The ropes are attached to the legs of the table. Her wrists where the ropes are tied are torn and bloody. She’s naked and there’s a multitude of cuts, burns, and bruises all over her body. She’s covered in blood and what looks like semen. Steven used his special flogger on her, but the extent of the damage is so much worse than he ever did to me.
Standing behind her is the creepy guy from the bar. He’s naked and slowly stroking his dick. His eyes are aimed my way, watching me as he grips both of his hands in her hair and uses it as leverage to slam himself inside her. Her head is yanked back and she lets out a small cry as if she’s so weak she can’t scream any louder.
I swing my gaze back to Steven to see him looking at me. My blood boils with rage, and I have an uncontrollable urge to slaughter the man in front of me. In a move I would never have been capable of before, I rear back my fist and slam it into his face.
“You bastard!” I scream. The force of my punch causes Steven to fall back on his butt. He recovers quickly and scrambles back over to me. His backhand hit causes me to land on my back, knocking the breath out of me. He straddles my chest, holding my arms down with his knees, and puts his hands around my throat, squeezing hard. I try desperately to suck in air, but his grip has cut it off. My body bucks and tries to twist him off me, but nothing works. He has me pinned and there’s nothing I can do.
“Do not fucking do that again,” he snarls down at me.
He releases my throat, and I suck in gulps of air. Steven grabs a fistful of hair, forcing me to stand, and drags me over to where creepy guy is still brutally raping Anna. I hear his grunts and bile rises in my throat.
She’s lying limply. If it weren’t for the whimpers every few seconds I would think she was passed out, or worse, dead. The thought causes a loud sob to escape me.
Steven forces my head closer to Anna’s, bending me over at the waist. My tears drip down on her outstretched arms. My heart breaks from what I see and the cramps get tighter. The many cuts and burns will never heal all the way, leaving scars behind, reminding her of what she went through. Even though I’m not the one tied to the table, I still feel her pain. I feel every cut her body has. I feel every burn from his cigar. I feel every hit he and his friend have landed on her delicate body. I feel every swipe of the whip and bite of the needles. Every slap, hit, and kick, I feel as though they were inflicted on me.
“You did this, my pet. It’s because of you that she is being treated this way. You left me no choice but to do this,” he says as he pushes my face even closer to hers.
