Page 123 of Shattered In Darkness

I strain against my bonds and spit blood. “You touch her again, I’ll bite your fucking throat out.”

He laughs. “Always the animal, Brody. Always talking about what you’ll do. Look at you now. All bark, no bite.” He leans down, mouth at my ear. “You’re going to watch, and you’re going to beg, and you’re going to break. That’s your purpose now.”

He straightens and nods to Cal who walks behind me. Thick fingers crush my jaw, wrench my head to face forward. I can’t move, can’t look away.

Marcus crouches beside Lola, strokes the broken edge of her jaw with mock tenderness. “You’ve been a difficult girl, sweetheart. Running. Lying. Fucking. All for what? This?” He jabs at me with his boot. “You think this piece of shit was ever going to save you?”

She shakes her head, wordless, tears catching in the grime on her face.

He glances at Cal. “Make sure he sees everything.”

A slap comes. It’s a white-hot crack across my skull. My vision swims, but I blink the blood away. I won’t look away. I owe her that.

Marcus turns to Lola. “Come here, darling.”

She shakes her head, wild with terror. “Don’t—please—Marcus, please don’t⁠—”

He grabs her by the hair and drags her to the center of the room. She sobs, fighting, but he’s immovable. He yanks her to her knees, fingers twisted in her scalp. He looks at me. “You want her, Brody? You think she’s yours? Let’s see who she really belongs to.”

He yanks her top down, baring her shoulder, then her chest. She whimpers, arms crossed, trying to shield herself, but he slaps her hands away. “No hiding.” He wrenches her arms behind her back, binding them with a zip tie. Her nakedness blazes in the pale light.

I scream behind the tape. Fury, shame, desperation. The men laugh.

Marcus circles her. “Look at you. You thought you could run. That you could hide from me. That you had choices. Let’s remind Brody what you are, hmm?”

He shoves her face to the floor, forces her onto all fours. She sobs, cheeks streaked with spit and tears. “Please, please, please—don’t⁠—”

He crouches behind her, palms her ass and spreads her open with casual cruelty. “You see this, Brody?” He looks right at me. “This is what property looks like. This is what happens when someone forgets who owns her.”

He slaps her again, hard, enough to make her cry out. “Tell him who you belong to.”

She shakes, chokes on her own breath. “No—please—don’t make me⁠—”

He squeezes her jaw, yanks her head up to face me. “Say it.”

She looks at me, eyes pleading, begging for mercy I can’t give. “Brody⁠—”

He backhands her. Blood beads on her lip. “Say it.”

She sobs, voice strangled. “I—I belong to Marcus.”

He grins. “Louder.”

She screams it, broken, humiliated. “I belong to Marcus. Please—please stop⁠—”

He laughs, stands, unzips his trousers.

My vision whiteouts. I thrash, scream, strain against the ropes until my bones crack. “Don’t touch her! Don’t fucking touch her! I’ll kill you⁠—”

The tape muffles everything. Marcus ignores me. He looms over her, cock out, stroking himself, making a show of it. “You see, Brody, what you tried to steal? You thought you could take something that wasn’t yours. Now you’ll watch as she remembers her place.” He rubs himself against her cheek, smearing her with pre-cum. “Open your mouth.”

She refuses, lips clenched, eyes wild. He pries her jaw open, forces himself between her lips. “Bite me and I’ll break every bone in your body.”

She gags, tries to choke it down, tears streaking her cheeks. The men watch, hungry, laughing. I scream so hard my throat tears.

He fucks her mouth brutally, using her face as a hole. “This is what you’re good for, Lola. This is what you were made for. Tell Brody how much you love it.” She sobs, choked, unable to speak. He pulls out, slaps her again. “Say it.”

Blood drips from her mouth. “I love it,” she whispers, voice dead.