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“Ah, I can see the recognition flaring in your eyes. That’s right. I moved your bed so I could fix the vent, but turns out I found a little surprise. Who knew you were such a poetic writer? Oh, and that little letter you wrote to Sasha? How beautiful.”
This time he lands an uppercut to my jaw, making my head snap back. I can already feel the bruise forming as my face swells.
“Harvey, stop. Please.” If I don’t beg and give him what he wants, he’ll kill me right now.
“You know what happens to those who defy me, little mouse?”
I just stare and shake my head.
“You ever wonder what happens to those girls who don’t come back? Ever wonder where they go? When someone tries to betray me, they go poof.” He holds up his hands and gestures to indicate the poof.
“You see, I’ve thought about this all day. If you weren’t my biggest moneymaker, I’d dispose of you just like those girls. But lucky for you, that won’t happen.” He gives a wicked grin, letting me know he’s far from done with me.
“However, unluckily for you, I’ve still got to make a lesson out of that pretty face. So hang on. The more you fight, the harder I’ll hit. Maybe if you beg me hard enough, I’ll go a little easier on you?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me. I bet he’s getting turned on by this situation right now. This man has a big ego and a sick mind.
Instead of begging like he wants me to, I stand straight, egging him on to do his worst. Even if I begged him, I’m sure he’d still hurt me as badly as he wants to, without taking it easy on me.
“Nothing to say? Suit yourself.” He begins to go to war on my body, punching me anywhere and everywhere he can reach. Blow after blow. I can feel popping and cracking with some hits, and the intense pain makes it harder to breathe. Maybe if I pass out from the pain, he’ll stop?
Unfortunately, my body refuses to shut down so I’m forced to live through his aggression. When he’s finally satisfied and we’re both covered in blood, he stops. His men drop my arms, causing me to fall to the hard ground, landing on my hands and knees. I’m too exhausted to hold myself up so I lay on my side and bring my knees to my chest as best as I can. Instead of picking me back up, the men walk away from me and head inside.
“Looks like you’ll be getting that fresh air after all.” Harvey leaves me curled up in a ball on the cold concrete, unable to move. Sweat and blood cover my body, and I’m shaking from the pain.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to escape this hell.
I really thought I was going to be free that night; I was going to get out and find my sister. Harvey decided to spare my life, but at the time, I wished he would’ve just killed me. Not only did he punish me that night, but he punished me for months afterwards. Ruthless punishments. He’d put me with the most brutal and abusive clients, almost every night.
With my mood turning sour at the thoughts of Harvey, I ask Alexa to play the saddest playlist I could find, and blare it.
My stomach finally starts to grumble, pulling me from my thoughts. I look over at the clock on my desk, and realize I’ve been sitting here in a haze for the entire day. It’s almost five in the afternoon and I haven’t had anything to eat or drink, or even moved at all since flopping on my bed.
Rolling off the edge as dramatically as possible, I get to my feet and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I can hear Lya and the guys talking, and I’m tempted to turn around just to avoid them all, but then something catches my attention. I lean against the wall, trying to remain as quiet as possible.
“We can’t just leave without her,” I hear Thiago say at the same time Zep says, “Do you even think we can leave her here alone?”
“No, we shouldn’t leave her alone. Though it’s not like she’s been talking to us much for the last four days. She’s been in her room all day today,” Lya replies, a hint of sadness in her voice.
Where are they going? Hell, they can leave me here alone. I don’t mind—it will give me a chance to try to go find out where Greyson is.
“Don’t you think she’ll go looking for him?” Rian’s voice is the softest, but I can hear the disdain beneath his tone. Even though I’m not in the room, I can feel the tension growing thick.
“I don’t know. I hope she wouldn’t, but I don’t know if I’m willing to take the chance.” Lya sounds hesitant.
“We could always ask Tara to come over?” Rian’s voice lingers in the air.
Deciding this is my time to step in, I round the corner, making my presence known. They all freeze, staring over at me with their body language stiff.
“Don’t stop on my behalf. Where are you guys going?” I keep my voice casual, like I’m not curious as hell about what they’re doing.
“Uhh... We got a hit on our advertisement which we think might be Sutton. We set up a meeting at one of the old warehouses. The meeting time is two hours from now, but we still need to prep, so we’ve got to go.” Lya’s rolling her shoulders back, acting like she’s getting ready to go to war.
They truly might be. With Harvey, you never really know what that man has up his sleeve.
The thought of destroying Harvey makes my stomach flutter with happiness, but I need to stay here so I’m not a liability. I don’t know how I’d react to seeing Harvey after six months away. If I panic in the moment and mess it up, it could get us all killed. Lya and her guys are trained and know what to do, so it’s better I stay out of the way, where they don’t need to be worried about me.
Also, I need time away from them to figure out how I’m going to find Greyson. He has to be somewhere close enough for them to get to and from easily without me noticing they’re gone for long, but where that would be? No idea.
“Well, please be careful. Harvey’s a snake who’ll do anything as long as it benefits him in the long run. Just don’t underestimate him. I’ll see you later, just make sure you’re safe,” I say with confidence. Internally I’m scared for them, but they know what they’re doing and understand the risks.
