Page 58 of Mercilessly Bred


Font Size:  

I was filled with a blazing determination as I sank into my desk chair.

“Call off the search,” I said, a hollow pain in my chest as I admitted to myself that she wasn’t here. I’d lost her, probably to the bastards that had already hurt her for years. “And let me know as soon as Maxwell arrives.”

As soon as Barclay left, I clenched my fists tightly around the chair’s armrests and my hands trembled uncontrollably. The mere thought of Belle and the infants’ safety made it hard for me to catch my breath. I was so preoccupied with my fears that I scarcely noticed when Barclay returned to the office.

“You have to calm down,” he said, placing a drink in my hand.

I took it and tossed it back, not bothering to sip the liquor like I usually would. It burned going down, which matched the rage burning in my soul.

I wanted to move, to do something, but I forced myself to wait. I needed Maxwell’s help. If I was rash and fucked this up, I could lose her for good.

That was unacceptable.

I stared at nothing for a while as dark thoughts clouded my mind. Barclay refilled my drink once, and I put the glass on the desk after that. I didn’t want to be drunk when Belle needed me.

“He’s here.”

Barclay’s voice pierced the fog of my mind, and I snapped back into focus. Maxwell’s heavy footsteps were coming down the hall. It was time to take action. He walked into the office, all business, and I quickly filled him in on what happened. He listened with a stoic expression, then gripped my shoulder.

“We’ll find her. Did you put the tracker in her arm?”

How could I have forgotten that? My anxiety had affected my thoughts, but I promised myself to stay focused and not let my past failure cripple me and keep me from saving the woman I loved again.

I handed over my phone. If anyone could find Belle, it would be him. It was a part of the reason I hired him. He wasn’t just good at business; he had skills that were hard to come by. Valuable skills.

I needed those skills now more than ever.

My eyes landed on the blood on my floor as Maxwell studied my phone. He followed my gaze.

“Don’t worry about that. With such a small amount of blood, the cut is minor.”

“She’s pregnant,” I reminded him, as if he didn’t already know.

“And she’s a fighter if what you told me about her past is true.”

“It is,” I snapped, not liking the implication that she might have lied. Maxwell nodded.

“I believe that. But it means that she’s a survivor. Hell, that blood might not even be hers. She strikes me as the type that would fight back.”

She was. Belle could be sweet and meek, but I’d seen her fighting spirit. I just hoped that she didn’t get herself hurt. I hoped she knew I was coming for her.

But the question remained. How the hell did these bastards get inside the castle? How did they even find her?

Chapter30

Belle

Istirred from sleep in the darkness, my head pounding with pain. I groaned and my heart raced as I sat up and surveyed my unfamiliar surroundings. I looked up toward the small window high above me, and the faint light barely illuminated the room. Once my eyes adjusted to the city streetlights from the window above, I realized I was lying on a dingy old mattress. At least I wasn’t lying on the cold, dirty concrete floor.

But I couldn’t figure out where I was. Where was Sebastian? How did I end up here alone?

Then, I looked down at my dirty and torn dress and it all came flooding back to me. The men in Sebastian’s office. They took me. I looked around more and realized I was in another steel cage.

Oh God, it had to have been my previous captors, or men that worked for them.

I assessed myself as the pounding in my head slowly subsided. Despite the ache in my parched throat, I had no injuries. But I wasn’t the only person I had to worry about. My hands trembled as I placed them on my belly, worried about the fate of my babies.

I’d read about the potential harm that stress could cause to unborn babies, and I became anxious when I let my mind escape back to the man who forced me to inhale a dangerous chemical to knock me out. My thoughts raced, and my lips quivered as I contained the sob threatening to push past my lips.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like