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Chapter Eighteen
Days flowed into weeks. None of it made sense, all of it bringing a fresh hell.
Beau continued his cruelties, keeping Devin on a razor’s edge between raging need and miserable desolation. One syringe pumped her full of hormones, pushing her into a false heat as often as he deemed appropriate to suit him. Another seared events into her brain, refusing to allow her to forget any of it as adrenaline and clarity kept her twitchy, swallowing a live wire of awareness.
Between the never-ending moments of horror at Beau’s hands, there was Rey. Aloof, remote as any glacier floating through an icy sea. There were no more quiet moments, no more soft touches. She couldn’t explain the shattering of her heart, the desolate emptiness she felt when he wouldn’t even look at her. She hadn’t wanted any of this, yet the loss of even his dark gaze, furious with her, left her bereft. Devin had been banished to the corner of Rey’s office when Beau wanted to torture her within the club confines, delighting in making her dance and strip for him in the party rooms. He invited others to watch, to touch, and while Beau had not yet to let any of them mount her, she knew it was just a matter of time.
In the meantime, he’d improved upon his sadistic games in other ways. Chaining Devin to the bed, dragging a Beta female in to take his cock and forcing the other woman to touch Devin while she lost her mind was one of his favorites. The latest was forcing Devin to service the female after he’d finished with them, the thick taste of cinnamon so potent and Devin so strung out, she begged him for it.
Her humiliation knew no end.
Beau knew better than to leave her alone, though. If she wasn’t by his side, Rey protected his partner’s interest. Neither Alpha trusted her with anyone else, not even chained to the bed in the disgusting apartment. Devin would have preferred that to being subjected to Rey’s frosty demeanor. She didn’t understand why they continued, why Rey kept watch. She couldn’t be that special, not anymore. Maybe the initial thrill explained those first weeks, but now?
Devin couldn’t begin to understand.
Dressed in little more than underwear, Devin hugged her knees and shivered through the first brutal wave of fire searing through her as she huddled in her corner. Icy cold and fiery hot in turns, the first stages of the false heats were the most painful. Soon she wouldn’t care, focus dwindling down until she was little better than a screaming bundle of overwrought sensation. It took time to get to that point, a science to the perfection of gauging just the right moment she would lose her mind. Beau had it down to an artform.
He was cutting it close tonight. She’d never been left this long, not as the tingling ache spread through her back, making her stretch and twist to ease the tension. Skin too tight, she scratched at the needling itch, not noticing the bright red welts she left in their wake.
“Jackson, you got eyes on Beau?”
Devin startled, slapping a hand over her mouth to silence her gasp. The clap of sound was louder than her inhalation would have ever been. Wide eyes fixed on the trembling rounds of her knees, she pushed back with bare feet deeper into the shadowy corner. She’d brought attention to herself. As much as she wanted him to look at her, just once, Devin didn’t want it to be now, not as she was. Fingers scraping over her skull, she tried to bring order to the tangled mass of her hair. As if it would matter, making her any less Beau’s plaything that Rey wanted no part of.
Devin’s frown deepened, wondering why she primped for the Alpha who despised her. Growling low in her throat, she realized her mistake. The Alpha she despised.
“Find out where the fuck he went then.”
Devin couldn’t focus on his anger, the burning soot clogging her throat. Dark as pitch and rumbling, his voice strummed some hidden string within her. It brought her crawling to her knees, nose working as she scented the air. The memory of tart strawberries on her tongue, the thickness of him sliding down her throat so vivid, she could almost pretend he did it now.
“I’m here, baby.” Beau’s laughter was strained as he caught Devin’s hair in a cruel fist, dragging her back by the dark locks until she sprawled at his feet. “Come on, we’ve got a meeting to get to.”
“What do you mean? What meeting?” Rey rose from his chair, hands splayed over the top of his desk as he leaned forward. A frown marring the rugged perfection of his features.
Devin whined, tugging at Beau’s stranglehold on her hair. Ripping strands free as she tried to go to the richness of Rey’s voice, the scent of bitter coffee sliding down her throat.
“You said you wanted no part of it, remember? What I do with her is my deal.”
“We still have to find a permanent replacement for—”
“And that part is your deal.” Beau wrenched Devin back, tightening his hold on the fistful of curls. “I should be back in a couple of hours.”
“If you’re not?” Rey raked a rough hand through his hair, glancing at Devin once before fixing his dark eyes on Beau.
“Send in the cavalry, because that fuck probably killed me.” He made light of it, chuckling. He pulled Devin up by her hair, smacking her cheek for her complaining whimper. A gentle tap compared to the pain he generally doled out. “If you think Kahler’s bad, he’s got nothing on this bastard.”
“Don’t be getting us in the middle of things,” Rey growled, slamming a fist into the desk. Yelling after them, the sinuous rumble of his voice followed, “I mean it, Elijah!”
“He’s going to be a little pissy, baby. This meeting doesn’t work out, maybe I let you make him feel better, hm? Would you like that, you stupid bitch?” Beau’s hand encircled her arm, threatening to dislocate her shoulder as he lifted her to tiptoes.
Forced to jog at his side, Devin swallowed her whines of pain, knowing they’d lead to more of the same. Ducking her head, she just tried not to fall as he took her down the dark back stairs. Out into the deepening dusk, he opened the back door to the low sportscar and shoved Devin inside.
By the time Beau toppled her from the backseat onto the loose gravel, Devin was going mad. She panted, sweat coating her and making skin slippery as the hard rock dug into soft flesh. It stuck to her as he propelled her towards a shadowy bay door. Slick stained the ruffled shorts she wore, broadcasting her situation to anyone nearby.
“Beau, please,” she whispered, crawling up his legs as shadowy figures emerged from the darker shadows. “I-I’ll be good. Whatever you want. I-I won’t—”
“Shut up.” Beau kicked her away, a charming smile spreading his lips as he headed towards the others.
Men. Alphas. Too many of them. One terrifying male, huge in comparison even to Beau stood among them, head canted as he watched Devin slip in the gravel and scrape her knees raw as she struggled to get them under her. He watched her with interest as she bent double, keening through a painful cramp that released a rush of fresh slick.
