Bella’s brothers and father sat looking at me, various expressions of anger and hurt in their eyes.

Finally, Ed cleared his throat, meeting my gaze. “I don’t understand. You stabbed Bella all those years ago, ended up meeting her and marrying in a contract situation when you didn’t know who she was, and only later discovered she was the woman you’d hurt. Then, you really fell in love with her? Is that the story we’re supposed to believe?”

I couldn’t blame him for being skeptical. It sounded too outrageous. I especially wouldn’t blame any of them if they wanted to stab me themselves and return the favor I’d given to their beloved ‘butterfly.’

“I’m not proud of it,” I said, grateful for James’s comforting presence by my side. “I’ve always regretted it, but I can’t change the past. I’m going public with the story so that we can tell people what’s going on right now. Someone must have seen them, someone knows where they’re holding her. I’ll do whatever it takes to save her. Whether you believe me or not, I really am in love with her.”

Kyle’s face was red, and when he looked at me I couldn’t help but cringe back a bit. “You ruined our family! I even told Bella off last night, told her not to come back because I was so sad when she left and that slowly turned into anger over the years. All of this was because of you?”

The sadness on his face felt like a physical pain in my own heart, but I nodded. “I know apologizing doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, but I am sorry. If I could have changed what happened that night, I would have. While Snake and the guys beat me afterward, I had found myself wishing they would kill me. I knew nothing about Bella at the time, but I knew if I had killed her then I didn’t want to live.”

Brandon’s clear gaze met mine, and he gave a small sneer. “Bit of a pity they didn’t kill you, if you ask me.”

“Brandon!” Ed’s bark of admonishment was enough to make Brandon blush and look away.

“No,” I said, looking back to Ed. “He has every right to feel that way. I’ve felt that way countless times. And none of that matters right now. I wanted you to hear the truth from me before I tell the world. Once we have Bella back safely, I’ll turn myself in and take the punishment I should have had eight years ago, but right now she’s the only thing that matters. We have to find her and bring her home.”

Elias, the middle brother who seemed not to talk much, nodded. “You’re right. Mom finally woke up, and even though we don’t dare tell her what happened, she’s been asking for Bella. She needs her daughter to help with her recovery. We all need her, even if we said we didn’t before she left on that walk.” Elias glanced at his other brothers, and they both nodded their agreement. “Damian, I don’t know if you really love my sis or if you just feel guilty, but you got her back to the city and to us. That means something to me. I don’t think you’re a horrible guy, but don’t let us lose her now.”

“I won’t,” I promised. “Whatever it takes to get her back with the family before I go off to jail, I’ll do it.”

“Maybe you don’t have to go to jail.” Ed’s quiet words caused us all to look at him.

“What do you mean?” I shook my head. “I hurt her, so much that it’s made her a mess the last eight years. I can’t get away with that any more. She deserves justice.”

Ed frowned. “She seemed sad while she stayed with us, kept checking her phone every time I looked at her. When I’d ask what she was waiting for, she’d never admit it, but she wanted you to call.”

“But I did call at first. She never took them.” Ed had to be delusional, right?

“She might not have accepted them, mostly because the boys and I worked so hard to make her feel guilty, but she waited for them.” He shrugged. “I think every time you tried to call, it made her forgive you a bit more and want to see you.”

And then I’d given up, angry that she’d never once picked up. Still, I couldn’t feel guilty about that now. How long did she really expect me to keep trying without a response? I had decided to talk to her when I got home instead of wasting my time when I was hours away with no chance of speaking to her face-to-face. Maybe I should have tried longer. After all, I owed a lot to Bella, still, I also had my pride.

Not that any of that mattered. If Bella had felt the slightest bit of affection for me before, I was sure Rider and the other gang members had managed to tell her enough to snuff that out by now. Still, that wasn’t important.

“There’s no way I can avoid going to jail,” I said. “And I don’t deserve to avoid it. If I go to the public and tell my story, I’m sure someone will come forward and help us find her. The governor won’t help us by pretending to pardon Snake and let him out for a bit because he says the risk is too great. While I understand his position, I can’t agree with it.”

James shrugged from beside me. “I was disappointed he wouldn’t help, but do you think Rider really intends to give Bella back, even if you meet his demands?”

The faces of Bella’s family all paled around us, and I wanted to kick James. It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t also crossed my mind, but I didn’t want Ed and the boys considering that option.

“We’ll get her back,” I said firmly. “That’s not even a question.”

Ed’s expression hardened. “But do we have to do that by sacrificing you? I’m not sure she’d want that.”

“Dad?” Kyle frowned, shaking his head. “Are you really saying he doesn’t deserve to pay for what he did to Bella? To us?”

Ed shrugged. “Maybe he could pay us back by being a good husband to Bella and giving her a happy future?”

“What?” someone asked, incredulous.

I wasn’t even sure which brother asked it, maybe all of them. I only knew that everyone’s mouths were agape.

“Ed, what do you mean?” I asked. “The only way to get people on our side is to be honest. Besides, they have a video of me committing the crime. Even if I tried to keep this a secret, they’d turn me in once we get Bella back.”

“Let him rot in jail,” Kyle said.

Ed shook his head firmly. “Tell the press about her kidnapping, tell them about the gang, maybe even mention Bella has been through a lot in life because of an earlier stabbing perpetrated by this gang. Don’t mention your involvement. Be the loving, tearful husband who’s offering a reward for information that leads to her safe return.”

I considered his words. “Fine. People would want to help me more if I was a doting husband rather than a criminal myself. You have a point there. Once Bella’s safe, I’ll tell her the truth and then turn myself into the cops at that point. I’ll keep quiet for now.”

James nodded. “We only said you’d tell your story to get your dad to help us. The threat was effective, but since he wasn’t able to help, there isn’t really a reason to tell the truth at this point.”

“You shouldn’t ever tell the truth.” Ed shook his head again, but then shrugged. “I won’t argue further. Once Bella’s safe, we can figure out as a family how to deal with the past issues. We’ll see what Bella wants.”

“Family issues?” Brandon all but growled. “He ain’t our family. He’s the guy who nearly killed our sis, then put her in danger now.”

“He’s also the man that I think your sis loves.” Ed looked at me steadily, his eyes never leaving mine. “She’s scared of everything after what happened to her, but I had the feeling she had wanted to reconcile with you after our fight. I think she loves you. I’m not sure her life would be better without you in it.”

His words caused hope to bloom in my chest, but I tried to quell it. There was no way she could love the man who had destroyed her life. It would be enough if she could move past this and have a happy life while I served my time for the crime. Even if she ended up happy with someone else, I’d be satisfied if Bella could start smiling every day, no longer afraid of the dark or needing pain to feel pleasure. All I wanted was to make her whole again. Spending time behind bars seemed a small price to pay for that outcome.

“Let’s save her first,” I replied. “Nothing matters except that.”

BELLA

My wrists burned and the ticklish sensation of blood dripping down them told me I’d managed to cut myself with the friction from the rope. I wasn’t sure it was any closer to coming off.

“Hey, princess, I’m bored.” Rider’s low voice scared me, and I looked through the hole near my eye level to see him standing above me. “What can you do to entertain me?”

Give me your knife and let me stab you?

I nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity of my thoughts. I wanted nothing more than to hurt this man, and I’d never felt that way in my life. Captivity and fear were stealing my rationality.

“I can’t do anything,” I said, making my voice cold, trying to sound calm. “You’ve tied me up so tightly, I don’t even know how I’ll piss when I can’t hold it anymore.”

“Eh... guess we’ve had you for a while. You’re probably hungry and thirsty too, huh?”

Though I didn’t want to admit it, my parched mouth screamed out at the mention of a drink.

He yanked the blanket off my head, grinning. “What will you give me for some water?”

Trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible, I then raised one eyebrow. “What do you want?”

“Hmmm... you aren’t a bad-looking woman, much classier than any I’ve had before, even if not the most beautiful. What about a kiss?”

I batted my eyes, hoping it came off as flirtatious and not like I had dirt in one of them. “A kiss? What about Tony?”

“Tony’s disgusting. Do you really want him to be your man?” Rider laughed. “Besides, your husband won’t ever get Snake out of jail. There’s no way the governor’s gonna go for that. I’m the boss now. Join the gang as my old lady, and I can give you whatever you want.”

I forced out a skeptical laugh. “Why should I trust any man’s words? You just proved to me that my husband’s a bastard. Speaking of that, you were with him at the time, urging him to kill me? Why would I trust you in particular?”

I had to play this right. While I’d never considered my sexuality a weapon, it seemed Rider had some real interest in me. Perhaps, as members of a small, worthless gang, they didn’t get many women over the years. Or, maybe he just wanted to take Damian’s wife for his own, since it seemed he had some long-standing jealousy issues with Damian. I could only guess that was because their leader, Snake, had seemed to like Damian in the video. Perhaps Rider had feared Damian would steal his position as second-in-command back then and had never forgive him for it.

“You can trust me, babe.” Suddenly, Rider was all smiles and gentle voice. “If you’re my girl, I’ll take real good care of you.”

I shook my head. “I’ve been trying to get out of these ropes all day, knowing you’d kill me as soon as you get what you want from Damian, if the pussy can even deliver. I can’t trust a man who keeps me tied up.”

“That was for your own good.” Rider sat next to me, pulling me forward into his chest.

I did my best not to struggle, but panic took over with being so close to him again. The hilt of his knife was cold against my side. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh... I’m taking care of you.”

As he released me with one arm, I realized he had a water bottle. My body suddenly begged for it, and I let out an inadvertent whimper.

“Thirsty?” He smiled, putting the bottle to his own lips.

“Please, I need some.” I couldn’t believe how pitiful I sounded, but it had to be getting close to fifteen hours since I’d last had anything to drink if I was figuring time right by the sun slanting in the factory windows.

Without warning, Rider’s mouth pressed against mine as his free hand tangled in my hair and pulled me tighter. I tried to struggle, but the sudden liquid against my lips made me realize what was happening. As repulsive as he was, I couldn’t deny my body’s needs. Accepting his kiss and the water that came with it, I didn’t even protest when his tongue entered my mouth.

A bit of me felt guilty, considering Damian was my husband and I shouldn’t let another man kiss me, but then again, Damian had once tried to kill me. When Rider came at me with another mouthful of water, I eagerly took his lips and the nourishment they provided.

Once he tired of the game and I’d had enough water to satisfy my thirst, Rider pulled back, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Damn, girl. I didn’t expect you to be so into it. You said you couldn’t trust a man again, but you sure trusted me to take care of you just now.”

I did my best to bat my eyelashes a second time, letting a small smile form. “Maybe a strong man like you could be worth trusting. I mean, you filmed what happened before, and it’ll be hard to forgive you for that, but you didn’t actually use the knife. I’ll never forgive Damian, but perhaps I could be persuaded to fall for you.”

Rider’s grin looked as though he thought he’d won first place in some competition that didn’t exist. Not that I’d ever tell him he was far more disgusting than Damian could ever be. Damian might have hurt me all those years ago, but he then worked to better himself. These men had done nothing but continue to be criminals. It would be hard to pretend I was entranced by this bastard, but I wanted to return to my family. I might even want to return to Damian, though I was still a bit confused on that point.

What I knew for sure was that I had to survive this and get out. I could worry about my future with my husband afterward. To do that, I had to convince Rider to set me free. He had an ego. He’d believe I wanted him if I slowly showed him I was warming to the idea. I had to be patient, but I could do this.

I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life letting fear dictate what happened to me. I was taking my life back starting now.