CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

AVERY

Nineteen years old . . .

 

“WHERE IS BUNNY?” I ASK Tristan while we stand in the kitchen of our father’s house. We’re having one of our usual parties. Things get rowdy, and when the cops show up, I’ll answer the door with a smile on my face and assure them that I’ll turn the volume down. But they won’t touch us. Their boss is always over here down in the cellar with my father. There are a lot of fucked-up men in this town.

He’s leaning up against the wall with a girl by the name of Jamie standing between his parted legs. Her head is tilted back with his tongue down her throat. I roll my eyes and yank her from him.

“Hey …” she protests.

“Have you seen Bunny?” I demand, ignoring her. She gets on my nerves. My brother just fucks her to pass the time, but she thinks it’s love. She’s also an idiot like all the others he takes to bed.

“No.” He wipes the taste of her lips off his. “Well … I did see her earlier up in the game room. She was playing pool with Mitch.”

I fist my hands and spin around. Mitch. That fucker is still on my shit list. He knows it too, just doesn’t care.

Opening the door to the game room, I look around. “Where’s Bunny and Mitch?” I demand when I don’t see them.

“They went outside.” A girl by the name of Brandie answers me without looking up from her shot at the pool table.

“Motherfucker …” I slam the door shut and run down the stairs two at a time. Grabbing the banister at the bottom, I leap over the last three. Pushing drunk kids out of my way, I make it to the back door and onto the terrace. More drunk kids litter the backyard. Some already passed out on the lawn furniture. Others playing basketball on the courts. Some standing by the bonfire that we started earlier. “Bunny?” I yell.

“Over on the side of the house,” Scott, a guy who’s friends with my older brother, Vaughn, calls out with a nod of his head.

I take off to the side of the terrace and hear her voice. “Oh God,” she cries out.

“Presleigh …”

“What the fuck is going on over here?” I interrupt Mitch, jumping over the railing and landing next to them. Before they can answer, I grab the collar of his shirt and yank him back from her, shoving him to the ground.

“What the hell?” he asks, looking up at me.

“Bunny …?”

She leans over, vomiting into the bushes. Walking up behind her, I grab her blond hair and pull it off her face. “What the hell happened?” I demand.

He throws his hands up in the air. “You deal with her.” Then he walks away.

She falls to her knees, and I go with her while she dry heaves. “Hey, it’s okay. Let it out.” I rub her back. She had too much to drink. I knew I shouldn’t have let her friend make her drinks. Bunny never drinks to begin with, but she wanted to tonight. I should have never left her alone.

When she’s finished, she leans back on her heels and looks at me. “Sorry.”

I smile at her. “It’s okay. If I remember correctly, you have taken care of me plenty of times on nights like this.” She laughs softly. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.” I stand up and lift her into my arms. She cuddles against my chest.

“I tried to find you,” she whispers, “but when I saw you in the kitchen talking to your brother, I didn’t wanna bother you.”

“You’re never bothering me.” I make my way through the crowd of people and get her up to my room. After she uses the bathroom and brushes her teeth, I help her undress. I lay her down in the bed, and she opens up her arms, inviting me to join her. Removing my shirt, I do so without thought.

She sighs, closing her eyes when I snuggle up to her. “Why did you sound so mad?” she asks me with a yawn.

“I thought …” My words trail off at how stupid it sounds now.

“What?” she asks, her heavy blue eyes open staring up at me.

I run my hand through her blond hair. “Nothing.”

“Tell me,” she urges.

“It doesn’t matter.”

She sits up, the covers falling to her waist, showing me her bare chest, and I instantly get hard. “I would never hurt you, Avery.”

I smile up at her. “It’s not you I worry about.”

She lets out a long sigh. “But you don’t trust me.”

I sit up as well. “That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Men … things I’ve seen …” I pause. Her father may do just as much damage as mine, but Bunny has never seen it firsthand. Thank God. Women aren’t allowed down in my father’s cellar unless they are naked and cuffed. And I would never let anyone hurt her like that. Over my dead body. Letting out a sigh, I cup her warm cheek, and she leans into it. “I just wanna protect you.”

She smiles at me. It’s lopsided, but it’s the most adorable smile I’ve ever seen. She wraps her arms around my neck and moves to straddles my hips. My hands run up and down her bare back. “Know what I want?” she whispers against my lips. “You to make love to me.”

 

I take another drink from the bottle of scotch and fall onto the end of the bed. That was the night she got pregnant. We were always careful, but that night, we weren’t careful enough. Her parents had already passed. She and Preston were living with us to finish out school before we all went on to college. I had this thought in the back of my head that someone was going to take her from me. And in a sick and twisted way, I thought it was going to be Mitch. He liked her. Wanted her. He watched her at school. When he came over. Every time he was in a room with her, his eyes were on her. And I was jealous. I wanted to show them that she was mine even though everyone already knew it.

But I lost her anyway soon after that. I believed what my father and Lance told me because it was my biggest fear come true. And I think they knew that.

A knock comes at the door, but I ignore it. Seconds later, it opens, and Tristan sticks his head in. “She’s downstairs talking to Chloe.”

Good. I nod and take another swig.

He plops down beside me and takes the bottle from me before taking a big gulp himself. “Do you have a plan?”

“Kill them.” They ruined us. They ruined her. I should have known something was off when I saw her at the club in New York. That was not my Bunny. But people change, so I never thought about it. She went from an angel to the fucking devil in a matter of minutes. Or so I thought.

 

Nineteen years old

 

I walk into my father’s house with Preston behind me. “Not sure how I feel about going there,” he informs me. “I mean, it’s got potential, but I’m not sure it has enough to make me happy.”

I roll my eyes, removing my jacket. We just got back from a week of looking at colleges, but it didn’t matter. Because I’m not going to Stanford like my father wants me to. The only reason I went with Preston was to pacify him so he’ll get off my back. He may want me to run the family business, but my father believes a man is nothing without a degree. Good thing I don’t give two shits what he thinks anymore. Bunny is pregnant, and I’m gonna be a father. It’s earlier than I had planned, but it’s all I can think about. Me and her. Our child. My family. I’m gonna lie to my father and tell him I wanna stay here another year and help him out. He’s not stupid. He’ll know Bunny is the reason, but he’ll allow it because he likes to show off to me and my brothers. Plus, Vaughn hasn’t gone to college yet, and he’s two years older than I am. He just hangs around like a fucking leech. So if my father tells me I need to go, then I’ll question why Vaughn hasn’t been forced to go.

As far as a career and a future, all that matters is that I’m with Bunny. I’d rather live with her in a box than in this mansion of filth.

My younger brother, Tristan, walks down the stairs. His hair a disheveled mess and all he wears is a pair of gray sweatpants. Our housekeeper’s daughter walks behind him. He still fucks her. He says she’s a good lay, but I think he’s got a soft spot for her.

“Is Bunny upstairs?” I ask him.

His eyes meet mine when he hits the landing and frowns. “Not that I know of.”

“Where is she?” I ask. I told him to watch over her while I was gone. I wanted her to go with me, but she didn’t wanna miss a week of school.

“I don’t know—”

“Last time I saw her was yesterday morning,” she interrupts him. “We left for school, and she was in the kitchen talking to Vaughn. We offered her a ride, but she said she wasn’t feeling well.”

No surprise there. She’s had morning sickness. I pull my cell out of my pocket and call her number. It goes straight to voicemail. “Hmm …” I do it again. By the third time of the same thing, I start to get nervous. “Bunny?” I call out, running up the stairs. “Bunny?” I enter my room to find it cleaner than how I left it, but again, no surprise. The maid cleans it. I walk into the bathroom and notice her toothbrush isn’t where it normally is.

Rushing out of my room, I run down the hall to the last room on the left to her door. “Presleigh?” I bark out, barging in. And my heart stops. The pink comforter and white sheets are stripped from the bed. All the drawers to her dresser are open and empty. “What the fuck? Presleigh?” I yell, and then I’m running again. Down the hallway, stairs, and to my father’s office. It’s empty. I shove open the door that leads to the cellar, and I jump down those stairs and run through the tunnel. I come to a stop when I see my father standing in the middle with Lance next to him. A woman lies on a table. Face down. She has bruises up and down her legs, and she bleeds from open cuts on her back. My presence cuts off whatever conversation my father and Lance were having and silence follows, letting me know that the girl must be sedated.

My heavy breathing is all that is heard. I take a step toward them. “Where is she?” I demand and immediately look around the cellar to see if she’s in here.

“Son …”

“Where the fuck is she?” I shout.

Lance looks at my father. “You have to tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

My father turns to me. “She left, Avery.”

I start shaking my head. “She wouldn’t have just left. What did you do to her?” I shout.

“It’s true,” he says. “She left yesterday morning.”

I run a hand through my hair. She tried calling me yesterday morning, but I was asleep with the time difference. I tried calling her back, but she never answered. I didn’t think much of it and just figured she was in school. And then came home to sleep. She’s always tired. “No,” I say. “She wouldn’t—”

“Mitch was here,” he interrupts me, and I fist my hands at my side at the sound of his name. “He came over, and they talked for a little bit. Then she packed up her stuff …”

“She’s not even eighteen,” I snap. “You can’t just let her leave.” She has to finish school.

“Avery …”

“No!” I roar. “That’s not possible.” It doesn’t make any sense. I take a step back and start dialing her number again. Straight to voicemail. She’s shut it off.

My father pulls his phone out, and after pressing a few buttons, he holds it up for me to see. It’s a video of her walking into the game room. She comes to a quick stop when she sees my brother Vaughn and Mitch playing pool.

“Hey, babe.” Mitch greets her.

She takes a step back, her eyes widening for a brief second.

Vaughn laughs. “It’s okay, Pres. Mitch told me your little secret.”

“What ...?” Her wide eyes go back and forth between them.

Mitch tosses his pool stick onto the felt and then walks over to her. He grabs her face and presses his lips to hers. The video ends.

“She wouldn’t do this …” I swallow. “We are …” I stop myself. No one knows. We didn’t wanna tell anyone. It’s our little secret.

“The baby?” Lance asks.

My head snaps up, and I stare at him in disbelief. “What did you just say?”

“The baby. Avery, I … She had me …” He stumbles, looking for the right word.

My father steps forward. “She had it aborted, Avery.”

No. “She would never—”

“I did it,” Lance interrupts me.

“What?” I ask, trying to understand what they are saying.

“I performed the abortion yesterday afternoon.”

My chest tightens at his words. “She wouldn’t …” But how would they know about it? It was our secret. But it has to be … my legs threaten to buckle, and my father places his hand on my shoulder.

“She didn’t belong here, Avery. She didn’t want to be with a man who was like her father.” His words stab me in the chest. ’Cause she had said those words before. Not that way, but how many times did she beg me to help these poor, innocent girls, and I never did a fucking thing but play my part.

She left me with absolutely nothing but a broken heart. Of all people to hurt me, I never thought it would be Bunny.

I pull away from my father and grip my cell in my hand. “It was bound to happen, son,” he says, handing me a whip. I hold the black leather in my hand and feel the weight. For years, I’ve played a part in hurting women. Even if I didn’t physically hurt them, I never tried to save them. But for once in my life, I want to hurt someone. The only woman I’ve ever loved. Who just fucking ruined me. While holding the whip in one hand, I dial her number one last time. But this time when it goes to voicemail, I don’t hang up. Instead, I leave her a message.

PRESLEIGH

I wake up on the couch. I slept down here all night. After I poured my heart out to Chloe, I couldn’t move. The weight of myself too heavy to even crawl. Sometime during the night, I remember opening my eyes to see Tristan pick Chloe up off the floor. Then I went back to sleep.

I roll over to face away from the couch and see Avery sitting on the opposite one, staring at me.

I sit up and push the messy hair from my face. He still wears the same bloody clothes from last night, and his eyes are red. His hair standing up every which way as if he’s been running his hands through it. He doesn’t look like he slept at all. And the stubble along his jaw tells me he hasn’t shaved in days.

“I don’t apologize,” he says roughly.

I nod and stand. “I never expected one from you, Avery,” I say and turn to walk away from him. Not wanting to be around him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what happened to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I didn’t track you down and demand an explanation.” I turn back around to face him. “But I don’t apologize for watching the tapes.”

“Avery—”

“I hated you, Bunny,” he interrupts me with a growl. “I hated you so fucking much it hurt. The thought of you with another man drove me off the deep end, and I buried myself in anything I could find.”

I swallow, knowing he means women and alcohol. I hate how jealous that makes me feel. And how mad it makes me. While I was mourning the loss of our child, he was out fucking random women.

“The thought that you didn’t want me or our baby … I wanted to hurt you,” he admits shamelessly. “I had thoughts of finding you and hurting you. I didn’t want any other man to find you attractive or to see your smile. And the fact that you had just … aborted our baby and erased any part of us …” He lets out a long breath. “And I never once hated myself for those evil thoughts. Until now. When I found out what my father did to you.”

I know what he means even if he doesn’t say the words. “You’re not like him.”

“I’m exactly like him,” he shouts, that anger coming so easy. “I took you. I forced you to …”

“No, you didn’t. I wanted you,” I admit with shame, hanging my head. “I wanted you to fuck me. Begged for it. Still want it—”

“Stop saying that,” he interrupts me. He sighs heavily and lifts his drink to his lips but thinks twice when he sees it’s water. His jaw tightens, and he lowers it. “Then when I saw the tapes. I tried, Bunny. I tried so fucking hard not to watch them, but I wasn’t strong enough. I had to see what he did to you. I wanted to hate myself. Needed to hate myself.” He lifts his hands out wide. “What I’ve done to you. The things I’ve said …”

“They were all true.” I know he’s talking about the way he called me a whore. How I begged him and other men to fuck me. I craved sexual attention even if I never liked it. I needed to know that men found me attractive. I needed to know that I was still wanted after Victor told me I would never be.

I’ll make sure no other man ever wants you again!

Victor took everything from me, but I was still alive. I wasn’t gonna let him control me until I died.

“Don’t.” He growls. “Don’t fucking let me off the hook! I was terrible to you. And now …”

“And now you know.”

He runs a hand through his hair. “If I could go back.”

“You can’t change the past, Avery,” I say softly. “I tried for so long.”

“You should have told me.”

“He would have killed me,” I argue.

“You’re dead anyway,” he snaps.

“What?” I whisper, a chill falling over me.

His dark blue eyes meet mine, and they hold so much anger that I take a step back. “You’ve been dead ever since he touched you. I just haven’t noticed it until now. But I’m gonna save you, Bunny. I’m gonna bring you back because I need you.”

My breath picks up at his confession.

He walks over to me, placing his hand on my face, and gently rubs my cheek with his thumb. “I’m gonna slaughter them, Bunny. For you. I’m gonna put you on a fucking throne and lay them at your feet for what they did to you.”

“Promise?” I ask.

The look in his red eyes is answer enough, but he speaks anyway. “I promise.”