So maybe jumping from the car when Daniel hadn’t been expecting it wasn’t the best idea. But it had to look real. The added cuts and bruises to my body screamed at how stupid I was.
Hearing the gates open, remorse pools low in my belly as I watch three of my father’s guards come rushing out, guns raised. They see me laying on the ground curled into a ball, bloodied and bruised. Pity flashes in their eyes.
They know what’s coming to me.
I can only hope I’ll get those files loaded onto a USB drive and hidden first.
“Miss McCray,” one of them says as he grabs hold of my elbow, dragging me to my feet.
I can’t answer him because of my jaw, but I glare at each of them. It’s no secret I don’t like being here.
They pull me forward, uncaring of my injuries as I stumble, trying to push the pain away. Putting one foot in front of the other. The long driveway doesn’t help with the energy being drained from my body as we move.
Once at the steps, the single door opens, and there he is. The bane of my existence. The traitorous liar that I know is going to torture me more.
Timothy McCray. My so-called father.
A sick smile contorts his face as he looks me over. Bruised, bloodied, ripped clothes. Tear tracks staining my cheeks, and he laughs.
“I see you came crawling back,” he says after his humor abates.
I shake my head.
He walks down the steps. Standing in front of me, he grabs my jaw, and I can’t help the wail as it’s ripped from my lungs when he twists my face. I can feel the bones in my jaw rubbing together.
“Who took you?” he barks.
I attempt to remain passive and more scared of who he thinks took me than of him as I whimper, “I don’t know,” through clenched teeth.
His fingers tighten, and my knees threaten to give way beneath me. “What’d you tell them?”
“Nothing,” I hiss out the best I can.
His cold gaze searches mine, and I try to clear my mind, unsure if I’ve succeeded when he looks to the men holding my arms and says, “Take her to her room.” I try to keep the victory form my eyes, “You have one hour to clean up, then I want you downstairs.” My throat constricts at his command.
The Chamber is down there.
It’s a room full of more deprivation than a medieval torture room. People who go down there…
They don’t come back up.
Luther
My car slides to a halt beside King, Daniel, Atticus, Carver, and five other vehicles full of men. Everyone is armed to the teeth.
Stepping from my car, King comes forward. “She means more than you led me to believe,” he accuses with understanding in his eyes.
“She’s mine,” I growl, ready for a fight.
He nods. “Daniel explain what happened?” Without thought, my entire body viciously springs toward the younger man, intent on ripping him limb from limb. “Hang the fuck on, Luther!” King growls, grabbing one arm while Atticus steps between us. “He had no choice. They’d have killed her on sight if she didn’t have a mark on her. You know this.” He hisses the last part.
I ignore them as my heated stare meets Daniel’s. “How bad was she?”
He shifts from foot to foot before answering, but he meets my glare. “Not great. I tried to rein it back. She wouldn’t let me.”
Knowing he’s distraught over what he’d been forced to do, what any of them would have been forced to do, doesn’t make it any easier for me to accept.
“Do we have a fucking plan?” I’m irritated as hell, and my words come out more animalistic than human.
Stepping forward, Daniel speaks up. “Ariel told me to watch the window. Said there’s a servant’s entrance that leads right to her closet and to where the USB will be.”
“Where will she be?” I snap.
He looks away before answering me. “She said in The Chamber.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what that means. They’re going to torture her, and she won’t fight back. I fucking hate that she’s willing to sacrifice herself for people she doesn’t even fucking know.
“Luther, there’s more.” Daniel’s demeanor gets bolder as he comes closer. “Her eyes were vacant. She was already dead inside when she jumped. I told her you’d come for her. To hang on.” He pauses, and I can hear the pain in his voice. “She doesn’t expect you to. Prove her wrong.”
A primal growl pushes through me as I fight to control my rage. I don’t realize what’s happening until King has me flat on my back, a knowing smirk on his face.
“You can’t kill the kid, Luther.” Laughter tinges his words as I see Daniel being helped to his feet. The entire left side of his face is swollen, and blood streams from the split skin in his cheek.
I feel it then. A throbbing in my knuckles.
“Get off me,” I snarl at King.
His eyes are assessing as he slowly moves away.
“Scarf’s in the window,” I hear Carver call out.
“Clear your fucking head,” Daniel shouts at me. The fucking kid, telling me what to do.
“Watch it, or I’ll bust the other side of your face open,” I threaten. Even knowing he’s right.
“Here’s the key to the cellar, go left then right and right again,” he instructs, obviously accepting that I’ll be the one going in.
“We’ll be taking the front; Carver and his crew will be in the back,” King explains.
No one mentions Ariel as we leave for position. Where she’ll be, what she’ll likely be.
Dead.
Ariel
I barely have the USB drive hidden when my father storms into my room, his face a blank mask. Typically, there’s at least anger. I think he knows I’m up to something.
“Let’s go,” he snaps at me. As soon as I’m close enough, he grips my hair so tightly that I can feel strands pulling from my scalp. “Time to tell me what you know.” His words are garbled. Like he’s too angry to make sense.
I don’t bother trying to defend myself; it’ll make things worse for me. I will die today, there’s no doubt of that. I only need to decide if I want to taunt him long enough so that King and his men can get here in time to catch him.
Luther will be my biggest regret. No matter that we only just met, I feel alive with him. He makes something inside me stand up and take notice. If there weren’t other lives at stake, he might have been worth living for.
Descending the stairs to my doom, my sorrow is as metallic as the taste of blood that will be shed.
Pushed into a chair, straps tightened around my arms and legs, I try not to show my fear. Nothing good comes from this room.
“Where were you?” Timothy questions as his man, Dimitri, immobilizes me. Our eyes meet briefly before I answer. In them, I see honest remorse. He’s always tried to protect me.
Clearing my mind, I go to the place deep inside my heart, the one filled with pain and guilt. Death and destruction. The place that makes me feel numb inside, and I mumble, “At the cliffs.” My glare flattens. I can’t show any emotion, or he’ll strike like a rattler.
“The cliffs,” he repeats. “Doing what?”
Dimitri steps away as he finishes up, and I hear the charge—similar to a defibrillator—building as Timothy switches it on. Even prepared for the lengths I know this maniac will go to, I’m fucking terrified.
“I was going to jump.” My words come out slightly slurred.
“Jump?” He repeats again, and I want to roll my eyes. “You would rather die than take over?” He seems puzzled by my choice.
He’s been trying to groom me for the last year to help run things. My unfortunate customer service skills with his clients made it easier on him.
“Yes,” I hiss.
He nods.
Dimitri flips the switch.
A low current runs through me. My jaw clenches and my body tenses as electricity is filtered through my fingertips. The burn is like that of a lighter on the skin too long. It hurts, but it’s manageable.
He knows that, though. He’s only gearing up for the real pain.
“Who took you?” His interrogation continues.
I say the one name I know will anger him to either end this quickly or walk away to find out what he can. “Luther.”
I watch as his eyes glaze over, and his fists clench at his sides. He’s pissed. “Turn it up,” he snarls at Dimitri, who still says nothing. “What did he want?” His voice is calmer than I anticipated.
“To break me,” I reply.
He leans forward, looking into my eyes, searching out the lies, I’m sure, He asks, “What did you say?”
Taking a deep breath, I prepare for the agony I know is going to rush through me. “That I was your daughter.” The punch is unexpected. The pain slicing through me is almost more than I can bear. The clicking in my jaw signals he’s popped it again. Probably not what he wanted. Now, I can really infuriate him.
“They claim I’m not your child. That you came to America seventeen years ago. Stole my mother and me.”
This time Timothy hits the switch, and my body bows from the shock viciously tearing through me. My heart feels like it’s about to burst from my chest, and sweat pours off me like a heavy rain.
I don’t stop twitching even after the currents do. My fingertips feel as though they’ve been stuck in an electrical socket. I grit through it, though. Push past the pain and imagine what every child he’s ever sold has felt and know I have to take more.
“They’re coming for you,” I tell him, my voice flat. I only want him to know the truth about the Adair’s.
A maniacal smile plays across his face, and unfettered fear races through me when he pulls a knife from the wall. I struggle with my bindings, looking to Dimitri. I pray he’ll help me. He appears torn.
My eyes cinch shut as Timothy brings the blade to my forearm. I don’t feel the slice until it’s over. The blood runs down either side of my arm, the burn making my skin itch.
“They’re right,” he snarls as the blade is switched to my other arm. “You’re not mine. You’re nothing and nobody. Corrupting your life has been a true pleasure.” I bite my tongue as he rips through the skin again. “Killing your mother was my ultimate high.”
That one hit the mark. I don’t remember much of her; she was taken way too soon from my life. I’ve always suspected that he had a hand in her death but never knew for sure.
Pushing through the pain, my breathing becomes labored as I tell him, “They’ll be here soon,” barely above a whisper.
He stands tall, a dark expression molding his face. I see his hand coming just as it connects with my cheek, knocking my entire body to the floor. The chair shatters, and my arms are free.
He doesn’t let up, however. He grabs a whip off the wall and storms back over to me, I don’t have time to brace myself as the first crack of the leather rips through my shirt and splits the skin of my back. My screams are deafening, but not heard beyond this room.
The whipping doesn’t stop until Dimitri’s radio starts blasting. The voices are noisy, but I can’t comprehend anything beyond the pain consuming me. My body is on fire, and I’m helpless to move.
I hear the sound of screeching as a wall is moved in front of me, and I watch in horror as Timothy escapes. I scream, try to get up and go after him, but my body won’t heed my commands, and I’m powerless to watch as he once again flees.
Dimitri spares me a look of sorrow as it closes behind him. Tears leak from my eyes as I realize I’ve failed. The son of a bitch is getting away, and there’s not a single thing I can do.
A dark abyss takes me away just as a door bursts open. My heart slows, and I pray I don’t awaken.
Luther
I follow Daniel’s instructions to a T, and I’m in Ariel’s room in no time at all. The USB drive is in my pocket moments later. I’m stunned at the lack of content in her personal space.
I’ve been around long enough to see some shady shit. Most of the time, daughters of crime lords are cherished to a fault. Spoiled rotten, given everything they’ve ever wanted.
Not Ariel. The only item of color is her nesting dolls. The only special touch, a large photo of a woman who looks exactly like her on the bedside table.
She lives a life where luxury is the norm, yet she has the bare minimum. Brushing that aside, I know she’ll have everything if only she can hang on for me. I’ll give her the motherfucking world.
I wait at her closed door for the glorious sounds of gunfire. Checking my watch, I count down the seconds until the first blast.
Three.
Two.
One.
Boom! Bingo.
Quietly leaving her room, my eyes search for any men not already on the offensive. I’m to take out any stragglers as I make my way down. Hearing footsteps from behind, I slip into a room, leaving the door open so I can see him pass.
Pulling the Garret knife from my belt, I prepare. As soon as the man passes, slowly sweeping each room, I follow behind him. Gripping a fist full of hair, I swiftly bring the knife to his neck and slice through his carotid artery. He drops, dead in seconds.
The same follows for six more men as I make my way down to the main floor where I see Atticus and Daniel killing the rest.
“Carver?” I ask. A garbled scream accompanies him as he walks in through a back hallway.
“Yeah?” An insane smile lights his face.
“Get ‘em all?” I ask him.
“Most. I figure a few living ones might come in handy.”
Before I can respond, King is calling, “Found The Chamber!”
I have to force myself to push every emotion I have for Ariel aside. I know she’s down there. I know it’s not going to be pretty. Looking back to Daniel, I see he’s just as worried as me. Only he probably fears what I’ll do to him once I see her.
“Go find all the medical supplies you can,” I order him. I can’t have him in the room when I see her. My rage will take control, and I’ll likely kill him.
“Come on, kid,” Atticus says when he hesitates. “I’ll help you.”
They leave for the supplies, and I step forward with Carver at my side as we follow King down the stairs, guns aimed and ready for any fight we have to engage in.
Carver bursts through the door first. The crazy son of a bitch and his growled, “Motherfucker,” does nothing to help ease the worry coursing through my veins.
Pushing past the doorway, my eyes take the room in at a glance, and it’s fucking terrifying. A house of horrors. Worse than the dungeon King built. A soft whimper causes my body to turn, and I see Ariel laying broken on the floor, blood slowly pooling around her arms. Her legs are strapped to a shattered chair. Her face a mask of bruises, blood, and cuts.
Wires connected from her fingers to an electrocution machine turns my blood to ice. “They fucking electrocuted her,” I curse. “Find them!” I scream into the room as I kneel at her side.
Her body is replete of any motion, her pulse weak. “Daniel!” I scream.
Hearing footsteps rushing towards me, the man’s horrified gasp can’t be missed as he takes Ariel in. Falling to his knees, he starts gathering bandages and other supplies we need to patch her up well enough to travel from the bag he dropped.
We work in concert as Carver and King search the room for McCray’s escape route. Atticus stands in the doorway, gun ready.
When we get to the damage done to her back, I know I’ll skin the bastard alive for the pain she must have endured. He’ll die slowly, painfully.
A growl erupts from my throat as I count fifteen lashes to her back. Accompanied by the apparent knife wounds to her arms, I don’t know how she’s survived.
“She knew you were coming,” Daniel says quietly, picking up on my thoughts.
Maybe she did. Maybe she did everything she could to distract the pussy so I could rescue her. Maybe she thought she deserved the pain he’d dished out because of her roll in his business.
Maybe she’ll never come back from what has been done to her, and she’ll be lost to me forever.