Nikki didn’t know where they were. They weren’t at the mansion, the trapped prison of stone she had soon learned to despise. They were still in the car. Vanessa was in the trunk, drugged and passed out. She had apparently put up a fight before they had restrained her, but Nikki wouldn’t have thought otherwise, not with her baby in danger. There had been blood in her hair and dark bruises splattered all over her face.

Edward sat up in the front with the driver, and the large man that had dragged her out of the window sat beside her, his large hand on her thigh. Her stomach rolled as his fat fingers inched closer to the junction between her legs. She was still in her pajamas, the thin material offering no protection.

“Get your hand off me, or I’ll tell Edward,” she hissed, trying to scoot closer to her door.

The man chuckled and looked toward the front, a sick grin on his chubby face. “Hey, boss, do you mind if I cop a feel of your bitch?”

Edward turned around, and his smile made the bile rise, and what was left of her dinner threatened to come up, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing. She would have just aimed for the bastard’s lap.

“Nah, not at all,” he drawled. He leaned back against his door, his shoulder against the window, and crossed his arms over his chest, watching them.

The man beside her didn’t bother to return his hand to her thigh but opened her pajama bottoms. Nikki jerked away, and a slap came out of nowhere—not from the man but her husband. Her head hit the window, white spots dancing before her eyes, and she almost prayed that she would pass out. Anything was better than what they had planned for her.

“I said he could, so open your fucking legs,” Edward growled.

Tears burning her eyes, Nikki started to do as she was told but froze as something overcame her—a rage so strangling that her throat seemed to close as her focus narrowed.

She opened her legs and waited. The moment came when he scooted closer, grinning. His own legs were spread open, and she could see his hardness against his jeans. He reached down for her pajamas, and she struck, bringing her knee up as hard as she could. He screamed as her aim hit its mark, and he jerked back. This time she was prepared for Edward’s fist and ducked, his knuckles skimming her cheekbone. As the man withered in the seat beside her, she saw the gun swing toward her. She hadn't thought he would kill her, not in the car, but she had been wrong before, about so many things.

She stiffened and stared at him, determined not to show him any fear. He wouldn't get the satisfaction of her begging or cowering against the seat, not anymore. He had taken enough from her.

He cocked the gun, and her gaze didn't waver.

Just then, something rammed the car from Nikki’s side, pushing her against the groaning man. He grunted and reached for his gun clipped to his waist.

“I'm going to kill you, you bitch,” he growled.

“What the fuck was that?” Edward demanded, Nikki forgotten for the moment.

They were on a long stretch of blacktop, surrounded by the pitch-black night. Even the moon managed to hide its dim light through the trees lining the deserted highway.

The driver struggled to keep the car on the road as another ram pounded the other side of the door.

Edward cursed and fired from his window, his back to the dash as his shots went wild in the dark. Nikki knew he couldn't see anything, so he was just wasting bullets at that point.

Suddenly, lights flooded the interior of the vehicle, and Nikki whirled, looking behind her. A large truck came up close, and her stomach dropped. On one hand, she was thrilled. Bret was there. On the other hand, if they rammed the back, Vanessa could die. Gulping as the men in the car let loose with the bullets, she closed her eyes and tried something that six months ago she would have thought impossible. She didn't know if Bret was driving and who was ramming the car, but she had to try.

Bret, don't hit the back. Vanessa is in the trunk. Don't hit the back!

She opened her eyes just in time to see the truck brake and swerve to the side, barely missing the trunk. The man at her side fired from the window, continuous shots that battered the truck behind her, but it didn't deter the driver. The truck gunned and swerved to the left, coming up along Nikki’s side.

Get to the other side, baby.

Hearing his voice in her mind brought tears to her eyes, but she didn't hesitate to do as he said. The man didn't seem to notice her frantically jump across him to the other side, and the idiot actually switched sides with her, his aim now closer as he fired from her window, his shots hitting the side of the truck. Edward fired as well, yelling profanities as the truck stuck again, this time hitting the side of the car.

She saw Edward fall against the driver, and the driver finally lost the control.

She heard a scream, dimly realizing that it came from her as the car left the road. Her head hit the roof, and the world faded for a moment. The man beside her crushed her to the door, falling back against her from the impact.

They rolled until it finally came to a stop on its side. Fighting to stay awake, she looked down to see the man lying beneath her. He wasn't moving.

Silence.

She dimly heard voices, a mix of panic and fear that penetrated her consciousness, bringing her back from the darkness.

Groaning, she started to move but suddenly felt herself being dragged from the broken window, the shattered shards of the glass cutting into her arms and legs.

Blood dripped into her eyes, and she could barely see as she was pulled back.

“Don't come any closer or the bitch dies!” Edward screamed, the barrel of his gun pressed tight against her temple.

Despite her blurry vision and the darkness, she sought and found Bret’s frantic eyes. If she was going to die, she wanted his face to be the last thing she saw.

A trunk popped, and she saw Travis’s tall form behind Bret, pulling his wife from the depths of the smashed metal.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Vanessa looked banged up, but she was alive. She saw Travis grab his wife and pull her into his arms. She could almost smell his own relief. With the gun pressed to her head, Nikki didn't think she and Bret would have that same moment. Tears stung her eyes as Edward jerked her back farther away from her friends and the man she loved.

He pressed a cell into her hand. “Dial three, and tell them we’re on highway K,” he growled in her ear, pushing the gun into her even harder.

Heart pounding, her eyes never left Bret’s as she did as she was told. A dark voice answered, and she relayed the message. Silence penetrated the small group as Edward held her tight against him, his thick arm around her neck, the pressure threatening to cut off her oxygen. She barely took a breath, afraid to do anything in case Bret took a bullet.

“If you let her go, I'll let you live,” Bret growled, his eyes a flashing red of rage as he glared at the man behind her.

Edward chuckled. He never lowered the gun, and Nikki felt his lips on her temple, felt his hot breath bathe her flesh. She shivered as his wet tongue licked her cheek.

“She’s my wife. By law, she’s mine.”

Bret’s eyes narrowed, and her heart nearly stopped as he took a step toward them. She saw Travis grab Bret’s arms just as a pair of headlights crested the hill behind them, bathing them in the yellow light.

The vehicle stopped next to them, and Edward dragged her back toward the opened door.

“I love you, Bret,” she whispered.

Before she could say anything else, she was thrust into the back seat, and the tires spun as they roared away, leaving the safety and love of the small group behind her.

She should have expected the pain, the fist that suddenly connected with her cheekbone, and she cried out as her head hit the side of the window. Flashes of black spots danced in front of her as she shook her head.

“That’s only a small taste of what I’m going to do to you for causing me this fucking trouble,” he spat.

She cradled her cheek and didn’t answer as the night passed in a blur.

Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to the mansion, and Edward jerked her from the back seat by her hair. She knew better than to make a sound, but the whimper exploded anyway as she fell to her knees in front of him, hitting the pavement. She cried out again as blood dripped from her legs.

Edward reached down and grabbed her hair again, dragging her toward the front door.

“Get the men ready! Expect trouble,” he shouted over his shoulder. Edward didn't let up on her hair as they made their way to the basement.

He threw her inside and turned, locking the door behind him as she fell to the floor. Jerking off his ripped jacket, he threw it to the side before reaching down and pulling her head back, a fistful of hair in his grip.

“I'm going to make you pay for this, bitch.”

“Please, don't.”

She had sworn she wouldn't beg, but the words came anyway, exploding past her split lips.

He bent down, his lips twisted in a cruel sneer. “Please what? Please make it painless? Oh, baby, you should know better. I've done this so many times to so many women who thought they could betray me. Look at me.” He looked down, and her gaze followed his, landing on the hard bulge between his legs.

Bile rose as her throat tightened, well past the fear of what he had planned.

She gasped in pain when he yanked her hair, forcing her onto her bare feet. He pulled her toward the back of the dank room, and she spied the long metal table that stood upright, leaning against the wall. Straps hung from the four corners of the metal, and she tried to pull back, her mouth opening to scream. Before any sound could penetrate the walls, Edward backhanded her, and she tasted blood in her mouth. She would have fallen if he hadn’t had a hold of her hair, but it was just as painful as hitting the floor. In seconds, he had her strapped to the cold metal, her arms and legs firmly secured by the binds.

He stood back, grinning. “Perfect.”

“He’s going to kill you,” she whispered, fighting the wave of dizziness that made the room spin. Her hands were going numb from the tight bonds, but that was the least of her worries as he laughed, the sound drawing shivers.

“He’s not going to find me. But you”—he paused, walking over to a bag that sat a few feet from him—“he’s going to find what I leave of you.”

With that, he withdrew a long knife from the depths of the bag, and her heart fell as the full extent, the full evil, of the man she married hit her.

“Why?” she choked, tugging on the binds. It was no use. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” he repeated, coming closer to her, the knife hanging down at his side. He shrugged. “I love it. You ruined the trade, my connections I had going in town, so I figured before I killed you, I would let you feel what I did to the bitches who didn’t sell. God, I loved it!”

With a wide smile, he cut the clothes from her body, and they fell in rags at her feet until she hung there naked in front of him.

“Please don’t do this, Edward. Please. I’ll do anything, just don’t—”

She screamed, the painful sound echoing through the basement as the knife pierced her skin, the flesh on her side.

“But this is exactly what I want you to do,” he whispered. He came closer, almost on top of her. He leaned in, his hot breath on her right cheek as he brought the knife up between her breasts, circling the nipple. “You see, I love to hear women scream. The sound excites me. The girl I had before you, I shoved the knife up her pussy when I was done with her, blade first. This time…” he paused as he brought the blade down beneath her breasts, and she gasped as he dug it in. “This time,” he continued softly, watching the knife, the blood as it dripped down her stomach, “I might—”

Yelling and screaming suddenly came from outside, and Edward jerked back, scowling as his eyes narrowed toward the high window of the basement. The knife left her skin, and Nikki collapsed back, the life draining from her limbs as the reprieve, for however long, hit her.

Bret is here.

“How fucking hard is it to kill a few idiots?’ he growled.

Tossing the bloody knife by her feet, he turned and grabbed his gun before disappearing up the stairs.

Nikki knew she didn’t have long before he returned, and there was always a chance he would return.

She got to work.