Chapter Eight
Sydney
The house is quiet.
I don’t bother turning on the TV or anything else anymore out of fear of someone getting in and me not realizing it. I have a gun sitting on the couch cushion on my right and my phone on my left. My couch is pushed in the corner of the living room so that I can see anyone who comes inside quickly.
My once normal life has been shattered into a million tiny pieces, and I don’t think that I’ll ever feel safe again. Everything has been turned upside down, and I just wish that things were different. I just wish that I could see Hendrix again.
The hollowness in my heart is painful. But in a way, it reminds me that my life is basically over. Sampson is going to kill me, I know it already. I won’t go without a fight, but part of me is ready. No one trusts me anymore and the two people who did at one time are banned from even speaking to me.
They probably don’t believe me either. Part of me doesn’t blame them. I mean, it looks bad. Everything that I’ve ever worked for and had is gone, and maybe if Sampson just got it over with, I wouldn’t have to continue to live in fear. Everything would be over, and I could be free.
I close my eyes as I think of Hendrix. I never meant to fall for him. The plan was for me to get him to fall, not the other way around. He invaded all of my senses and the moment his hands touched my skin I was done for. Hendrix Rylan is the only thing that matters anymore besides Ryder. I want to save them both, but don’t know how anymore.
A finger slowly runs along my shoulder as we sit outside of some shitty little dive bar. Hendrix promised me that we would do something couple-like because he wanted to show me off. Personally, I didn’t give a shit if we stayed in or went out. All I cared about was being with him. Getting to know the man that he is and kiss him. God, I love kissing him.
“You are thinking terribly hard over there beautiful.” I turn my head to look at him, and he’s got a grin on his lips.
“Just thinking how lucky I am,” I state. Hendrix grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing my knuckles lightly.
“I’m the fucking lucky bastard.” He pulls me off the bench we are sitting on and brings me into his lap. “I have the prettiest girl on my arm, and I got the best family I could ask for. Nothing fucking better than that.”
“You are crazy,” I whisper, burying my face into his neck.
“You are beautiful.” He kisses my cheek before running his hand down my back, grabbing my ass and pulling me closer. Holding me tighter to him.
Falling for him will be the death of me. Not being able to hold him once this is over is going to destroy me. Nothing will ever compare to the way I feel when I am with him. It’s like everything stops. I don’t have a care in the world, and he continues to be the fearless, careless, sexy biker that I can’t get enough of.
The sound of a window shattering brings me back to the present, and I scurry off the couch and grab the gun. I point it toward the hallway where the sound came from and wait. I steady myself and take a deep breath as I await my fate.
As soon as the person comes around the corner, I don’t ask questions I just shoot. The sound of the gun going off is so loud, and the kickback is worse than I thought possible. Before I can even see if I hit the guy, I’m grabbed from behind.
Tsking fills my ears, and then his voice comes next. “Such a bad girl. You should have known better. You didn’t get what I wanted, and now you get to pay the price. But first, I have someone else here to show you just what happens when you fail.”
Fear is taking over. I try to get out of his grip, but it’s no use. His hold on me is too tight. I kick back at his shin, and he just cusses before slamming me into the wall. My head smacks against it so hard that I see stars and can feel blood as it starts to trickle down my skin.
“Don’t fuck with me little one. My big brother is going to hate to see you when I’m through with your tight little body. He’ll never want you again afterward.” I feel bile rising in my throat, and I wish this were all a nightmare. One that I could just wake up from and never have to deal with again.
Cries from down the hall get closer and then he spins me around, I see my best friend, Callen. She’s got tears falling down her cheeks and a cut just above her eye that looks like it’s been bleeding for a while.
When she sees me her eyes widen, and her lip starts to tremble. “You see, when I told you that I would kill everyone that you cared about, I wasn’t fucking around. She will hate you once I get through with her and I’ll let you watch the whole thing.” His tongue runs along my skin, and I grit my teeth.
I have to do something, anything. I can’t let him hurt her any more than he has already. Callen doesn’t deserve this, no one does.
Trying to pull out of his grip again, he takes the gun he took from me and hits me with the handle, dropping me to my knees. I cry out in pain, and he lets me go. “I already warned you, you stupid little bitch. I’m done trying to get this through your head. Stop trying to get away, it only makes it worse for you.” He leaves me on the floor, kicking me as he makes his way over to Callen.
He runs a hand along her jaw, and she closes her eyes, refusing to even look at him. “Pretty little girl. Do you want to know why you are going to be tortured?” She shakes her head no as more tears fall from her closed eyes.
“It’s a shame that your so-called best friend didn’t even protect you. All she had to do was get my brother to see the error of his ways and come back to me, but she failed. She let them kick her out of his life, and now we are here in this living room trying to think of the best way to make you bleed.”
Slowly pushing myself up to a sitting position, I wipe my forehead. The blood is covering my hand, and I think I’m going to be sick. Instead of focusing on all the blood, I push myself to stand and reach for the baseball bat that I had hidden under the couch.
Sampson has his back to me, still stroking her face, so I grab the bat and move toward him. When I’m close enough, I swing as hard as I can. The sound of the bat cracking against his body is one of the worst sounds I’ve ever heard, but it doesn’t even faze him.
As he turns to face me, I see the hatred and anger coursing through him. He’s pissed. He grabs me by the throat and chokes me, walking me back until he pushes me into the wall. My hands go to his forearms as I try to suck in any amount of air that I can, but it’s no use. I can’t breathe.
Black spots start to fill my vision, and soon my body goes limp in his arms. Everything goes black.
---
A hand slaps me hard, and my eyes snap open.
“Oh good, you’re awake.” His sinister grin fills my vision, and I try to look around to see Callen. I spot her tied to a chair over by the couch while I’m lying on the living room floor. My entire body hurts as I try to look around more.
It’s just the three of us now, and I can only imagine what he’s going to do next.
“You didn’t get to see what we did to her.” His grin gets wider, and I push away from him ignoring the pain as it radiates through my body.
“I’m going to kill you,” I whimper. The pain is almost too much. He looks down at my body and makes that damn tisking sound again. That sound is going to be one of those things that make me want to stab someone. I only need a knife.
“I have a feeling that brother dearest isn’t going to be happy with me after this…” He looks down again, and I suck in a breath. I don’t know what he means by that and part of me doesn’t care enough to find out. The only thing I want to do is find a way to get away from him and get Callen safe.
His hand runs down the center of my chest, almost in the same fashion as the night we slept together. “Unless, this one is mine…” He stops his hand over my stomach, pressing down on it causing me to cry out. This doesn’t prevent him from moving his hand farther down, and when he runs his hand between my legs, he brings his hand back up showing me the blood.
Everything in me goes numb.
Every ounce of my will to fight is gone in a just a few seconds.
The shrill sound of my phone going off is the only thing I register, and I don’t even know where it’s coming from. Sampson curses under his breath and then answers the call.
“Dear brother. I’ve missed you so. I’m sure your little girlfriend needs you right now. She’s a little bloody as is her friend.” He doesn’t say anything else, just sets the phone down on the floor next to me where I can hear Hendrix yelling over the line.
Sampson gets up from his place on the floor next to me and walks away, leaving me on the living room floor covered in blood.
I reach out to grab the phone, and when I put it to my ear, I hear his voice. He’s still going crazy and cussing at his brother.
“Hendrix,” I whisper.
“Syd, baby, I’m coming for you. Where are you?”
He sounds panicked and I hate that I’m the reason for everything that is happening. Turning back the clock may change the outcome of all of this, but then again I would have never met Hendrix. I would have never fallen in love with a biker that showed me what it really was like to fall in love, the consuming type of love that my brother and Ellie had.
“My house.” The words are harder to get out this time. My stomach is cramping, and all I want to do right now is curl up into a ball and cry. I want to forget everything. Forget the pain, the hurt, and looks on their faces when the truth came out. Everything.
I drop the phone on my floor and force my body to move toward Callen. When I get to her chair, I see the blood all over her skin. Half of her clothes are torn, and she’s got a busted lip and a black eye.
Reaching over her, I try to untie the ties that are keeping her in the chair. Her good eye opens, and a tear falls down her bloody cheek. “I’m so sorry Callen.” Her eyes scan over my body. As she takes in all the blood covering my pants, her eyes widen.
“Sydney…” Her voice breaks and then she looks over my shoulder at the front door as it opens, slamming into the wall.