Page 51 of The Hunted

Vaughn manages to finish dragging me to the wall in spite of my best efforts. Forcing me up from the ground, he chains my hands into rusted shackles bolted to the wall. I yank on them as hard as I can, and he steps back, swiping at the small trickle of blood coming from his split bottom lip.

“You bastard! Let her go!”

I stare daggers at the asshole, but he doesn’t even acknowledge me as he walks over to my sister. He yanks her head back by her hair. She groans, and her eyes snap open then roll back in her head before they close completely. I try to reign in the scream of terror that tries to flee my body at seeing my sister this way and in the hands of this man. The chains rattle as I yank with everything I have within me to get to my sister, to protect her.

He bends, hovering over her, his face only inches from hers, and he stares at me. Then with an evil grin, he closes the distance between them, and he shoves his tongue into her mouth. He watches me the entire time he kisses her. Bile rises into my throat. She isn’t even fully coherent. Her feet try to kick. They shuffle along the concrete, slowly, trying to fight, but she’s tied too tightly and too weak from whatever it is that courses through her veins.

“Get your hands off her! Don’t fucking touch her!” I scream, hatred and rage licking through my veins like wildfire as the chains holding my hands rattle. I yank with all my might, trying to break free.

He stands back up, smiling at me, then releases her head. She slumps forward in her binds, and a small sob comes free from her. My heart twists and breaks within my chest from the sound.

“It was enlightening to watch her break.”

His evil sneer sends shivers across my flesh.

My God, what has he done to her? What has happened to my sister?

“Since you couldn’t listen when I told you to take off your clothes, I’ll have to help you with the task.”

A knife appears out of his pocket, and he snaps it open as he walks toward me. My breath catches in my lungs.

“You may want to stay very still for this. I wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Fuck you, bastard. Fuck you.”

“Uh-uh. Such language is unbecoming of a lady. We both know you’re no lady though, don’t we?”

He smiles, amused with himself, then leans forward and grips the neck of my shirt in his hand. He brings the knife up near my throat, and fear locks me in place. My limbs tremble as he begins to take the knife to the fabric. He continues to talk while I hold my breath, trying to stay as still as possible.

“You came to my home, which my son has turned into a whore house in my absence. Did you come for the money or the fucking?”

“I came to find my sister.”

“Your sister. Ah, well I’m sure she had your same strength and fierce conviction once. You should thank me, though. I rescued her from the demented man the Corrado’s sold her to, who had a penchant for rape scenarios. I watched him with her for a few days. I needed to gather intel on him so I could take her. Disgusting thing, he was. She was being held in a basement of an abandoned house. She was tied face down, nude on a bed when I found her. Covered in dirt, blood, and cum. He’d used her up quite nicely before I killed him.”

I have no way to know if this is the truth or not. I look to her where she sits tied to the chair. She’s filthy, covered in cuts and bruises and far too skinny. My eyes burn with tears for my sister. God only knows what Scarlett has been through.

“Why did you take her? What does she have to do with this?”

I need to know his plans. Maybe something he says can be used to help free my sister. I don’t care what happens to me. If Scarlett can be saved, that’s all that matters. She’s been through enough. I’ll do whatever is necessary to secure her freedom.

“Did you know he watched you, Raven?”

His cold, lifeless eyes bore into mine momentarily before he continues slicing through the fabric of my shirt, creating ribbons hanging down from my shoulders

“My son spent hour upon hour watching you on security feeds before he made his move that night on The Hunt.

Knox watched me?My heart beats faster, imagining Knox watching me, waiting for me, then it breaks for all that he’s endured at the hands of this man, his father. Someone who should have loved and protected him, not beaten, tortured, and abused him.

“Little does my son know I’ve been coming onto the property for months, setting up my own surveillance. You see, I’d been off handling the competition. A price was put on my head after I took out the leader of the O’Connell Syndicate. I couldn’t return here, jeopardizing everything I’ve worked so hard to build. I was forced into hiding. Then, when it was finally safe, I find my only son, the future of Albatross, has turned my home, my business into a house of ill repute. He’s made a mockery of everything!”

Spittle flies from his mouth, his every word growing angrier. I take shallow breaths to keep him from accidentally slicing through my skin in his ratcheting rage. He pauses, the knife stills, he takes a steadying breath. as if to reign his anger in before continuing.

“Once I found my son keeping you in his quarters, helping you to find your sister, I knew you truly meant something to him.”

Disdain covers his features as if the thought of Knox caring for someone is the worst thing in the world.

“You make him careless and a target. He’s grown very lax with his precautions. I’ve been able to track him so easily. He’ll need to be reprimanded and retrained, it seems.”

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