Page 52 of The Hunted

He talks about Knox like he’s a disobedient puppy.

“I looked into your background early on. My son seemed to be infatuated with you. It took some digging, but I tracked your sister down. Her owner was a very sick man, someone with massive connections in our world. I watched him fuck her mercilessly with his dick, fist, other objects. He didn’t seem to care which holes he got into. Treated them all the same.”

I try to stay calm as tears slide down my cheeks and drip from my chin. If the things he says are true, how will Scarlett ever come back from that? He could be lying, but from looking at her, I’m afraid he is telling me the truth.

“So, I went in, dealt with him, and took her. I brought her here yesterday. So now you see, I have two ways to be sure my wayward son behaves as he should.”

He smiles at me then, completely thrilled with himself for murdering and kidnapping people all in the name of reigning over his son.

“Christ, you’re insane.”

“I said you should thank me, Raven. If not for me, you wouldn’t have your sister. If you like, I can think of other ways for you to express your gratitude. My son seemed to enjoy his time with you. Maybe I should find out why he’s so enamored with you.”

This sick bastard.

“You’ve watched us?”

“Who do you think taught Knox everything he knows? I know this estate far better than he ever will. It was all too easy to get around his subpar system and install my own surveillance. Knox got complacent.”

I half-growl and try to hold in all the things I really want to say. If there was any question before, there is none now. Vaughn Bane is insane. Bat shit crazy. He yanks off my tattered shirt and grabs my breast, squeezing roughly.

I try to move from his grip and wince as the sharp metal of the shackle bites into my wrist. Vaughn moves in closer to me. I look into his eyes and see nothing. Nothing. No compassion, no warmth, no emotion. They’re just blank. He reaches out, grabs my pants, and begins to unbutton them. I turn my head as my stomach lurches in disgust. He slides the pants down my legs and instructs me to step out of them. My last barrier against this man taken away.

I now stand chained to a wall, nude, in front of the craziest man I have ever met.

“You are quite beautiful. I can see why my son is so fascinated by you. Now, time to get you ready. Knox should be here soon.”

“He will kill you for this, for all of it! Please, just let my sister go! She’s been through enough! I’ll do whatever it is you want!”

Tears slide down my face as my pleas catch on a sob.

Vaughn reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a bottle of clear liquid.

“That’s where you’re wrong. He will do as I say. He always has. A whore will not change the path he is set upon.”

He takes a rag from his pocket and soaks it in the liquid. The sweet smell wafts through the room.

“He is my son, after all, Miss Wyatt. You surely recognize the bond that exists between family. All our hurdles have only made us stronger. Everything I do has been done to assure Knox’s birth right. To ensure he is as strong as he needs to be to carry out the tasks set before him. To take over the family business, of course this whorehouse nonsense has to end. I can’t leave everything I’ve created in the hands of someone who can’t carry on my name.”

“You’ve beaten and starved him. Left him wounded and without treatment. You murdered his mother and forced him to watch. You are sick!”

He places the bottle back into his pocket and walks slowly toward me.

“I am merely a father trying to make his son strong enough to endure the world he is given. There is no room for love in our world. We procreate to build our organization. We marry, to solidify our status. You are nothing. You are no one, and you must be eliminated.”

He brings the rag to my face, and my thoughts and fears become realization.

Vaughn Bane is going to kill me.

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