Page 87 of Caged

He strained against his ropes, his teeth clenched so tightly I could see every vein in his neck and forehead.

Fuck. “Sheppard, don’t.” I ordered.

Ignoring me, he growled, “If you touch her, I will kill you.”

“How noble. But how do you plan to do that?” Roman smiled his sick snake-like smile.

Jay leaned back, “I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” His nostrils flared as he spoke.He needs to calm down before he got us both killed.

“Pay up.” Franks held his hand out. Roman handed him a hundred dollar bill.

Turns out he didn’t have any more questions. Roman told us his nephew had been arrested for the murder of Wendy. That was thetext he got that ended the last session.Whichwas why he’s in a hurry, he needed to get out of dodge before the cops came looking for him.

He let his henchmen take turns beating Jay, this time just for fun. Franks held my head and forced me to watch. Roman wanted to make sure our last moments on Earth were as emotionally, mentally, and physically painful as possible.

When it was my turn, Roman made them stop hitting Jay. One of them held his head, forcing him to watch through swollen eyes as Franks took out his frustrations.

Roman stood behind his desk and watched, a smug smile on his face.

He thinks he’ll get away with it.

Chapter 33

Jay

Being forced to watch Franks attack Cate was enough to make my blood boil, but there was literally nothing I could do. I struggled against the ropes binding me, but it was no use.

A commotion outside the house brought everything to a standstill.

Please, God, let it by my Dad.

Roman’s eyes rounded as he realized he’d waited too long to leave. He grabbed a gun from his desk and ordered Franks to kill us before running out of the room with his henchmen on his tail.

The door slammed shut, bringing images of a coffin lid slamming shut for the last time.

Please hurry. Don’t let us die here.

Franks knelt in front of Cate. “I think I’ll have a little fun before I kill you.” He turned to me and said, “You get to watch me with your girl before you die.”

I prayed my father and brothers would get here in time to save Cate.

I won’t sit around and wait to be saved.

Finding a reserve of adrenaline fueled strength, I fought against the ties. The rope cut into my skin causing blood to drip down my arms while the metal cuffs cut into my wrists.

Franks grabbed Cate’s chin, forcing her to look at him. When he leaned in, she spat, covering his face in blood drenched spit.

That’s my girl.

He backhanded her before wiping his face.

I fought harder, jumping up and down in the chair, trying to break it against the floor.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t like watching, does he?” He ran his hand down her thigh as he spoke.

I wanted to kill this guy, and if I could break free, I’d happily do it with my bare hands.

“Untie me you fucking coward, and I’ll show you how much I don’t like it.” My bruised and bloodied lips made the threat less menacing than I would’ve liked.

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