Page 57 of Devils Cut

"Alright," I whispered, taking a deep breath to steady myself. It wasn't easy, opening up like this, but Corvus had insisted. He needed to know my past, the demons that haunted me, if he was going to help keep me safe. And fuck, did I need someone like him to have my back.

After I'd agreed to tell him, Corvus had thrown me on the back of his bike and taken off for home, the wind whipping through my hair as we sped away from the bar. Now we sat, hand in hand, waiting for me to spill my darkest secrets.

"Where do you want me to start?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"From the beginning," he replied, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Take your time, but don't leave anything out."

I swallowed hard, "Alright, Corvus, here goes nothing," I said, taking a deep breath and letting the memories flood back. "When I was little, my father died, leaving me a trust fund for when I turned 18. My mom didn't have a lot of money, so we struggled to keep a roof over our heads until I was 13." My voice cracked as I remembered those tough years, but I pushed through, not wanting to hold anything back.

"Then she met Steve, and he took us in. They got married, and for once, it seemed like things were looking up. Mom was finally happy, and she didn't have to work three jobs anymore."

"Sounds like a fuckin' fairy tale," Corvus muttered, his grip on my hand tightening.

"Yeah, well, that's where the story takes a dark turn," I replied bitterly. "Steve's son Greg was 19 at the time, and I had just turned 14 when we moved in with them. The second we did, the abuse started."

"Jesus, Tempest," Corvus growled, anger flaring in his eyes.

"Greg would sneak into my room at night and touch me," I whispered the shame from those memories still fresh in my mind. "He told me if I ever said anything, he'd make sure my mom didn't believe me, and that if she did, we'd be kicked out of the house. So I kept quiet because, despite everything, my mom was the happiest I'd ever seen her."

"Fuckin' bastard," Corvus spat, his fists clenching.

"Part of me hoped it would stop, but it never did," I continued, my voice shaking. "I felt so powerless, Corvus. I couldn't protect myself, and I couldn't protect my mom."

"Tempest, that wasn't your fuckin' job," Corvus insisted, his voice softening. "You were a kid. None of this shit was your fault."

"Corvus, it got worse after their deaths," I said, my voice barely audible as memories flooded back. The pain, the humiliation - it all came rushing back like a tidal wave.

"Fuck, Tempest. What happened?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"Steve and my mom... they died in a car accident when I was sixteen, leaving Greg as my guardian. That's when the real nightmare began," I whispered, feeling nauseous just thinking about it.

"Jesus, Princess,” Corvus said letting out a deep breath.

"Greg had total control over me then," I continued, tears streaming down my face. "He'd chain me up for days, denying me food if I didn't comply with him. He even pimped me out to his friends for money, and brought men in from off the streets to fuck me, just to line his pockets with cash."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Corvus spat, rage contorting his features. "I swear, I'm gonna kill that sick bastard."

"Listen, Corvus, I did what I had to do to survive," I told him, my voice steadier now. "The second I turned eighteen, I transferred the trust fund money to a friend's account and escaped to America."

"Smart move, Princess," he said, admiration creeping into his voice.

"Once I landed in LA, I met some street kids who connected me with a guy who could get me a fake passport and birth certificate," I went on, recalling the desperation that drove me to such lengths. "That's how I ended up with the car, too."

"Fuck, Tempest...," Corvus said, looking at me with new eyes.

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest. "My real name isn't Tempest Miller... it's Louise Franklin," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper as I hung my head in shame.

"Louise?" Corvus breathed out, his eyes wide with surprise. For a moment, there was silence between us, heavy and suffocating.

Then, with a sudden intensity, Corvus's large calloused hands wrapped around my cheeks, lifting my face until I couldn't avoid his piercing gaze. "Princess," he growled, his voice dark and dangerous, "I'm going to kill him. Are you okay with that?"

A single tear rolled down my cheek, but I didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes," I whispered, knowing that the monster who had tormented me for so long deserved nothing less.

"Good," Corvus said, his eyes blazing with a feral fury. "You've suffered enough, Louise."

The room seemed to close in on me as Corvus's words wrapped themselves around my heart like a vice. "You're the most important thing to me in the whole world. I won't allow another man near you. What you've gone through is possibly the worst thing I could've imagined, and I don't understand how you're still a functioning human."

I looked down at our intertwined fingers, his large, calloused hand swallowing my own. The reality of everything I'd just confessed to him was sinking in, and so was the realisation that he wouldn't be running for the hills. He was choosing to stay, to protect me.

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