Page 23 of Waging War
Just as I was the night I made this godforsaken deal, I’m on my knees with Bruce situated behind me. An ominous shadow of déjà vu settles over me.
I slowly peel off my shirt as sweat beads across my skin. The back of my head screams with pain as I refuse to accept that this is happening, that I’ve let myself get too comfortable.
I wish I would have killed him when I had the chance.
“Yes, you see? You obey because you know what the consequences are if you don’t. You know that I’m well aware of Cassidy’s pregnancy,” he reveals confidently, “and you know exactly what I’ll do should you disobey me again.”
Jack would never forgive me.
The sound of a belt unhooking and sliding through the loops of his pants has me bracing for what’s next. I don’t want it.Dear God, I don’t want to do this.But here I kneel, held in the unyielding grips of his men, waiting for the strikes I know are coming.
Shaking with a mixture of rage and fear, my breaths become erratic, and all sound escapes the room, leaving only the increasing buzzing in my ears and Bruce’s voice.
“I won’t be made a fool in front of my men. You answer to me, and you’ll remember that from this moment forward.”
Intense pain from the first blow wrenches a grunt from my chest, but instead of the sting of leather, he strikes me with the buckle, and the skin covering my trap immediately splits.
I shut my eyes as he rains blows across my entire back. I don’t understand why my thoughts seek out Hazel, but she’s there, watching me carefully with her wolfen eyes.
“I hate you.”Her voice drifts from the recess of my mind, and I believe her. I hate me, too.
I swallow the blood pooling in my mouth from biting my tongue. Diablo strikes me a total of ten times, and I take every single blow like a good little servant.
My stomach rolls violently when the men I had threatened so easily release their hold, and I fall face-first onto the cool concrete. Covered in sweat and blood, I don’t have enough strength to keep upright, but even if I could, I think the weight of shame and guilt would keep me down.
Bruce squats beside me with a sickening smile. “I hope that was a lesson well learned in challenging me. You can keep the souvenir,” he says, tossing the belt on top of my raw exposed back.
I don’t offer a response. I’m so far removed from the Ben I used to know that I’m afraid he’s gone for good. Jack would be ashamed of me if he saw me like this.
“You’ll be making a visit to Lucky’s soon. A couple of our guys skipped town, and we’re missing a shipment. I need you to get to the bottom of it.”
Even though I want to die, I nod anyway.
“Great.” He straightens before making his way to the exit. “Stay away from The Pound, Benjamin.” He turns and levels me with a glare.
Theor elsehangs in the air long after he exits.
Alfonzo takes Bruce’s place. “Go on. Beg for mercy,enforcer.”
“Fuck you—Ah!” I shout when he digs his finger into one of my open wounds. I’m writhing in pain even as I swipe out for him, but he easily avoids my grasp.
Wiping my blood against his dirty jeans, he whistles as he steps over me and makes his way toward the exit.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Hazel
The rapid pounding of rain echoes off the entryway outside.
“Gag me,” I murmur when the couple on TV embrace in a passionate kiss. Raising the remote, I turn the movie off and rest my head back against the couch.
Is this the worst situation I’ve ever been in? No. It sure beats sleeping on the floor in Jackie’s basement, but it’s been absolute hell being away from Cooper and the club.
I’ve wrestled with depression and grief for so long that my heartbeats feel sluggish. There’s no longer space for anything but vengeance under the blanket of numbness.
I place a palm over the aching spot and shift my eyes to the space heater across from me. The birthday cake Ben got me still sits on the counter, though I devoured half of it after he’d left, stress eating to the point of making myself sick and vomiting it all back up.
I can’t trust him—no matter how my body involuntarily reacts to his or what types of gifts he brings me.
