Page 39 of It Will Always Be You
“What can I say? I like it when they fight back. You’re welcome to take her for a spin, assuming the offer goes both ways.”
“Of course.”
Hearing them talk about us so callously—like we aren’t even human—is disgusting, but not surprising. Watching the colour drain from Freya’s face, knowing I can’t save her from Kyle or her captor, burns, but I can’t tear my eyes from her. Cataloguing all the changes since I last saw her twenty years ago, knowing everything was in vain, is like a knife to the heart. Tears trail down her cheeks as her silent agony bleeds between us. Her hand twitches at her side, but with a soft shake of my head, she clenches her jaw instead, visibly forcing herself to shove her emotions down.
“I got a call the other day. Apparently, Jonathan is sniffing around again,” Kyle casually comments.
“Is that so? I’ll tell Jen to work on him. Does Angus know?”
“Do I look stupid? Fuck no. I quite like having my balls and my pet intact, thank you very much.” He snorts. The other man just quirks a brow before tugging Freya into his side. His dark eyes remain focused on me as he whispers something to her. Terror dances across her face even as she reluctantly nods and strips out of her paper-thin summer dress.
“Fuck, look at those tits,” Kyle groans, reaching for my own even as his eyes stay glued to my sister’s. “I’ve been thinking of piercing my pet’s. Want to join me?”
“You got the right tools? I’m not botching these beauties.”
“Yeah, in the basement.” He nods towards the hall, and then we’re on the move. Kyle makes quick work of freeing my ankles so he can yank me to my feet. As soon as we’re in the basement, they secure us to two chairs, so close, we could hold hands, if only our wrists were free. I lock eyes with her, seeing the raw pain and fear there, and pain slices through me. I swore to protect her; I sacrificed knowing her to do so. And for what? For Angus to marry her anyway? For him to sell her to the highest bidder when he grew tired of her? It was all for nothing, and that thought burns worse than the poker, leaving a scar deeper than any Kyle could ever dream of inflicting on me.
“I’m so sorry, Frey.” My voice is barely more than a whisper, but it reaches her all the same.
“None of this is your fault, Hel. Mother and Father shouldn’t have let this happen.” She sobs, and not for the first time, I’m reminded just how ill-suited for this life she is. She never stood a chance, and fuck our parents for not doing more to shield her, to protect her as a parent should.
“I should have taken you with me,” I argue, shaking my head.
“It wouldn’t have changed anything. Were you happy, Hel? Please say one of us got a happy ever after.”
“I was,” I confess, my heart breaking at the thought that she might never get her happy ending. “And you?”
“I had a beautiful son; you would have loved him. Promise meyou’ll find him one day?”
“I promise,wewill find him.” Blinking back my own tears, I implore her to believe me, to trust in me despite how badly I’ve let her down. Before either of us can say anything more, we’re interrupted by approaching footsteps. When I glance at Kyle, the smirk on his face has my skin crawling.
“Guests first, Benedict.” He passes a needle to the other man before coming to stand before me. Benedict advances on Freya with a look so cold, it chills me to my bones. With sharp precision and without a moment’s hesitation, he pierces her, ignoring her shrieks of pain, sliding the shiny metal bars into place before tossing the needle to Kyle.
Making short work of sanitising it—small mercies—I’m soon treated to the same white hot pain racing through me. Only, instead of plain silver bars, mine have a little bedazzled ‘K’s dangling from the ends, which makes me want to vomit. Who the fuck does he think he is?
“What a beautiful sight. What do you think, pet?” he croons from his position in front of me. I meet his brown eyes, and my lip curls back in disgust that I know I will pay for later. With a smirk, he pinches the sensitive flesh in retaliation before rising to his full height and making his way over to Benedict.
“What do you say? Want to test out my pet for yourself?” Kyle offers me up as easily as a glass of water. My stomach drops at the implications of what’s to come. As one, they turn to pin me under their evil stares. My skin crawls as they look at me, but that’s a small price to pay if it keeps their eyes on me and off Freya.
Eyeing me up and down like I’m cattle being weighed for my worth, Benedict dips his chin before advancing on me. Once he’s within touching distance, he wastes no time in grabbing my chin and tilting my head back.
“This is going to be fun,” he taunts before shoving his free hand between us, grabbing my pussy in the palm of his hand. When he tightens his grip to the point of pain, my head lolls to the side, andI meet Freya’s gaze. Anchoring myself to her, I pretend this is all a nightmare. Soon, I’m going to wake up, and we’re going to be far from the horrors of this basement, far from this cruel reality I would never wish on my worst enemy.
If it’s the last thing I do, I will get us out of here and reunited with our children.
So help anyone who dares try to stop me.
Chapter 36
Watching the security footage from O’Neill’s is a guilty pleasure of mine. Once darkness has descended, the day’s dealings are done, and I have a glass in hand, I flick open the footage and settle in. If the closest I can get to Cora is watching her shifts at O’Neill’s, then well…consider me the most security-conscious business owner you’ve ever met.
As I watch her mix drinks with a smile on her face and tip her head back as she laughs with her co-workers, a sense of pride fills me. She could so easily have crumbled when her Mum died, but instead, she picked herself up and came out of it stronger. Letting her shoulder that alone when I should have been by her side, offering her comfort and strength when she needed it most, is just another reason I’m determined to make Angus pay. He alone bears the weight of keeping me from her side, for Helen being vulnerable in the first place.
Before my thoughts can spiral too far, my phone pings with a text. With a sigh, I pause tonight’s footage before picking up the damn thing. So much for business being done for the day.
Liam:
We have a situation. There was a code red with our charge—it’s been handled, but she’s a bit shaken up.
