Page 45 of Love Undercover
Because being bound meant that someone could touch her, do things to her without her permission, and it made her powerless to stop them.
With that manic thought, the fact that her hands were bound spurred the feeling on, and she couldn’t handle it, couldn’t keep the screaming need to break free at bay.
With a force that scared her on some level, she yanked against the zip tie, the sound making a thunk against the bed frame she was tethered to. Again and again, she slammed against the plastic, even as it carved into the tender flesh of her wrists, breaking the skin.
“Sadie.”
She heard Chase’s voice, but she couldn’t stop, not with that rising panic flowering inside, billowing through her limbs like a thousand insects in her veins.
“Sadie, stop.”
His hands slid along her arms, fingers wrapping around her wrists to still her efforts, and she realized she was crying—heaving sobs that burst out of her like cannons.
He cut the zip tie, and she scrambled backward on the bed and away from him, away from his touch. His skin was like a blistering fire along hers, burning while the panic scorched from under the surface. She bumped into the headboard and curled in on herself.
“I’m sorry,” Chase whispered, crouching where he stood, right next to where she’d been a moment ago. He didn’t move toward her or reach for her, maybe sensing how fractious she was in the moment.
And it did feel like she would splinter apart, her wracking sobs were so violent. Wrapping her arms around herself helped, and she squeezed tighter, trying to keep the pieces together.
It wasn’t as bad as some people had experienced. And it wasn’t like she’d never had a man touch her without permission. But she’d been able to fight back if she’d needed to before. That had been taken from her with her hands tied.
As that rat-faced little man’s hand slid up her thigh, fear had galloped through her body, and everything in her had rebelled. She’d thrashed as his hand slipped under her shirt, managing to knock him back a couple of times. The second time, she’d had the opening she’d needed to jam her foot upward into his crotch and send him to his knees.
Not hard enough, she thought. He’d been able to walk afterward.
Her sobs had noticeably quieted, that sense of splintering abating, rolling away like a receding wave. Her arms loosened from around herself.
“I’m so sorry, Sadie,” Chase said softly. He still hadn’t moved.
She didn’t flinch. Barely reacted, felt almost nothing at his words, but her eyes shifted to his face.
“Did he—“ He broke off, a flash of fury distorting his features. “What did he do?”
She turned her face away.
“I swear I will tear him apart,” Chase growled. “But I need you to tell me where he hurt you.”
“I’m not hurt,” she choked out.
“I beg to differ,” he intoned softly.
She slid a glance in his direction again, took in his earnest expression, and knew that he was being serious. That although she had not experienced physical pain, shehadbeen hurt. It made something loosen inside her chest to have it acknowledged that way.
She reached out for his hand, and he stood to take it, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. The warmth of his body seeped into her, providing more comfort than she anticipated.
The memory of the rat-man’s poisonous touch faded the longer they sat like that—with Chase sitting watch over her like a sentinel. His steady presence helped the panic leak from her body as time crept by.
But even as that sensation faded, the questions pushed forward in her mind. What had Greg gotten into that put her in the crosshairs of men like this? Even though Chase was actually on the good side, he still had to get answers from her to justify what he had done in the eyes of the criminals who also wanted whatever Greg had, that they thought she knew. That they’d come here to get.
Maybe there was something she didn't realize she knew. But she didn't have enough information yet.
“Chase?”
“Hm?” The pad of his thumb stroked the skin on the back of her hand in a soothing pattern.
She pushed herself up to a sitting position so that she could look into his eyes. “What did Greg do?”
He inhaled deeply through his nose, but he didn’t look away. “As you know, Greg is an accountant for some big companies.”
