Page 7 of The Saviors: Part Two
Iroll over in bed and hiss when pain shoots up my arm. What the hell? My head feels like a hundred-pound weight is sitting on it, and my throat is dry.
I peel my eyes open and slam them shut again when the light makes my head start throbbing. I count to ten and try again, slowly this time. My vision is blurry, so I blink a few times. When I finally get them to focus, I wish I hadn’t.
I’m in my old room at Brady’s house. The same pictures hang on the wall, the little lamp I bought at an antique store is in the corner, the blanket rack is still sitting under the window, and the belt he used to beat me is still lying over the bed’s footboard, taunting me with the pain I know it can bring. I have to be dreaming. There is no way that I’m back in this hell. I shut my eyes again and run through what I remember last. I can’t focus, with my panic increasing by the second, knowing Brady is somewhere close.
“I know you’re awake.”No, no, no. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, wishing with everything in me that I’m imagining this. “Open your fucking eyes, Chelsea. I don’t have the patience for your games.” I don’t listen, and two seconds later, I feel the sharp sting of a slap on my cheek. “Open your eyes!”
My eyes fly open, and my heart seizes in my chest when I’m met with Brady’s cold blue eyes. “No,” I whisper, and he smiles cruelly.
“Yes. Now get your fat ass up. We need to move.” He doesn’t give me time to sit up before he grabs my arm in an iron grip and pulls me to my feet. He squeezes harder, and I lock my lips before the whimper of pain can escape. “You’ve caused a lot of trouble.” He starts dragging me toward the living room, and I dig my heels in, jerking my arm from his grasp. He whirls around, backhanding me across the cheek, then he’s in my face. “Don’t push me. You fucking embarrassed me taking off like that. Then I find out you’re whoring yourself out?”
Everything hits me in rapid succession. My time with Axel and Cole, and then the birthday party in Abbs Valley. Oh my God. “Where are they?”
“You’re still just as fucking stupid as you used to be.”
“Where are they?!” My heart is pounding in my chest, my palms are sweating, and I feel like I’m going to throw up.Not now, Chelsea.I have to stay calm. I need to know that they’re okay. After we had to run with Gavin, we were caught almost ten miles away. Gavin tried to get us to safety by going off-roading in Axel’s truck, but we were blocked off. They swarmed the vehicle and grabbed Nolan from the back like he was their main target. So Gavin pushed me from the truck when Nolan yelled at us to run, and we took off, trying to make it to a cabin in the distance. We didn’t make it far before someone grabbed me and shot Gavin. That thought makes me gasp. “Gavin?”
“Was he one of the guys you were slutting yourself out for? If so, he’s fucking dead. There’s no way he survived that gunshot.”
“You were there?”
His eyes narrow. “Are you deliberately trying to piss me off with your stupid fucking questions? Yes. I was there to claim what’s mine.”
I take a step back. “I’m not yours anymore.”
He advances on me. “I have a marriage certificate that says differently. Now let’s fucking go.”
I don’t think. I just react. I let him get closer and swing my elbow out, knocking him across the face. I don’t give him time to recover before I knee him in the balls, shove him to the side, and take off running toward the front door. My hand lands on the handle, and he hits me in the back with a flying tackle. We slam into the door and then hit the ground hard, but I start fighting even harder.
“Stop fighting me!” He flips me to my back and tries to pin my arms to my side, but I’m not falling for that shit. I’m kicking, punching, scratching, anything to get away. My feet find purchase on the floor, and I start scooting myself backward. Brady lunges and lands on top of me, knocking the air from my lungs. “I will slit your goddamn throat if you don’t stop.” I feel the cold metal press against my neck, and my body sags to the floor. “We were just going to walk out of here as the happily reunited couple, but you can’t behave yourself. Do you need a lesson, Chelsea?”
“No.” The word doesn’t come out as more than a whisper, and I watch Brady’s eyes flair with triumph.
“Then get to your fucking feet.” He gingerly gets to his and glares down at me. I scoot back and stand up so he’s not right in my face. His eyes flash down to my shirt, and his nostrils flare. “Why do you insist on having your gross titties hanging out everywhere?”
“Don’t you dare. I need to see this beautiful body.”
“You’re a wet dream come true, Gorgeous.” Sean.
My eyes automatically fill with tears, hearing his voice. I start hearing everything he and Kai ever said to get rid of the awful shit Brady always said. Then Axel and Cole came back into my life to start closing the holes in my heart. I choke out a sob remembering the panicked look in Nolan’s eyes when they grabbed him. “Fuck. You,” I grit out.
Brady slashes the knife right across the top of my breasts before I can react. I scream, and my hands fly to stop the bleeding. “Why do you make me do this to you?!” he yells, spit hitting my face. “Why can’t you ever shut the fuck up and do what you’re told?”
I pull my shaky hands back and look at the blood coating them. I’m just staring at my hands like I’ve never seen them before. I can vaguely hear Brady yelling, but I can’t make out anything he’s saying. He’s left another scar on me.Yearsof healing, and it all came down to this. I can feel the old Chelsea taking hold of me. The one that would cower and do whatever she was told. When he grabs my arm this time to drag me from the house, I don’t even fight.
Maybe he’ll actually kill me this time.
* * *
Four days.
That’s how long I’ve been locked in this weird house. I have no idea where we are because Brady put a bag over my head. When I tried to suffocate myself with it, he dosed me again. I woke up tied to a bed in an unfamiliar bedroom, lost in my mind and grief. Brady told me in detail about what happened to my guys, and I haven’t been able to function since. I’ve turned back into the Stepford wife that Brady always wanted. Cook, clean, and be seen, not heard.
I shuffle into the living room and hand Brady his plate for dinner. I put my hands behind my back, waiting for him to tell me what to do. “What the fuck is this?” he splutters when he takes a bite. “This is disgusting.” I say nothing, just stare at my feet. “Speak, bitch. What is this?”
“It’s beef stroganoff. It’s what you—”
“I didn’t ask you to explain anything. I just asked what this was. And it’s shit.” He knocks the plate on the floor and goes back to his phone. “Clean that up and make me something edible this time.”
