Page 54 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
Black and Blue
Sloane
“Tell them you need a fucking minute.” Blaine’s voice is low and sharp as he snarls at his mother, her eyes refusing to meet mine as I nearly growl myself.Bitch.I’m sorry but she could have given me a goddamn heads up. I realize how scary Pierce can be, really I sympathize, but shit we could have run out of there together.
Now instead I’m soaked to the bone, and I nearly gotten taken by fuck face who is tied up down here in the crew cabin. The only silver linings I can see in my current situation is that the guys found us in time, before Pierce could take me away and that my hideous, slutty bridesmaid dress is completely ruined. I know it’s weird that in this fucked up situation I’m thinking about my dress but hey, life is all about the small things.
“I don’t know what to tell them,” she whispers, her face paling and making me feel guilty.
“Tell them that my dress got torn on the tender and that I am changing into a new one,” I say sharply feeling any hesitation retreat. Something about being nearly kidnapped by my psycho ex-fiancé has my temper flaring as well and a slight hardness is easily detectable in my tone. This anger, frustration and coldness isn’t me but after everything that’s happened I need to hang onto it. It’s better than dealing with the panic that I was almost … nearly … no. I can’t think about this. Not now.
I’m so fed up with this bullshit. I want this over with and I want to finally spend time with my boys. As if hearing me, Royce looks up from where he’s securing Pierce’s ankles to the chair we have him tied to, his hands behind him. Blaine’s mother scatters to go do our bidding as Blaine tugs me into his arms making me relax just a little.
“Sloane, if you need to go to a guest cabin, we can handle the shit upstairs—”
I shake my head at Kaden and tug my hair back. “I need a change of clothes but I am not letting you do this without me. I want us to finish this together,” I say, trying to infuse a lot more strength in my tone than what I’m really feeling. I avoid looking at my ex. I know that tied up like this and with the guys in the room he can’t hurt me but call it habit, blame it on the traumatic experience I’ve just been through but right now just his existence makes me feel threatened.
And yeah, I’m definitely blaming the turmoil of feelings warring in my chest on trauma. Because somewhere deep down, very deep down, I feel pity for my ex-fiancé. I once loved him. Right now the notion sounds ridiculous even to my own ears but it isn’t any less true. At the beginning, when Pierce was doting and romantic, I loved him. Before the cracks had begun to appear in the façade the fucking sociopath showed to the world, me included. But now I know that it wasn’t real love. Certainly not for him, he has no idea what love even means. But for me too. I thought I knew but falling for the guys showed me what real love is. I would give my life for each of them and they would do the same for me.
River kisses the top of my head. “I have something that may work.” He shows me a garment bag as I toss him a small smile. How was I ever afraid of this absolute sweetheart? I mean he can still be a goddamn unpredictable psycho … but he’s my psycho.
“Tell me it’s not pink.” I smile, making him chuckle.
“Sorry Kitten, it’s actually orange—”
A groan has me snapping my head toward Pierce before I can respond. He blinks his eyes open, looking hazy, his leg twitching probably from the pain. You know, from when my sexy FBI boyfriend stabbed him in the leg. Sorry, am I not supposed to find that a bit hot?
I see a realization hit as he lets out a low sound from behind his taped mouth, my smile dries up. Fury rolls under my skin as he looks over at us, probably wondering how the tables turned so fast.
“Sloane.” River grasps my wrist gently but suddenly I find myself across the room, hand colliding with Pierce’s face in a cold, hard and solid slap, not unlike the way he used to backhand me. He grunts, his neck snapping to the side as I step closer, putting my knee between his legs on the chair he’s bound to. I can hear him trying to talk shit but he can’t be heard gagged as he is, and that’s how I like it.
“You deserve everything you have coming to you, piece of shit,” I snarl and slam my knee forward as he screams behind the tape, his eyes watering. I push off the chair and exhale, nodding to myself, before looking up.
“That was so fucking hot,” Blaine mutters as Royce nods. I can’t help but smile as Kaden tugs me close, slamming a kiss to my lips, before River pulls me from the room. I stop and look back.
“Make sure you don’t go too easy on him.”
* * *
Royce
“No worry there,” I mumble as she and River leave, allowing me to slip into a much colder and darker place. I know we don’t have long, the wedding is starting soon; but I plan on inflicting as much damage as we can get away with beforehand. I shrug off my suit jacket as Kaden locks the door, Pierce is trying to shout something from behind the tape. How fun is it being the one who’s tied up, now asshole? Rolling my sleeves, I don’t even flinch as Blaine lets out the frustration that I know he’s been holding in for fucking ever.
Pierce’s head snaps back as Blaine’s fist breaks his nose easily, my brother still shaking with anger despite stepping away. Kaden puts on music just in case he starts screaming as I walk up to the bastard, my lips pulling up into a sneer.
He snarls something as I tilt my head in amusement, fury rolling under my skin. “What was that?” I don’t really care, just for the record.
I briefly hear him say something about having a ‘fair fight’, the sound muffled by the tape. Yeah, because you were fucking fair in all of this. I feel a growl build. “You are going to talk about fucking fair? No. You don’t get to fucking talk about that.”
“Now, you will know what it’s like to be helpless while someone beats the fuck out of you,” Kaden says harshly, his voice a far cry from how controlled it normally is.
Pierce says something and chuckles. I rip the tape away and he spits blood before chuckling again. “That bitch wasn’t helpless, she fucking loved that shit—”
My fist collides with his face, absolute rage making me see red as I grip his collar and my fist hits into his stupid fucking face again … and again. I think that at some point he stops trying to yell but I can’t fucking stop. I’ve never felt such unbridled, fucking fury at someone. Not only did he hurt Sloane but then he thought he had the goddamn right to talk about her? No. Fuck this guy. I can feel blood splattering on my face and at some point the chair broke, his body is now slammed against the wall, something snapping and making him cry.
“Royce.” A low voice sounds from behind me, making me pause for only a moment. I look at the man in front of me, half dead, his face blue and purple, covered in red. Have I fucking done that? Well, of course I have and I should feel guilty … but in reality I feel nothing but satisfaction as I drop his body and step away. Blaine looks at me in slight surprise as I walk toward the bathroom, needing to wipe his fucking blood off my face.
My lip quirks up as I hear a solid snap, making the scumbag groan out, and I have a feeling that Kaden just broke his wrist. I don’t bother checking though, I know that’s what I’d do. I search my face in the mirror. My skin is covered in blood and I look like a goddamn psychopath, my pupils still dilated with fury, my chest still heaving. I splash some water on my face as a very harsh reality hits me. I nearly killed him. Not just fucking hurt, but actually killed. Would I have felt guilty then?
