Page 26 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
“And you…” she points an accusing finger at me, “Who the hell do you think you are talking to her like that? She didn’t know. None of us did.”
I don’t bother to respond, knowing nothing I say will make up for the way I reacted to seeing her. By the way she holds my gaze, I know that she knows everything about Faith and me.
She buries her face in her hands and cries. “Oh my god. I can’t believe this is happening. This is supposed to be a fresh start for her.” All the girls rush over to comfort her.
“Where is she?” I ask. Surprised to hear how gruff my voice is.
She glares at me before answering. “She took off. She said she needed to be alone, and I wanted to give her space to sort everything out.”
“Do you know where?” Julia asks quietly.
“I’m guessing the beach, she’s been going there… HEY!” Katelyn jumps in front of me as I start toward the door. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
I look down at her in annoyance. “To look for her.”
“Oh no you’re not!” She pokes her finger in my chest hard enough that I’m surprised it doesn’t snap off. “You stay away from my cousin. Do you hear me? You have caused her enough pain.” I try to keep my cool, knowing she’s just looking out for her cousin, but she is out of her fucking mind if she thinks she can stop me from seeing Faith.
“Katelyn,” Julia starts timidly, “maybe Cade should go talk to her. She shouldn’t be by herself right now, and clearly they have a lot of things they need to discuss.”
When she doesn’t budge, Grace puts a hand on her shoulder and adds, “He won’t hurt her.”
“He already has!”
I push aside the guilt at hearing that, knowing I did the right thing no matter how hard it was and glare down at her, “You think I don’t know that? Why the fuck do you think I’ve stayed away from her?” Her eyes narrow as she assesses me, trying to ascertain if I’m telling the truth. I don’t bother to wait for her approval; I walk around her and out the door.
As soon as I pull away I crank my music, trying to block out the memories that are trying to resurface, but it doesn’t work. They begin to play through my head like a fucking movie: the sound of her sweet, soft voice when she sang to me, the way her beautiful smile would warm every cold, dark place inside of me, her cries of pleasure as I sunk into the sweetest, warmest body I’ve ever felt… a body that later was violated and taken against her will.
Rage pounds through my veins, and before I can stop it, the memory slams into me like a fucking tsunami…
My beaten and broken body hangs limp from the chains that shackle my wrists to the stone wall. And for the first time, I can feel the warmth of the blood that soaks my back and chest, the paralysis of the drugs from the last dose finally wearing off. But the agony my body feels is nothing compared to the burning pain in my chest, for fear of what they have done to Faith.
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK… We need to get the fuck out of here. I’m just about to look up to see if Jaxson and Sawyer have come to yet, when the sound of a boy’s cries and heavy boot falls make their way down the cement hall.
I keep my head down at the sound of our cell door opening, not wanting them to know yet that the drugs have worn off, in case it isn’t on purpose. I have no idea what else these fuckers have in store for us.
“Which one is it? Which one does the bitch belong to?” My body tenses at the man’s question in Arabic, knowing they’re talking about Faith.
“I will not tell you no more,” the boy sobs out.
A loud crack fills the air before I hear the sound of the boy’s pain. “TELL US!” he screams, “Your father wants me to bring him!”
My head snaps up at the two men in our cell. One of them holds the boy by his collar and has his hand risen to hit him again. “I’m right here, motherfucker.” The pain in my voice is evident as I call myself out to him.
He tosses the boy to the other guy then walks up to me, and bends down to get in my face, “So the bitch belongs to you, yes?” I don’t confirm or deny his question. “She’s a fiery one, Soldier.”
A dangerous violence rushes through my veins like hot lava. “If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you.”
“Too late,” he replies smugly. “Don’t worry, she’s still alive. But we had to show our boy here what it means to be a man, and what you do with bitches like her.”
The boy’s sobs tell me that what this bastard is saying is the truth. “And damn did she fight, but in the end it was not enough. We fucked her so…
I don’t let him finish; my fury fuels a strength I didn’t know I still possessed. Kicking my legs up from under me I wrap them around the motherfucker’s neck, and with a quick twist I hear the sickening crack before I let his dead body fall limp to the ground in front of me.
The other guard runs out and starts screaming for the others. Instantly, the sound of several boot falls pound down the hall toward our cell.
“Oh fuck!” The curse comes from Evans.
The little boy stares at me, his eyes wide with shock and fear, as tears stream down his cheeks. “I’m going to help her. I promise, I will try to get you guys out of here and…”
That’s all he got out before our cell was filled with, what had to be, at least twelve of the bastards. They all had their whips, chains and any other torture devices they possessed.
