“Trey, turn off the camera,” Wes orders and the hand on my breast disappears. A moment later so does the finger from inside of me. I open my eyes, blinking away tears. It isn’t until I turn my head, that I notice Wes isn’t gripping my throat anymore.
His hand is simply holding my chin now, his thumb running over my jawline in a soothing manner. Before he lets go completely, our eyes lock and for a second, I see something that looks a lot like regret in his eyes. He averts his eyes and when I follow his gaze, I find Trey and Declan standing beside the bed looking at me. To my shock, I see the same whirlwind of emotions reflected in Trey’s eyes. Declan’s gaze stays emotionless just as before.
“What now?” Trey asks.
“We’ll send the video to Richards, give him until tomorrow to respond.”
“And…?” Trey nods his head toward me.
“We can’t leave her here, the door won’t lock. We’ll take her upstairs,” Declan says and starts to undo the rope on my ankles. Apparently, this is not something they have to vote on because Wes starts to untie one wrist while Trey does the other. My body starts to shake uncontrollably and my teeth chatter together.
“Are you going to hurt me more?” The words quiver from my lips.
“Not tonight, Princess,” Trey says softly, softer than I thought possible out of his mouth. I’m almost hyperventilating, relief flooding my veins when I realize they aren’t actually going to rape me, or beat me…at least not right now.
Trey slides his arms under my body and picks me up like I weigh nothing and something inside of me cracks at that moment. I’m so confused, hot and cold all at once. I know I can’t trust them, that I shouldn’t crave their touch, but I feel broken and I can’t help leaning into Trey’s chest to seek comfort and warmth.
When we walk out of the room, I notice that they leave everything in there, the camera, the duffel bag, and even the ropes are still partially tied to the bed. It’s then that I know they are planning to bring me back here and do worse…but by then everything will be straightened out. They’ll contact my father and realize that they made a mistake.
By tomorrow everything will be back to normal, and I can forget that today ever happened. When we get back into the elevator my eyelids are impossibly heavy, exhaustion washes over me, making my limbs feel like lead. I think I used up all my adrenaline reserves and I’m now running on fumes. I don’t know what time it is, but it must be past three in the morning. None of the men say anything, their silence lulling me into darkness. My eyes drift closed and all I hear is Trey’s steady heartbeat against my ear as I quickly drift off into a deep sleep, praying for a better outcome tomorrow.
Chapter Four
Wes
I can’t stop looking at her face. Her eyes are closed, but the skin around them is red and puffy from crying. Her bottom lip is still trembling, even though the rest of her body seems to have stopped shaking. Trey is holding her almost naked form close to his chest as he carries her out of the elevator.
We take a few steps into the living area and stop. For a long time, we just stand there in silence. No one has said a word since we left that room, but one look at my brothers and I know we are all thinking the same thing.
We are crossing the line.
We have tortured and killed countless people, many when we were still working for the government, a lot for our own gain and some simply for vengeance. But this is different. She is innocent, I know it and so do my brothers. Even though hurting her would be the best and most brutal way to get to her father, it would also mean we would cross a line we haven’t before…a line we are hovering over right now.
Two hours ago, I was ready to cross that line without a second thought. Now I’m not sure anymore. When I heard that guttural pained cry coming from her throat, things suddenly changed. It wasn’t the physical pain that formed her cry into a knife slicing through my chest, it was the emotional hurt hidden in it. Judging by my brothers’ reactions and the look on their faces now, they felt it too.
“Well, that didn’t go as I thought it would,” Trey finally breaks the silence.
“You think?” Declan replies dryly. “What are we going to do with her now?”
“Let’s sleep for a few hours and regroup then.” I turn to Trey. “But first, I need you to send the message. Here, let me have her. We’ll put her…” I trail off, looking at her already roughed up wrists. If we tie her up again tonight, her wrists will be bloody by the morning, and I can’t risk her getting an infection.