“You’re right, Aspen. I don’t want to do this. I need to do it. I’ll have my way with you, even if you don’t want me. Even if Quinton will kill me. I don’t care.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond and slams the trunk closed, and I’m left in nothing but darkness. A moment later, the car moves, and my thoughts race. How am I going to get out of this alive? How am I going to survive him? There is no reasoning with him, and yet, there is no escaping either. Fear slices through me with every passing second. I roll to my side as we turn and slam my head against the wall of the trunk when the driver makes another sharp turn.
Pain lances across my scalp, and I barely hold back a cry of pain. I’m not sure how long they drive, but it’s long enough for the throbbing in my head to subside and for my hands and shoulder blades to go numb.
The vehicle turns once more before coming to a complete stop. Fuck. Time is running out. I have to escape, to get away. I’d be stupid not to. My entire body trembles when I hear the slamming of car doors. I force myself to take a calming breath, and when the trunk opens, it’s completely dark outside now.
Matteo stands above me, and his sickening grin makes me want to barf. “Did you miss me?”
I snarl my lip like a feral animal when he reaches for me. With the closeness of his body to mine and the fact that I’m sitting up, I use it to my advantage. Tipping my head back as far as I can, I headbutt him right in the nose. Pain explodes across my forehead, and I’m knocked off-kilter for a moment.
“You fucking bitch!” Matteo shouts, a hand pressed against his face.
I try to roll out of the trunk, but he stops me before I can get far. His fingers thread into my hair, and he grabs a fistful of the locks, tugging me out of the vehicle by my hair.
A scream rips from my throat, the burning pain lances across my scalp, and I can feel him ripping the strands from my scalp. Tears slip from my eyes, and my skin burns as he drags me across the concrete.
“Get the door, Rico. We’re going to teach this bitch a fucking lesson. I was gonna fuck you alone, Aspen, but since you are being a cunt, I’m going to let my brother and uncle fuck you too.”
“Please, don’t do this!” I scream, struggling in his grasp.
When he finally stops, he releases my hair, and I sag to the ground. The ground is cold, and I realize we’re in a warehouse. It’s musty, and my lungs burn as I suck air into them.
Matteo tugs me forward, a low-hanging pipe just above my head. My eyes catch on the glint of a knife, and even in the dim lighting, there would be no denying that it’s a sharp blade. He rolls me over and cuts the rope holding my hands in place.
I’m already thinking of my next move, ready to lash out when he rolls me back over and a pair of handcuffs appear. He attaches one to my hand and the other to the pipe above my head.
“Please, Matteo, please, think about this,” I plead, hoping to reason with him, even if there is no hope.
“That’s the thing, Aspen. I have. I’ve thought about it often. Every. Single. Night.”
Rico hands him another set of handcuffs, and I wonder where the third person disappeared to. He handcuffs my other hand to the bar and leans back, taking a look at me like I’m some prized trophy. Blood trickles from his nose, and I smile with satisfaction, knowing that I made him bleed, that I hurt him, even if only a little bit.
He grabs me by the cheeks, squeezing hard enough to crush bone. “Keep smiling. I can’t wait to wipe that look off your face, to remove the light in your eyes.”
The knife comes back into view, and I shiver as he drags it down the front of my loose-fitted T-shirt. The cotton parts in an instant, the blade moving through the fabric like a hot knife through butter.
He glides the tip over my skin, and I realize how badly this is going to get. I tip my head back and stare up at the metal pipe, trying to disappear inside my head.
The tip of the blade slides into the waistband of my sweatpants, and I’m certain he’s going to cut me open with it when he moves the blade in a sawing motion and slices through the fabric. It falls away, landing on the floor, leaving me bare.
“So much creamy, smooth skin. I can’t wait to mark you.” He drags the blade down my thigh, the tip sinking into my skin. I don’t realize he’s cut me till I feel something warm on my skin.Blood.“Oops, guess I got a little excited.”
By the time he reaches my ankles, I’m shivering and praying to God that I pass out, so I don’t have to endure this. No one is coming to save me. No one can protect me. Matteo is going to break me, and I’ll never be able to put myself back together again.
“I don’t know what I should fuck you with first, the blade or my cock?” Bile rises in my throat, and I have to force myself not to vomit. He drops to his haunches. “Maybe I’ll do both. Fuck your mouth while I fuck your cunt with the blade.”
All I can do is shake my head. The tears continue to come, slipping down my cheeks.
The ringing of a cell phone fills the space, and I blink my eyes open to see Matteo reach into his pocket and pull his phone out. I almost sigh with relief when he pulls away from me.
“Sorry, I’ve got to take this, but I’ll be back in a few to make good on our deal.” He slaps my thigh, and I tense. “Get comfortable and think about which you would prefer inside you. Maybe I will be nice if you beg for my cock.”
I say nothing, even if I want to lash out at him. He walks away, his receding footsteps leave me a little calmer, but my head still spins, the headbutt from earlier now affecting me more since the adrenaline has worn off. Shivers wrack my body, and I lie here freezing for what seems hours. Eventually, even though I shouldn’t, I let my heavy eyes flutter closed, and I doze off.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but I wake up when I feel the air shift around me. Someone is approaching from behind. I try to twist my neck to look behind me, but before I can move, someone grabs me from behind and holds me still.
A shriek escapes my lips when a sharp pain erupts in my neck. The room is blanketed in complete darkness, but I can feel warm breath on my ear, followed by the words, “I hope you know I just did you a huge favor.”
My lips part and I’m seconds from asking them to help me when my eyes flutter closed, and I’m welcomed into the darkness of my dreams.
The only place I have left to hide.