I dared to take another step closer to him. It had our bodies almost practically touching. “I won’t tell anyone what happened. You know I’m good at keeping secrets. I kept yours all those years. I… I did what you wanted me to do. I’m good at that too. My dad made sure of that.”
I heard Rush draw in a breath of air and saw his jaw tick. He stepped forward, pressing me back until I hit the belt behind me. He loomed over me, but I held my ground. I quickly located the piece of metal and tore at it with my fingers.
“Are you actually trying to proposition me?” he sneered.
“I’m trying to stay alive,” I responded. “I don’t give a shit about the past. I’ll do anything to get out of this.”
Rush studied me for a moment, then looked at the other man. Several long seconds passed before Rush nodded at him. I was both glad and horrified when he left.
I thought maybe Rush would order me to my knees, but he clearly wasn’t interested in playing around, because he grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back. “Let’s see how tight your ass is after all those years of your daddy plowing it.”
Rush released me long enough to rip my pants open. My fingernails broke and I could feel blood spilling over my hand as I tore at the piece of metal. I stifled my cry of fear as Rush turned me around and bent me over the conveyer belt. I lay perfectly still as he slid his hand over my bare ass. Satisfied with my show of supplication, Rush’s hand disappeared and I heard his zipper being drawn down, followed by the sound of him spitting, probably into his hand so he could wet his cock. I bit into my lip to keep from calling out for help. It was at the exact moment that Rush’s dick bumped against my ass that I got the metal free. As Rush leaned over me and slapped his hand next to me on the belt while his other hand worked his dick between my cheeks, I eased the piece of metal from beneath the belt and got a good grip on it. The second Rush’s cock pressed against my hole, I reared back hard enough to hit Rush in the nose with the back of my head. Pain blinded me for a moment as Rush let out a shout. His weight disappeared from my back and I quickly turned around. He had his hands covering his bloodied nose.
“You little—”
That was all he got out before I plunged the piece of metal into his neck as hard as I could. Blood spurted as Rush staggered backwards. He reached for the metal, his eyes wide. I tried to jerk my pants up so I could make a run for it, but a wave of dizziness passed over me and I fell to the ground. I started to crawl as the sound of gurgling filled my ears.
I was dimly aware of popping sounds coming from outside, but I couldn’t make sense of why anyone would be setting off firecrackers now.
Darkness began to threaten to steal me away, but I managed to see Rush collapse to the ground. The metal was gone from his neck, but there was so much blood that I knew it didn’t matter anymore.
“Caleb!”
I sobbed into my arm as Jace’s terrified shout ripped through the warehouse. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn’t manage it, so I had no choice but to wait until he found me.
Which was just moments later.
“Caleb, baby,” Jace said frantically as he dropped to his knees next to me and eased me up onto his lap. “Talk to me,” he begged.
“Willa? Aleks,” I whispered, because my throat hurt.
“Safe. They’re both safe. Aleks called Dante from the shop you told him to hide in.”
Jace tucked me against his chest. I was still naked from the waist down. “Caleb,” Jace whispered brokenly as his hand trailed down my naked hip toward my pants.
“He didn’t, Jace. He didn’t,” I managed to say. “I’m okay.”
An anguished sob tore from Jace’s throat as he leaned over me. “Thank you,” Jace whispered. He kept repeating the words over and over again as he rocked me back and forth on his lap. I could feel his tears on my face, but I didn’t have the energy to tell him not to cry.
“Jace, let me look at him,” I heard Ronan say. I could hear sirens in the distance, but I didn’t know if they were for me or not.
Jace released me enough so Ronan could run his hands over me. He asked me questions, especially about my head, but I struggled to answer him.
“He’ll need to be treated for a concussion, but he’ll be okay,” Ronan said quietly.