Thwack.
My body jerks in the bonds. I’m tied at both wrists and ankles, face up. The whole bed shakes with the impact. And the pain…God, the pain is unbearable. It’s blinding. It’s all the lights onstage and all the hands touching me. It’s a snake bite, the lash of the tail and the sting of the teeth biting into my flesh.
But I have to bear it. Death isn’t easy.
I can only survive.
Thwack.
I have more empathy for Candy than I could have before. If she’s felt even a fraction of this pain, no wonder she shoots up. I’d do anything to feel numb.
“Please,” I whimper.
I didn’t mean to say it. Didn’t mean to beg. He doesn’t deserve the satisfaction.
He does pause. He sets the belt on the bed. The mattress groans as he leans down toward me. “What was that?” he says, his voice deceptively gentle.
There are more men waiting outside, standing watch. I wonder if they’ve bothered to clear out the whole motel. It might be safer, just to make sure there are no witnesses. On the other hand, why bother? No one will have seen anything by the time the police come through. And if they did, Byron’s friends’ connections would cover it up.
“I don’t know where she is,” I whisper.
He leans closer, his mouth just inches from my ear. “Why should I believe you?”
I taste something metallic on my tongue. Blood? “Because I’m telling the truth.”
He leans back, smiling. “I’m not in a hurry, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on you again. I intend to savor this. You’ll be praying for death before I’m done with you.”
What he doesn’t understand is that I’m already praying for death. I’ve lost everything.
My sister. I’ll never see her again.
Thwack.
And Kip. God, he was never really mine. But the hope of him was so sweet.
Thwack.
Even my father. I had waited so long for him to stand up for me. Did he mean it about my mother? That would mean he didn’t kill her.
Thwack.
But if she’s been alive all this time, it means she left me. Abandoned me to this life.
Thwack thwack thwack.
It’s too much. The physical pain. The emotional. My soul is on fire. My skin is ablaze. The edges of my vision turn crimson.
Byron looms over me, a smile on his face. And I am more afraid than ever. It’s never good when he’s pleased. “I know what you’ve been doing here. A stripper. Fuck, I’m glad I didn’t marry you. I’d have had to kill you. I guess I’ll kill you either way.”
Don’t let him get to you. He can fuck with my body, but I don’t want him to fuck with my mind. I have a sick feeling he’ll do both, and I won’t be able to stop him.
“I know about your little boyfriend too.”
My stomach turns over. “Your brother?”
Byron laughs, and dread settles deep into my core. “I’m surprised he told you about that.” There’s a gleam in Byron’s eye. “Did he tell you our family secrets too?”
A little. I know about Kip’s father and how he left them. I knew they grew up poor. Is that why Byron seemed to hate me from the beginning, because my family had money? “No.”