The Widow Maker (Dark Vows Duet 2)

“I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Rain,” he tells me with a kind smile. “I hope now you’re never going to lie to me again.”

He gently takes off the metal contraptions and calls for a maid. The woman cleans me with a warm towel, but I barely even feel the fabric on my skin. I’ve been through so much today my mind has blocked out the senses to help me. The maid helps me up on trembling feet. The room is now empty save for Xander who’s watching me closely.

“You did well today, Rain,” he tells me with a smile. “Tomorrow, we’ll try this with twice as many men.”

I let out a strangled cry that makes him laugh. But I’m done being quiet. Except when I force myself to speak, a single word comes out, and my voice breaks over the one syllable I force to pass between my lips.

“Why?”

“Why?” Xander repeats, smirking at me. He steps forward, nuzzling back my sweat soaked hair. “Because I can, Rain. That’s fucking why.”

He shackles my wrists himself and blows me a kiss before the maid leads me out of the room and back into my bedroom. At least they don’t cuff me to the bed this time.

There is no consolation from the other woman. She sets up some food for me by the bed and quietly leaves the room. The lock clicks after she exits, reminding me I’m nothing but a prisoner. Just like fucking always.

My whole body is pounding with pain. The things they put me through are appalling, fucking disgusting. But worse than that... I’ve given up on Heath. Even if he finds me now, he wouldn’t be able to erase everything that’s happened to me while I’ve been here. These memories will stick with me for life. And there’s nothing Heath Gunn can do to change that.

Chapter five

The next morning, Xavier’s men and I set off early to go to the orphanage, and he leaves with my crew for the asylum. My heart pounds during the drive. I don’t know why I’m so fucking convinced Rain is here, but something tells me Xander has a special connection to this place where his brother abandoned him to find a better life.

As we drive, I keep my eyes peeled for any sign of life, but when we arrive at the property, we find it gated and desolate.

“Fuck,” I curse out loud, fighting the urge to scream. “It’s abandoned. We’ve fucked up.”

There’s been no word from Xavier, which gives me an opportunity to at least look around. Xavier’s men and I disperse over the property, climbing the fence and exploring the land where the orphanage stood once. There are still some remains of the building, but they’re broken down, charred and ruined from years of neglect after the fire. Vegetation has taken over the place, and ivy climbs the ruins of the once majestic building while wild animals wander the property.

“There’s something you should see,” one of Xavier’s men mutters at me. I follow him to a clearing a little way off from the burned property. “The orphanage was isolated. This property goes on for miles. We found traces of car tires here. Recent.”

My hopes suddenly soar. Perhaps not everything is lost. Maybe I can still find Rain. Maybe my instincts were right.

“Search the property,” I nod at the men. “The entire property. Pairs of two men. Go now.”

“What about you?” the man narrows his eyes at me. “Don Xavier told us not to leave you unsupervised.”

“Of fucking course he did,” I mutter. “Fine, you come with me.”

Together, we head deeper into the forest line that surrounds the burned down property. The trees are tall and the shadows they throw ominous. But I’m determined to find Rain no matter how well she’s hidden, and I still can’t shake the feeling that she’s somewhere nearby.

The other man takes a quick phone call, barking replies as someone fills him in on the other end. Finally, he ends the call and shakes his head at me, saying, “They found out nothing at the asylum. They’re on their way here now.”

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath. “Another goddamned dead end. We need to keep looking.”

We venture deeper into the forest when the guy gets another call. He faces me with a stony expression after ending it. “They found something.”

In minutes, we join the pair that called. Soon enough, all of Xavier’s men join us and my heart pounds as the other two guards point to a tall barbed fence. Behind it, a huge property looms. Instantly, I know we’ve got him.

We make quick work of finding a weak spot in the fence and cutting through it. One guy gets shocked by the tension in the wire, so I send him off to see a doctor. Meanwhile, I’m one of the first to sneak through the underbrush on the other side of the fence. All I can do is silently pray Xavier won’t be here for a while yet. Can’t risk him finding Rain before me.