Buttons and Lace (Buttons 1)

“You heard them, sweetheart.” He pushed her forward again. “Go.”

She wobbled on her feet before she found her footing. Then she slowly walked away, taking forever. She glanced behind her like she wasn’t sure if it was a sick game.

“Vanessa.” Power rang in my voice. I needed to bring her back to the present. I needed her to cross the distance between us before that sick motherfucker changed his mind. I pulled my gun out of the holster, just in case.

She turned to me, tears in her eyes.

“Get your ass over here now.” We could deal with her problems later. Right now wasn’t the time for her emotional abuse. “Move it.”

She walked faster, reaching the halfway point. Her arms circled her waist to fight off the chill. Her bare feet hit puddles of water, but she didn’t seem to care. Her body was numb to everything.

She was almost there, back on the right side of this battle. We would take her to the hospital and check her in at a mental facility. Without hearing a single word from her, I knew she wasn’t the same person. The woman I knew as my sister was dead. Now all I had left was her corpse.

“She’s taking too long.” He pulled a gun out of his pocket.

“Fire!” Cane reacted quicker than I did and aimed his gun.

I’d been concentrating on her, and his movement escaped my notice.

He pointed the gun directly at my sister and fired.

I had a nanosecond to react. All I could do was charge. I ran to her as fast as I could, the muscles in my legs screaming from the exertion. My hands grabbed her frail body, and I shoved her to the ground.

But it was too late.

Her head jerked forward as the bullet entered the back of her skull, making blood spray through the front. It got all over my face and jacket. Her eyes locked to mine just before the darkness descended. Then she was gone, dead before she hit the ground.

I knew she was dead, but I couldn’t accept it. I shook her, hoping she just passed out. I pressed my ear to her chest and listened for a heartbeat. I listened for a breath. I listened for anything that would tell me she was alive.

There was nothing.

Gunfire erupted around me as the battle raged. I momentarily forgot about the war. I forgot about everything altogether when I saw my little sister dead on the concrete.

The Hummers pulled out of the alleyway and took off, taking their leader with them. Shots still rang in my ears, and some of the soldiers were taken out. We lost some of our own. Maybe a few more of them would have been saved if I hadn’t lost my focus.

Cane jogged to me when the coast was clear. He kneeled beside me and looked at our dead sister. She looked like a beaten whore tossed out after being used. He breathed hard as he stared at her, not shedding a single tear.

I didn’t either. A lifetime in this business made me forsake human emotion. I didn’t understand sadness or despair. I didn’t understand happiness or joy. All I understood was rage.

And that’s what I felt now.

My brother said one word. And that word was enough to tell a complete story. He told me what we would do to the man who butchered our family. He told me what our next move was. “Bones.”

Bones fucked with us. And it was our turn to fuck with him.

Chapter Six

Pearl

He made good on his promise and fucked me just the way he said he would. I fought him as hard as I could, but he tied me down with painful ropes and shoved his dick inside me.

It hurt.

All I could do was lie there and take it.

I felt disgusting.

Dirty.

I wanted to cry, but I refused to. I refused to give him that satisfaction. He didn’t deserve my screams or my tears. He wanted to break me because he knew it would be a challenge.

But I wouldn’t budge.

When he was finished, he took me again and again. The night passed in agony, and I thought I would rip in half, right down the middle. By the time he was satisfied, I was barely conscious. I could only lie on my stomach because my backside hurt so much. And I knew I couldn’t even consider using the bathroom again.

He leaned over and pressed his lips to my ear. “I’m going to do that every single day until you cry for me. And between you and me, I hope you don’t.” He smacked my ass before he walked out.

When I was finally left alone, I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. I was covered in his come, and he’d penetrated me so many times I actually bled. I got into the shower and stood under the warm water because it was my only safe place. I had a bedroom, but it didn’t have a door. He could come in whenever he pleased. But whenever I was in the bathroom, he didn’t bother me.