Buttons and Pain (Buttons 3)

That was a meaningless threat since I didn’t care if I lived or died at the moment. Disappearing into the void sounded much more appetizing than becoming a slave to that madman. The only thing stopping me was Crow.

He would never recover if I died.

He barely accepted the fact Vanessa was gone. If I suffered the same fate he’d put a bullet inside his brain immediately.

I had to escape.

The SUV Drove forward and away from the tiny airport. Soon we were on the round and headed straight into Rome. Now I knew my surroundings better than before I left. I spent time studying the geography when I was back in America, not because I thought I would be kidnapped again, but because I missed the place I’d called home for a whole year.

With a gaze full of dullness I looked out the window and pretended to be indifferent to everyone inside the vehicle. They made the mistake of not handcuffing me, and I would take advantage of their stupidity. They knew I was feisty but they obviously didn’t know I was brave and stupid. I would crash this car into oncoming traffic if I had to.

The minutes trickled by and we approached Rome. Hardly any cars were on the streets because it was some odd hour in the morning. After being drugged and flying across the Atlantic, I had no understanding of time.

My eyes glanced at the man sitting beside me. The gun was still pointed at me but it was slowly lowering as the gravity made his hand tired. Instead of looking at me like he should his eyes were glued out the front window. The radio wasn’t on and only silence kept us company.

I was going for it.

I leapt across the car and swatted the gun down to the floor. Just as I’d seen Crow do countless times, I pulled my right arm back and slugged him hard across the face. I hit him again until his nose broke then I slammed his head into the windowsill.

The car swerved as the driver realized what was going on. He cursed in Italian and got control of the wheel. The man in the passenger seat grabbed me by the back of the neck and tried to pull me off but it was no use.

I had this asshole in a death grip.

I pulled the lever on the door and it flew open to the street below the tires. The man nearly fell but gripped the door and the chair to say steady. Blood streaked down his face and dripped from his chin. “You bitch—”

I shoved my foot into his chest and kicked him out of the car. His back hit the pavement and he rolled in the road toward the sidewalk. I didn’t have time to watch and see if he survived. Now I had to jump out and get the hell out of there.

“This cunt is crazy!” The man in the passenger seat dragged me back into the car and pinned me to the leather seats. He yanked my hands behind my back then quickly tied them together with a thick string of rope that chafed against my skin as he tightened the strings. I didn’t cry out in pain despite how much it hurt. He grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it right at my temple. “Move and you’ll die.” The door was still open so he slammed it shut. Neither one of them mentioned their fallen comrade and clearly had no intention of retrieving him.

That was cold, even to me.

He cocked the gun and kept it pressed to my temple. “Now I understand his fascination with you. Always fighting. Always trying.” His hand slid around my arm and underneath my body. His longer fingers groped my breasts through my shirt and squeezed them hard. “Maybe I’ll tit-fuck you before we get there.”

I thrust my hips as hard as I could to buck him off but he weighed more than a cow. My movement had no impact on him whatsoever. “I’m gonna shove that gun up your ass then pull the trigger.”

“Dirty talked.” He chuckled. “I like it.” He found my nipple then squeezed it painfully, getting off to my misery as well as my curves.

My mind immediately went into panic mode and I nearly had a break down right then and there. All the memories of my captivity swarmed back and I realized I was returning to a place far worse than hell. I would be beaten and raped on a daily basis, and I wouldn’t see the sunshine ever again. Like an animal, I would be kicked around and disciplined for any misbehavior. I would no longer have a name but be referred to as a slave. I wouldn’t have—”

Everything moved in slow motion. The glass of window shattered and sprayed across my back. It was cold from its contact with the nighttime air, and it was sharp like the teeth of a monster. The SUV immediately served harshly to the right as it fell prey to the stampede that had just been unleashed. The man holding me down flew across the vehicle and slammed into the opposite door. My hands were still secured behind my back and I couldn’t hold onto anything. I flew through the air and slammed into the man’s chest, feeling the padding of his body rather than the hardness of the door frame. The world kept spinning until we came to an abrupt halt.