Ravaged by Them (Descent Into Darkness 2)

Holy shit. He’s trying to bribe me. One million dollars? Fuck!

“Mr. Prescott…” I blinked a couple of times, mostly because I was stunned into silence and my thoughts were in disarray.

“Think about what you’re about to say. I know you’re in love—I respect that—but this is just a temporary affair. She’s still a child. She’ll probably go through a dozen guys like you, but she’ll never marry one of them.” He shook his head back and forth. “I’ll find her a husband that—looks the other way. Maybe one that likes to watch. Who knows, maybe you’l

l still get to fuck her from time-to-time once she’s been properly married.”

I need to decline his offer, but I need to do it delicately. This is still the most powerful man in Chicago, even if he’s being civil right now.

“Look, I know you’re used to making problems go away with money, but I don’t want to be a problem for you.” I stared at the burning end of the cigar. “I really do care about your daughter. Why isn’t that enough?”

“But you are a problem, Mr. Connors.” He sipped his drink. “I’m working to make the right deal to make sure she marries someone who can strengthen our family. I’ve only got one daughter. I have to do what’s right for the family. Family comes first, you know?”

“Yeah, I think I saw that on your wall.” I stifled a chuckle.

“One million dollars is a lot of money for someone from the South Side. Think about your mother—that little shack she’s lived in her whole life. You could buy her a nice house—she wouldn’t have to wait tables anymore.” He nodded and puffed his cigar.

This fucker is bringing my mom into this? Now I’m about to lose my temper.

“It’s a lot of money, Mr. Prescott.” I sighed and sipped my drink. “But I’m not the kind of man that can be bought. I hope you respect that—maybe you won’t, but that’s just who I am.”

“Then I guess we’re finished here.” His eyebrows came together, and I heard a light growl in his throat. “You can see yourself out.”

“Yeah…” I stood and finished my drink before putting the glass down on his desk.

I have a feeling this is far from over.

Anabelle

Present day

Exhaustion took me at some point. I woke up and saw that the faintest hint of daylight had started to push through the windows. I had been with them for the entire night. My father had to be going out of his mind. I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. I had slept on my shoulder and my hands were numb, but once I repositioned myself, the feeling started to return. I laid there for several minutes and then I looked down at my feet. Rourke had taken the ropes off of them before he fucked me. There was nothing to stop me from running. I shifted until I was on my feet and looked out the window.

We’re in the woods. That’s all I can see in every direction. Even if I could get away, I wouldn’t know where to go.

I wasn’t sure that taking my chances in the woods with my hands tied behind my back was a better option than remaining in the cabin. I did have one small element of power—they wanted something from me. Rourke and Brody were using me to satisfy their lust, but that wasn’t all it was about. I asked Rourke to run away with me and he declined—he didn’t want to spend his life looking over his shoulder. The only way he could be exonerated was with my help. Killing me might make the case against them more complicated, but they would still go to trial. The escape wasn’t going to look very good, and it didn’t seem like it would be very hard to pin my kidnapping on them—possibly even my murder if they ever found my body.

Rourke’s too smart to kill me. Brody might be a monster that wants to slit my throat to make me go away, but Rourke’s very calculated. Everything he does—he does it with precision.

It was the first time I had really gotten a chance to think since I had been taken, but the picture was starting to become a little clearer. Rourke wanted me to turn on my father. That was how he got the freedom he was really after. My testimony could give him a clean slate and put the man who actually killed John behind bars. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t testify against my father. It went against everything I knew—it violated the Prescott family motto. Sending Rourke and Brody to prison was the only choice I had, and it was the hardest one I ever had to make. I put my faith in my father—but what if he lied to me? Did that really change things? I was still Anabelle Prescott—and Prescott’s put family first. Regretting my decision—hating myself for it—that didn’t change who I was.

“Sometimes I wonder if you ever really loved me.” I heard Rourke’s voice and slowly turned to face him.

I did—maybe I still do. You just don’t understand why I had to choose family over love.

“You walked into my life and put a lit match in the center of my world—you made me believe that I was more than just some South Side thug.” He walked over and grabbed the gag, pulling it out of my mouth with a quick tug.

“You were…” I exhaled sharply. “I saw the man you really wanted to be.”

“Maybe, but that’s not the man you let me become.” He shook his head back and forth. “You tried to bring me into your world—and you should have known there was no place in it for me.”

“My father…” I looked down at the floor. “He told me that he wouldn’t stand in the way of our relationship if I got you to help him with his problem. John wasn’t supposed to die.”

“Do you really think your father wrestled the gun out of John’s hands and killed him in self-defense?” Rourke tilted his head to the side.

“That’s what he told me…” I nodded. “Why wouldn’t I believe him?”

It’s not like I had a chance to figure out the plausibility of that scenario before the cops showed up.