Ravaged by Them (Descent Into Darkness 2)

“Nah. No way. She knows the truth about her father. She’s not going to fall in line and be his princess after finding out what kind of man he is.” Rourke stood and stretched out. “I think I’m going to go for a walk. Maybe that will get my mind off things for a little bit.”

“Take the gun—just in case you see a deer or something.” I chuckled and walked over to turn on the television.

Rourke headed out and I stared at the screen. All of the media attention seemed to be on the girl they called Doll Face—her real name was Madison Snow. Fitting, considering that her skin looked like porcelain. I didn’t care about her though. I just wanted an update on the situation that concerned me. Suddenly, I got my wish—just not in the way I expected. A headline came on about Hannah Clark. She had been arrested—at Prescott Manor. Hearing her name made my stomach twist into a knot. She was connected to Josef Weber. She was the sister of the guy he tried to have me kill.

Fucking rich people. At least another one is getting what they deserve, but I don’t like how close this hits to home.

I had no idea Josef Weber was in business with Adrian Prescott when I started working for him. That might have given me pause—especially after he saw Anabelle at our house. A realization swept over me as a stared at the screen. There was a very good chance Weber was the one who told Adrian Prescott about our relationship with Anabelle—perhaps it was revenge for my defiance when I refused to fall in line and be one of his soldiers. If that was the case, then the cascade of torment that came at us was my partially my fault. I tried to flush those thoughts of my head. Even if it was due to something I did, Anabelle was the one who made the choice to betray us.

I guess she’s paid her penance and if she makes it right, I’ll forgive her for everything. I saw into her soul when we were in the woods—and realized that I cared about her more than I ever thought was possible.

I was a barely more than a boy when I felt the first sting of betrayal. The girl I was dating in high school got pregnant and I assumed the baby was mine. I held her hand through the entire pregnancy, waited in the delivery room, and contemplated how I was going to ever be a father. Then the baby was born, and I realized it couldn’t be mine—not unless I had a relative in my family tree of African descent. Staring that child in the face and realizing that I had spent nine months preparing to change my life for a lie ate every bit of the emotions inside of me. My girlfriend’s confession destroyed what was left.

I never found out who the father was—she wouldn’t tell me. In retrospect, that was probably a good thing. I would have had blood on my hands if I knew who she cheated on me with. I might have killed her too if I didn’t want to leave a newborn without a mother. It wasn’t his fault that his mother was a slut. That child wasn’t the only thing born that day—a monster was born inside me. An emotionless monster that loved to hurt—torment—and used women for pleasure without forming a connection with them.

Until Anabelle.

Maybe I always knew that she had stolen my heart, or maybe her betrayal just let the monster take over, so I could survive long enough to regain my humanity by looking into her beautiful emerald eyes. Being separated from her after feeling that bond tore at my gut and made me ache for something I never expected to feel again—love. I would have to share her, but that didn’t bother me. She had a connection with Rourke and he truly loved her. The three of us could have a future that was different than the fairy tale she grew up in—but it would be ours.

That can’t happen until all of this is made right and Adrian Prescott realizes his baby girl has been taken from him. He’s no longer her daddy dearest and I doubt he’ll be the King of Chicago much longer.

That’s a good thing.

All kings eventually fall.

Even the ones that think they’re untouchable.

The next day

Waking up the next day was as miserable as the one before it. Silence—which should have been a pleasant sound—but the cabin was truly starting to feel like it was a prison. I was going to have to call my uncle. What else could I do? We didn’t have a car and we were going to need more supplies. Rourke might have decided to start kicking his habits, but I enjoyed my vices. I needed more smokes, booze—or anything that would give me a buzz—and since Rourke’s nature walk didn’t result in him turning into a master hunter, we were going to need food. I couldn’t shake the sense of dread that kept building—the worry that something could go wrong. Anabelle might have been broken to the point that she was able to see her father for the man that he truly was, but that didn’t mean she was a match for the King of Chicago.

I shouldn’t have let her go. Damn it. I thought I was doing t

he right thing, but now I’m starting to question my decision. Is this what love feels like? Worrying about someone? Wishing you could just hear their voice and know they’re alright?

I got up out of bed and grabbed my burner phone. I placed a quick call to my uncle and asked if he could come by later with supplies. He agreed that he could make the trip, but it would later in the evening after he got off work. That was better than nothing. I could live off crumbs and ration what we had for one day. Rourke appeared to be on another one of nature walks since he wasn’t in the cabin, so I sat down in front of the television like I had done every single fucking day. I never cared much for it before I went to jail, but it was the only thing that could possibly provide insight into what was going on outside of our cabin—in the real world. Which is where I wanted to be again.

That run-down house on the South Side would be a sight for sore eyes right now. Never thought I would miss that piece of shit. Hell, I wish I could walk into O’Malley’s and have a fucking drink. Even that would be better than sitting here on my ass staring at this fucking box.

“Anything on the news?” Rourke opened the door behind me and stepped inside the cabin.

“No.” I didn’t even look back at him, I just grunted. “I called my uncle. He’s going to bring us some more supplies this evening.”

“Maybe we should just get him to give us a ride to the city.” Rourke sat down beside me. “We could hide out in the South Side. I’m sure the cops aren’t looking for us in every corner.”

“I’d be too fucking tempted to drive a car straight through the gates of Prescott Manor and strangle Anabelle’s father myself if I was close enough for that to be a reality,” I growled under my breath.

“I know what you mean.” Rourke nodded aimlessly. “We have to trust Anabelle though. She’s going to do the right thing and come through for us.”

“Unless he figures out that she’s working against him. I don’t even want to think about what could happen if he realizes she’s not his little girl anymore.” I shook my head back and forth. “We should have just got a damn video of her retracting her testimony—sent it to the press. That would have cleared our name at least.”

“They’d just say it was coerced.” Rourke shrugged. “Besides, what good would it do? We’d might not be running from the police, but we’d still be running—it would just be Adrian Prescott after us.”

“I’d take my chances.” I shook my head back and forth. “That’s better than putting Anabelle in danger. If she was with me, I could make sure she was safe.”

“It’s not just about us though—it’s never just been about us. She wasn’t ours when she came to the South Side. She was nothing more than a princess visiting our world. When this is all over, we’ll have a real future together—the three of us.” Rourke looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

“I really hope your right.” I nodded.