Ravaged by Them (Descent Into Darkness 2)

“Never.” Rourke kissed the other side of my neck. “You belong to us and we belong to you—always.”

“Good.” I exhaled sharply.

“Round—whatever we’re at now?” Brody moved his hand along my thigh.

“I’m ready.” I nodded and bit down on my bottom lip.

One week later

“Good morning, Mr. Hughes. I’m glad you could

come to speak with me.” I opened the door to my study and welcomed the man inside.

“Nobody refuses a request to come to Prescott Manor.” He looked around the room. “Although it looks less intimidating now that you’re the queen of the castle.”

“I thought some flowers were a nice touch.” I walked over and took a seat behind my desk.

“What’s this about?” He took a seat across from me.

“You did some work for my father—right? Private investigation stuff?” I tilted my head to the side.

“Yeah, a few cases.” He nodded quickly. “Nothing illegal—I didn’t get into that stuff at all.”

“I know. He videotaped all of your meetings, so I’m well aware of what kind of work you did for him.” I leaned back in my chair. “But just because it wasn’t illegal doesn’t mean that you weren’t helping him find people who didn’t want to be found—people that ended up wishing that they knew how to hide a little better than they did.”

“Yeah…” He looked down at the floor and shifted in his seat. “He really videotaped all of our meetings?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “But don’t worry, I’m not going to use that against you. I just want your help.”

“Okay.” He blinked in surprise a couple of times. “What can I do for you.”

“I’m trying to do good things with my father’s money and while charity goes a long way, I’ve also taken an interest in something else. I’d like to help those that stumbled from the right path because my father led them astray. One of those people is you, Mr. Hughes. But I’ve got a way for you to redeem yourself.” I nodded. “The Doll Face case—Madison Snow.”

“What about it? That’s a matter for the police—not that they’re doing much with it, from what I understand.” He shrugged.

“I want you to find her.” I folded my arms across my chest. “She doesn’t have a family that’s looking for her and while she was a celebrity once upon a time, I’m sure there are things someone of your talent could do.”

“I could look into it.” Hughes nodded quickly.

“Thank you.” I smiled and motioned to the door. “I’d like you to start immediately.”

“Of course.” He stood up and started walking towards the door, but he paused before he left. “Thank you, Ms. Prescott. This means more than you realize—I never felt good about the things your father asked me to do—even if I drew a line—I should have done more.”

“I know.” I nodded and smiled.

I watched those videotapes—the ones where you kept begging my father not to ask you for help.

I hoped that Hughes would be able to help Madison Snow, but that wasn’t the only reason I called him. I needed allies like Hughes—good men that were in need of redemption because they dipped their toes in the bitterness of my father’s brutal kingdom. He was just the first lost soul I was going to try and bring back from the brink, and I hoped that if I could save enough of them, then maybe mine would be cleansed as well.

The torment and pain I begged for when I was with Brody and Rourke was a way to help me heal, but there were wounds that still needed to be closed. The tortured soul of Jeremy Hughes was just one part of the debt I felt like I owed to the world. I inherited every one of them when my father threw himself in front of that bullet.

In the end, family did come first—even when it meant undoing all of the damage that the Prescott name had done.

Blaze And Bind Sneak Peek

Rachel

“Dad, are you okay?” I walked in the kitchen to find my father leaning against the kitchen counter with a look on his face that suggested he wasn’t.