Chills wrack my body as I lie on the hard floor.
Oh my god! Adam’s brother hired Callum to attack me and use pictures of it to hurt Adam? But why? Tears start to streak down my face and I thrash uselessly against the zip ties that bind my arms and legs. I can’t let them hurt Adam this way. I won’t cause him pain like that again.
Callum must hear me moving, because he quickly finishes his call. “Gotta go, mate. Fun’s about to begin. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
Heavy footsteps circle the sofa and stop next to my head. A thick panic drops into my gut and blooms. Callum crouches down and grabs the hair on the back of my head, yanking my face up towards his.
“Oh, I’m so going to enjoy this,” he whispers, his disgusting breath making me recoil in disgust.
He slaps me hard across my cheek, then slams my head against the floor. “That’s for being such an uppity cunt all those years ago,” he says calmly. After the stars clear from my vision, I look up and see a familiar gleam in his evil, dark eyes and it sends a shiver down my spine.
I run my tongue over my teeth and taste blood from the blow to my face. Knowing I’ve got no chance of getting out of here, and therefore, nothing to lose, I launch a mouthful of bloody spit right into Callum’s face, covering him and his shirt with a spray of red.
“Oh you have no idea what you’ve just done,” he says darkly. He lifts the leg of his jeans and pulls a huge knife out of his boot and shows it to me, dangling it in front of my face while my eyes bulge in terror. He flips it over and uses it to tear into my scrubs, slicing them open from neck to waist as I’m frozen in place.
When his meaty hand snakes in and gropes my breast, I thrash around and scream madly.
“Shut your bloody mouth or I’ll cut you like I did last time,” he hisses, holding the knife at my throat. I think about the scar on my wrist and how painful it was when he cut me. It’s even more so since it healed because the scar serves as a constant reminder of that awful day.
I immediately quiet, unwilling to let him cut me again. His dark eyes glint with something sinister, not the dead look I remember. He’s alive now, torturing me like this. Getting his kicks out of hurting me and watching the fear show on my face.
“That’s better,” he says as I stop resisting him. He uses the knife to slice off my hospital pants and the binding around my knees and tosses them aside. Then he puts the knife down next to his foot so he can use one hand to hold my shoulders down and the other to spread my legs apart. I close my eyes, unable to watch the horror that’s about to happen.
I can’t help the whimpering that comes from my throat. Callum leans down and whispers in my ear, “Your little boyfriend is going to go mental when he sees what I’ve done to you.” He jabs his hot tongue in my ear and I turn my face away from him in disgust. He laughs as he grips my hair again and smashes my head down on the hard floor again and again, each blow sending white-hot pain straight through my fragile skull.
His disgusting laugh must have drowned out the sound of my locks disengaging and the door opening, because suddenly Callum’s weight is gone and I vaguely recognize James’ voice. It’s nearing a pitch that can only be described as lethal.
“You fucking bastard! I’ll kill you!” I hear the loud thuds of James’ fists and feet landing on Callum. I try to call out to James, to let him know that I’m here and I need help, but my nothing on my body is working properly.
When I hear the murky sound of handcuffs snapping shut through the swirling haze in my brain, I’m finally able to relax. The adrenaline rush that kept me going has tapered off and left me convulsing violently on the floor as the light in the room starts to dim.
“Ellie! Ellie! Stay with me love! Don’t go, please?”
I want to stay, to tell James everything will be alright, but the foggy vortex sucks me right in.
chapter 29
Adam
The private jet sets up for landing in Berlin, Germany, and I watch as the massive airport comes closer and closer until the tires smoothly touch the tarmac.
“Can you please, please stop with the leg?” Hawke pushes his hand down on my knee and holds it still. “I’m begging you.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize I was moving it.” God, my nerves must be bad if Dax and Hawke have both noticed.
“Well, you have, for the entire trip. You’re lucky it’s a short flight or I would have killed you by now,” he grins.
I roll my eyes and cast a glance at Hawke. He’s dressed in his usual hipster-geek clothes, faded comic book T-shirt, unzipped hoodie, jeans that are practically falling apart they’re so old, and his black Chucks on his feet. Girls love Hawke, especially the young ones. His whole tattooed, black-framed glasses look drives them mad. I don’t get it, but I guess I don’t have to.
“You’re doing it again.” He points at my bouncing knee.
“Fuck off, Hawke. I’m just feeling cooped up, alright? I want to get the fuck off this plane and over to the hotel!”
Thankfully, Hawke doesn’t press me, but I’m can feel his eyes on the side of my head. I stare out the window so I won’t see him and get mad. Dax would have forced me to talk about my attitude, but he’s sitting across the aisle with his assistant Zane, discussing whatever the fuck they discuss all the time. I’ve repeatedly refused to have an assistant, even though everyone has begged me to get one. Our manager, Ross, has threatened to hire one for me whether I like it or not, but I told him I’d just send them home so he hasn’t. Yet.
I just use Zane or one of the other guys’ assistants when I need something, which drives Dax mental. I could give a fuck, though. Having someone around me all the time, pestering me for crap, it would drive me over the edge.
“Thank Christ,” I say when the plane comes to a stop and the door opens. I jump out of my seat, grab my hand baggage and practically sprint down the stairs to the waiting car.