Temper Him by Caitlyn Dare

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kennedy

“Stop, please make it stop,” I cry as I watch the huge muscular guy drive his fist into Conner’s face. Screwing my eyes shut, I try to force out the images, but Warren tightens his grip in my hair, forcing me to watch the computer screen he dragged me to less than thirty minutes ago.

I didn’t need him to tell me it was a feed of fight night. I recognized it for what it was the second Conner appeared on the screen.

I have no idea if it’s a live feed or recording, but it doesn’t matter. Because it’s still real. Conner fought that hulk of a guy... and he lost.

As a couple of guys drag his lifeless body out of the makeshift ring, bile washes in my stomach.

“W-why?” I sob. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I can,” he sneers. “Because that is far less than Conner deserves, than they all deserve. But you’re the key, baby. When I end you, it’ll ruin Jagger. There will be no stopping him. He’ll either end up dead in that ring or he’ll off himself with a bottle of whiskey and a little trip to the ocean. Losing you will tip him right over the edge. But not before he rips apart his family.”

Warren moves around me and crouches. “Conner will never forgive James. When he loses you, it will tear them apart.”

“Oh God,” I whimper, thrashing against my restraints. Warren has me tied to the chair at my wrists and ankles. But it’s futile; I’m weak. Growing weaker every hour that passes. My stomach aches, desperate for real sustenance, and my mouth is dry and sore. The air in the warehouse is heavy with dust and debris, making my lungs burn every time I inhale.

I think I knew the second Warren stuffed me in his trunk that I wasn’t ever getting out of this alive. He’s fallen headfirst into psycho killer territory.

“Did you really think you and Jagger would get your happily ever after? To ride off into the sunset together in that piece of shit camp—"

I gasp. “How do you know about that?”

But it shouldn’t surprise me.

Warren knows everything.

It all makes sense now, the sneaking off at night and constantly being out to take care of ‘stuff.’ He was spying on the Jaggers, watching them, unravelling their plans. I should have known. But it was easier to believe the lie. It was easier to pretend that I would get out of this alive than just roll over and accept my fate.

I should have run.

Back when I first arrived at Sterling Bay, I should have packed a bag and run. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t just abandon Conner. He is my heart, the other half of my soul. Conner is the one good thing in my life, he always has been, and I won’t regret the time we had together. I only regret not telling him about Warren earlier. Maybe then it wouldn’t have gotten to this point.

Maybe someone could have intervened sooner.

Maybe I would have found the backbone to tell someone.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Maybe...

The thoughts run on repeat through my mind.

There’s so much I’d go back and do differently, but I can’t. This is my fate.

Maybe it always was.

Silent tears stream down my cheeks, but I don’t look at Warren. I can’t. He’s destroyed my life, ruined my spirit and future. And when he finally does it, when he watches the life drain from my eyes, he’ll destroy Conner. The boy I love more than anything else in the entire world.

It’s not fair.

None of it is fair.

But life isn’t fair.

It’s hard and messy and raw. And it hurts. It hurts so much.

Warren leans in, dragging his tongue along my cheek and collecting up my tears. It’s such an intimate thing, so evil and twisted, as if he wants to taste my pain.

I don’t think I’ve ever hated him more than I do in this moment.

“You know, I thought we were the same, Kennedy. I thought you understood me. But no, it was always him, wasn’t it?” The anger in his voice is tempered with sadness as he lays his palm against my cheek in a surprisingly tender move. “It wasn’t always bad between us, was it?”

Bitter laughter bubbles in my chest as I throw my head back and cackle at his words. I sound deranged, completely and utterly unhinged, but it feels good. The burst of pent-up emotion feels long overdue.

“Shut up.” Warren leaps up, looming over me like a dark shadow. “Shut the fuck up.”

“What are you going to do?” I snarl. “Kill me?”

His eyes narrow with contempt, but I’m not done. I need this. I need him to know he will never have me the way Conner has.

“You repulse me,” I spit. “You’re not even a speck of the man Conner is. He’s kind and gentle and he loves me. He. Loves. Me. You wouldn’t know how to love if it hit you in the face.”

Warren quietly seethes as he watches me break apart at the seams, spewing word after word at him. I’ll regret this in a minute, when he snaps and unleashes the monster I know lives inside him. But I can’t find it in me to care anymore.

“Everything about you makes me want to puke. You’re not a man, Warren. You’re a monster. A disgusting, spineless mon—”

He hits me so hard the chair shakes. Pain shoots down my jaw and into my spine. But I don’t cry. I won’t.

“Say that again—”

“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

Whack.

He backhands me with such force, my head snaps back and stars swim across my vision. “You fucking bitch. You think you’re better than me? You think you’re so high and mighty because what? Jagger took pity on you and landed you in the middle of this? Look around, baby. They’re not coming. They don’t care about you. They only care about themselves. And when you’re gone, I’ll still be here to watch them tear themselves apart.”

I glare at him, pressing my lips into a thin line, smothering the pained cry trying to escape.

“You’re nothing, Kennedy. You’ve always been nothing, and you’ll always be nothing. Well, soon enough you’ll be worm food.”

Bile rushes up my throat, but I swallow it down.

“What?” He grabs my cheeks, squeezing. “Cat got your tongue?”

I remain silent.

Warren’s eyes flicker with rage as he shoves me back hard. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll have you screaming soon enough.”

And then he walks away like he didn’t just threaten to kill me.

* * *

Warren didn’t leave me there for long. When he returned, he was quieter. He didn’t utter a single word as he untied my restraints and threw me in the cage.

I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Time has no start or end within these four steel walls. The only hint of the world beyond is the sliver of light that pours in through the roof. It’s darker now, a silvery hue instead of the glint of sunlight earlier.

I stretch my legs, trying to fight off the numb feeling. My muscles ache, the cold floor beneath me hard and unforgiving. The restraints Warren used earlier left lacerations around my wrists, but something tells me it’s the least of my worries.

When he appears again, I smother a whimper. But he doesn’t approach me. Instead, he drags a chair to the empty space in front of the cage. I don’t know if it’s the chair from before, but it doesn’t matter.

This is it.

The final act of this living nightmare I’ve found myself in.

At least it’ll be over then. Hopefully, James will figure out a way to end Warren. He’ll keep Conner safe. Ace and Cole will be right by his side, and Remi and Hadley will comfort him. He’ll be okay.

Conner will be okay.

I have to believe that.

I have to believe that all this is worth something. Because one of us deserves to get out of this thing whole.

Tears prick my eyes as the pain of never seeing Conner again washes over me. If only I’d have known it would come to this, I would never have let go.

Warren glances my way and I steel my expression, my teeth grinding.

I want him to die. I want Conner to find him and tear him limb from limb.

I’m just sad I won’t get to see it.

Another wave of pain crashes over me. I want to be strong, I want to look Warren in the eye as he does it... however he chooses to.

Fear floods my veins, making my body tremble. It’s an involuntary action, a visceral response to knowing I’m about to die.

Warren disappears again, and I drag in a shaky breath. When he returns, he’s got a bunch of equipment with him. Meticulously, he sets up a tripod and camera, pointing it at the chair. I try not to think about what it means, pulling up every memory I have of me and Conner instead. The way he loves so fiercely. Tears roll down my cheeks as I remember how happy he was the other night when he gave me the key to Betty.

“I love you,” I whisper into the dusty air. “I will always love you.”

Warren stands back and surveys his handiwork, running a hand over his jaw. To think that I ever wanted him. But monsters wear many faces, and Warren Kraven had us all fooled.

“It’s almost time,” he says, approaching the cage. He unlocks the deadbolt and beckons for me to go to him. I don’t. If he wants me, he can come and get me.

He lowers himself and reaches inside, grabbing my ankle, but I kick out with all my might, slamming my boot into his face.

“Fucking bitch,” he grunts, reaching back in and wrapping a hand around my leg. This time I can’t shake him free and he drags me from the cage.

I try desperately to buck and bronc, but his arms are like a vise around my weary body as he dumps me on the chair and restrains me to the spindles.

“It’s a shame it’s come to this, baby,” he croons. “We could have had some more fun yet.”

I spit at him, feeling a lick of smugness. “Fuck you, Warren. Fuck. You.”

“Sadly, we don’t have time to play. Things to do, lives to ruin.” His lips curl with wicked intent as he stands tall before me like the reaper come to collect his payment. Fear trickles down my spine as I fight the tidal wave of emotion rising inside me.

This is it.

My hands curl into fists.

My eyes shutter as I picture Conner’s face. He isn’t coming to save me this time.

No one is.

When I open my eyes again, it’s Warren’s face I see. The face of a cold-blooded killer.

He looks at me with another snarl and says, “Any last words?”