Vow to Protect by J.L. Beck
Valentina
Idon’t even have words to describe what I’m feeling as one of Adrian’s men leads me out of the office to the casino. We stand in front of the doors, waiting, but I don’t realize for what until a black Town Car pulls up in front of me. The man, who doesn’t offer his name, opens the door, helps me in, and shuts it behind me.
We pull away, and I try to gather my thoughts. I try to make some semblance of order. If I can give myself to Adrian, our problems are solved. He’ll get rid of Sal, and Rose will be safe. The downside is I’d yet again belong to a man. It seems I’m destined to be owned by someone for my entire life. I wouldn’t hate the idea if it were the right man.
I think back to the intense look on Adrian’s face as he watched me. It was as if he saw every tiny twitch I made and knew exactly why. My face heats, and I press my hands to my cheeks to stifle some of it. He saw the bruises, and now he knows my shame. I don’t know if him knowing is better or worse at the moment. It almost feels liberating that someone else knows this secret I’ve held so long.
The society isn’t made of decent people. But…when out in public, mixing with the group, they are meant to look decent. This means the abuse, the rape, the crime, all of it is hidden discreetly away, waiting for business meetings and private affairs. I didn’t know much, but I’d seen Rose’s and my abuse overlooked constantly. It’s always easier to look away than speak up. But only for the witnesses, never for those suffering.
I stare out the window and watch the casino lights fade away. My mind is still on Adrian. Rose is terrified of him. He’s supposedly one of the most ruthless men in the society. My father hates him but also won’t speak about him because of some feud, so I didn’t know much on that side. I prefer not to talk to Sal directly unless my father forces me to spend time with him, so I couldn’t get information there either. From my own interactions with him…I’m torn.
I want to rub myself against him and that maddening spicy ginger scent of his. But at the same time, I can see the darkness in his eyes, and I know he’s not gentle with everyone he meets. I don’t know if it makes me feel better or worse that he’s treated me so.
I direct the car to pull up down from the property, and thankfully, he doesn’t argue with me about it. As I climb out, I give him a bright smile as if I do this every day. Then I stand on the side of the road until he finally pulls away.
Now I just need to get back into the house without anyone seeing me. Rose is supposed to keep watch for me, but if she’s running interference, then I’ll have to fend for myself. I take off my shoes this time, determined not to break an ankle, and reach my bedroom window easily. It’s dark inside, but the window slides up easily and silently, allowing me to not-so-gracefully climb over the ledge and into my bedroom.
I don’t make it even a step before something catches my hair and levers me back. At first, I think it’s the window, that my unruly mess of a head got stuck on it somehow, but then the darkness lifts enough for me to see Sal standing right inside, lying in wait for me.
I hit the floor next, barely getting my hands under me to break the fall. Pain shoots up my right arm and into my elbow, but I don’t have time to consider it. I scramble forward, intent to get my feet under me and escape, but I don’t get far. His heavy boot connects with my ribs, and I lift up enough with the force of the strike to fall back down hard. More pain. Every inhale now hurts, and I cough a few times, ragged and wet. That can’t be good.
Sal crouches beside me, his boot almost at eye level, and captures my hand in his. It yanks me off balance, and my shoulder rubs hard across the hardwood.
“I see we’ve been busy tonight,” he spits at me.
I peer up at him and see his eyes locked on the black stamp smudged across the back of my hand.
I want to yank my hand from his grip, but he’ll only hurt me worse for fighting back, so I stay still. He wants me to give him a reason to hit me, so I turn my eyes on the floor, even as tears begin to fall against my will.
“You’ve got nothing to say for yourself, you fucking whore?”
I want to defend myself, but can I really? I’d stripped naked for a stranger as a down payment to kill my fiancé. Not something I can exactly use in my defense. It doesn’t matter, though, because he doesn’t want me to say anything. Again, he wants any excuse to hurt me, and talking will only give him more opportunities.
I let out another gurgling cough and taste blood in my mouth. Shit. Rose and my Dr. Google medical tips were likely going to have a tough time with internal bleeding. Not like I can throw an Ace bandage on it and call it a day.
Sal’s grip digs in tighter as he pulls my hand up to his face. Then he licks the ink there, his tongue wet and hot and thoroughly disgusting. I barely keep my face neutral as bile rushes up my throat. Puking on him will not help the situation.
I study the floor and the tiny droplets of my blood splattered underneath me. Blood dripped out of my mouth, and I hadn’t even realized. Hm. Interesting.
It’s okay, though, because I feel myself sliding into that sleepy place. A little pocket of the world where I can go when Sal beats on me. A place to feel nothing until the brutality stops, and I can pick up the pieces that are left. Or Rose can.
It hits me that with him here, I haven’t seen her. She should be here waiting for me. I can’t ask him because drawing attention to her might make things worse, but my worry slips underneath the calm I’d been building enough to fracture it. If something happens to her, then he’ll have finally broken me.
I’m dragged to my feet, his arms around my waist, but I can’t stand. The pain from his grip around my ribs is too much. My vision swims in and out of focus, and while he screams, spit flying in my face, all I can think about is Rose and that I hope she stays hidden, safe.
And I hope she doesn’t see what’s left of me when Sal finishes this. I can see it in his eyes that he wants to kill me. He wants to watch the life leave my eyes just like he watches in those videos of his.
He drags me over to my bed and throws me on top of it. The icy glint of fear is still keeping me from that safe little room in my mind. If I could just see that Rose is okay, then I can lie here and bear whatever he does to my body. As long as she’s safe.
He rips off my dress, leaving me naked and exposed to the chilled night air coming in from the open window. If any of the outside guards hear anything, they certainly aren’t running to help. In fact, everything seems eerily quiet, apart from his screaming at me about being a whore to Adrian.
Some of his words filter in, and I make the mistake of meeting his eyes.
“There she is,” he whispers. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m going to treat you so much better than he did. If you weren’t waiting for marriage anymore, you should have come to me first. I’m your fucking fiancé.”
I can’t even open my mouth to refute him. Nothing comes out but a wheezing cough. Then one word. “Rose?”
His face splits into a grin. A sadistic, demented shit-eating grin that chills every inch of me. No.
I glance around, fighting him now, trying to get up, but he shoves me down harder.
Then I see silky dark hair in a light cast by the open door out to the hallway. But I can’t see her face.
I sob, ragged and loud in the silence that I’d filled in my head before. I try to wrench from Sal’s grip, try to crawl to her, and he lets me, and I don’t fucking care because it gets me closer to her.
When I reach her, I dig my fingers into her wrist, checking for a pulse. It’s there, barely but there. It takes all my strength to get closer to her and pull her onto my lap.
But I barely graze my hand over her head to move her hair back when Sal has me by the arms again. He jerks me out from under her shoulders, his hands fisted in my hair as he yanks me behind him. I spin, trying to get free to get back to her, to help her, to save her, but he is stronger than me. Soon, he has me up on the bed, his clothed weight pressing me into the mattress as he ties me to the frame. The ropes dig into my skin as I flail and struggle, screaming for Rose. After a moment, he shoves a wad of something in my mouth and tapes over it with duct tape. I stare at him wide-eyed as I realize his erection is pressing into my thigh.
The bastard likes this. He gets off on it. I’d seen it hundreds of times, but now, the proof humping my inner thigh sends bile up my throat again. I have to swallow against it because if I puke now, I’ll drown. I can’t save Rose if I’m dead.
He doesn’t stay long. Once secure, he climbs off the bed and removes his clothing as he stands over Rose.
I want to squeeze my eyes shut because I know what he’s going to do to her. Worse, he’s going to make me watch it, unable to help her this time. I sob, tears wetting my cheeks. No. He can’t take her from me.
Once nude, he rolls her over onto the hardwood. Her hands slap hard against it, and I have one shining moment of relief that she’s unconscious and won’t be awake for this humiliation.
Then he’s on her, pumping into her hard, fast, furiously. I fight against the bonds, my fingers going numb as I try to wrench my wrists free. I scream and scream and scream, trying to get someone to hear me.
But no one comes.
And when he’s finished with her, I’m still and silent on the bed watching her red blood, so bright in the hallway light, drip off the end of a knife.
My Rose is gone.
I feel nothing. I am nothing.
The bastard has finally broken me.
When his face breaks my vision, his eyes glassy with adrenaline, I don’t even shrink back.
He whispers in my ear, “I’m going to leave you two here for a bit. Let you say your goodbyes. And when your father comes home in a few days, she’ll be out of my way, out of his hair, and you’re going to tell him she met someone and ran off. If you don’t…well…I’ll kill everyone you love. And then, once we’re married...” He trails the bloody knife down my chest, between my bare breasts. “Well, I’ll do the same to you.”
Then he’s gone, and all I see are Rose’s dead eyes. He doesn’t realize I have nothing left to lose now. He’s already taken the only thing I love from me.
I smile to myself and stop fighting the pain.
I have nothing left to lose.
