Chaos by Sarah Bailey

Twelve

Scarlett

I successfully avoided the others by staying in Francis’ room all day and refusing to go downstairs. After I’d fallen asleep on him in the bath, he’d dried and dressed me. Then he’d given me space to put my things away. Not all of them, but at least my dresses and blouses for work were hung up.

I sighed as I carried a mug from the kitchen down the hallway towards Drake’s office. Monday had rolled around far too quickly. By the time I’d got up, the only person left in the penthouse was Francis, who showed me where everything was in the kitchen. He’d left me alone with a warning not to go snooping. I’d listened to his words. The idea of getting caught somewhere I shouldn’t, knowing who I was dealing with, left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I was here to get information, but at this point, I questioned if it was even worth it any longer.

I’d come here intending to bring them down. Things hadn’t turned out that way. They had their own plan and agenda when it came to me. And my feelings only grew ever more conflicted by the day. They’d only been made worse by the intimacy I’d shared with these men, particularly yesterday with Francis. I had no idea he was hiding such a dirty mouth under that rather well-turned-out exterior of his. He appeared to be the most civil out of the four of them, but fuck had I been so very wrong. It had taken hours for the indents from the ropes to fade from my skin. And the way his eyes burnt with a possessive heat whenever he looked at them had me trembling at the memory of what he’d done. How hard he’d made me come. The things he’d said to me. The way he’d cared for me afterwards.

My cheeks heated at the thought as I continued down the hall. I’d almost reached Drake’s office when I heard my name. My body tensed, but I didn’t stop.

“Scarlett, please.”

I had zero intention of talking to, let alone acknowledging Prescott. He didn’t deserve my time or attention. The man had tricked me into believing he gave a shit about me. How could he when he’d forced me to kill? He hadn’t stopped it when I’d begged him to.

“I just want to talk to you.”

My traitorous heart yearned to hear his terms of endearment from his lips. My head told my heart to stop being stupid, but it didn’t want to listen. It merely pounded against my ribcage in protest at my refusal to stop and look at him. To hear him out. Fuck did it long for him in ways I wasn’t ready to admit.

Why do I feel this way about you, Pres? Is that why it hurts so much? Are you hurting as much as me? Do you feel the same way?

I reached Drake’s door, rushed in and shut it behind me, hating myself and Prescott for this fucked up situation. My head rested itself on the frame. I wanted to knock some sense into myself but realised I couldn’t, as I had an audience. The way his gaze burnt a hole in my back had me straightening and taking a breath.

I’d decided when I came down to the office earlier I was going to behave like a professional. It meant doing my job regardless of my feelings towards my boss. Regardless of what was going on between me and the boys. Regardless of everything. I wouldn’t let them get to me.

Turning around, I strode right over to Drake’s desk, avoiding his eyes entirely, and set the mug on his coaster. Then I spun around, intending to leave but remembering I’d probably get ambushed by Prescott again.

Well, fuck.

“Scarlett.”

My back stiffened and my hands curled into fists.

“Yes, Drake?”

“Mason came to see us yesterday.”

I turned abruptly and stared at Drake with no small amount of shock running through me. Drake remained entirely impassive. I took in his appearance, hating the way my body responded to his proximity. The images of the way his indigo eyes had come alive when he fucked me after I’d killed had my cheeks feeling hot. It was the first time I’d ever seen Drake display any sort of real emotion. It had been downright terrifying. In a way, I was more scared of Drake than I was of West, but at least with Drake, I knew what to expect. He was emotionless, stern, and always in control, except when he wasn’t. West was a whole other level of scary. The way he could flip from one mood to another in the blink of an eye left me reeling. No, he was definitely the most terrifying of the bunch, but Drake came a very close second.

“M-Mason?”

“Yes, your… friend, Mason.”

In all the drama of the weekend, I’d entirely forgotten about what Mason would do when he found me gone. Now I felt guilty. Horrible waves of it made my stomach twist. My nails dug into my palms, trying to quell the sickness.

“Oh. I suppose he wanted to know where I am.”

I didn’t know what Drake wanted me to say. My feelings towards Mason were very conflicted. I thought I’d killed him. I’d shouted and screamed at the man whilst stabbing him repeatedly, my entire mind breaking from the strain of the past ten years and the pain I’d endured. How Mason hadn’t stopped it, even though he professed to care about me. And then he’d hurt me. All I could feel was betrayal. He’d promised to protect me and keep me safe. He’d done neither of those things.

“Why didn’t you tell him he hurt you?”

My eyes went to my arm, where the finger marks were fading fast. It no longer hurt. To be honest, I was more concerned with the way my muscles ached after Francis suspended me from his ceiling with ropes. Perhaps I wasn’t as limber as I first thought. If I was going to keep up with this lot, I would need to remedy that.

“Why do you care what I told him?”

His jaw ticked.

“Answer the question, Scarlett.”

“How about I don’t want to answer your questions, huh? Do you think I want to talk to you outside of work matters? The answer is no. Not after what you did to me.”

He leant forward, eyeing me with the same intensity he’d used when the man had fucked me on the sink counter in the warehouse. I raised my chin, not caring if I was being defiant. My anger at his uncaring attitude and the way he’d used me had made me reckless.

“This is not up for debate. You are going to give me an answer.”

“Go. Fuck. Your. Self.”

Drake sat back and steepled his fingers.

“You want to do this the hard way?”

“I don’t want to do this any way.”

I wanted to leave but knowing I might run into Prescott again had me faltering. I didn’t know if I could keep my resolve if he looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his. If he told me he was sorry and he cared about me. My heart was desperate for him. And I hated the traitorous piece of flesh beating in my chest.

“Come here.”

I didn’t want to be anywhere near Drake. No way in hell I trusted him, nor what he would do to me. He’d kept threatening punishment and hadn’t yet delivered on it. I was in no doubt if I went over to him, I would be on the receiving end of his version of discipline. He had warned me he wouldn’t tolerate any further disobedience. And what was I doing? Telling him to go fuck himself and refusing to answer his questions.

“No.”

“Scarlett.”

“No. I’m not coming anywhere near you.”

For a long moment, the two of us were at a stalemate. Then Drake put his hand on the arm of his chair and rose from it. I swallowed when he walked out from behind his desk and stood before me. The way he towered over me had my hands trembling at my sides. Even more so when he reached up, gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger to keep me in place. The other was dug in his pocket as if he knew I wouldn’t go anywhere.

“So defiant. I’m going to enjoy breaking that fiery little spirit of yours.”

You should have run the moment he stood up.

He leant closer to me, his breath dusting across my cheek as his lips landed close to my ear.

“You’re seeing how far you can test the boundaries and that’s okay, Scarlett, I understand. It doesn’t mean, however, that I’ll tolerate it.”

His hand dropped from my chin and his long fingers wrapped around my arm. He spun me and pushed me up against his desk, folding my arm behind my back as he pressed me down on it.

“Stay.”

Everything inside me protested at his manhandling and the thought of what he was going to do next, but I obeyed. I stayed in place when he released my arm. I didn’t dare move. My whole body was rigid with fear. Drake wouldn’t grant me any mercy this time.

The sound of clinking and a whooshing noise made me flinch. Then he cracked something against his hand. I looked at him and saw he’d taken his belt off, folding in a loop. He gripped it in his hand and stared at me.

“Drake…”

“Palms flat on the desk and don’t move them.”

“Are you going to hit me with that?”

“What do you think?”

I didn’t know what to do. The thought of him slapping me with a belt sent a shiver down my spine.

“Yes.”

“Palms on the desk.”

I laid them down on the glass, wondering why I’d been so insistent on refusing to do what he asked. Perhaps I hadn’t believed him when he told me I’d be punished. Or maybe I wanted to know what would happen if I continued to push him. Clearly, I had no self-preservation when it came to these men. I ran headlong into dangerous situations without a thought for my own safety.

“You’re a danger to yourself.”

“It wouldn’t be fun if I wasn’t.”

He shook his head, his indigo eyes darkening.

“Reckless, always so fucking reckless.”

“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

The vivid image of a younger version of Drake flashed before my eyes. There were no harsh lines to him. Those indigo eyes of his held so much expression, so many emotions. Like he was amused by me, even though I also frustrated the hell out of him.

Where had that come from? It was so at odds with the man behind me right now, I didn’t know whether to believe in it or not. I couldn’t trust the things in my head.

The first strike of the belt came down hard on my behind, making me flinch again. It was dampened by my clothes, but it didn’t stop it from hurting.

“Jesus,” I choked out.

He ignored me and struck my other cheek, making me shift on the desk, the pain burning its way up my spine. It worsened with each strike. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, but I took it without telling him to stop. Why I was even being so bloody compliant was a mystery to me? Or maybe my sense of self-preservation had finally kicked in and I knew if I pushed Drake, he would only punish me harder. This was bad enough.

There were ten strikes across my cheeks and six across my thighs. I stayed where I was when they stopped, worried he’d continue. Concerned this hadn’t satisfied him. My skin was on fire. I didn’t think I could take any more.

“Let this serve as your final warning, Scarlett. If you continue down this path, I will make this punishment feel like child’s play. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

If this was child’s play, then I didn’t want to find out what he considered adult playtime. I was going to feel this for hours and sitting down would hurt. A lot.

“Now, answer my question. Why didn’t you tell Mason he hurt you?”

“If I told him, he might not have let me come to work… then I wouldn’t have been able to tell Prescott what Mason did. He didn’t want me to come back here when he found out I’d slept with all of you.”

I had left that part out when I told Prescott about it.

“Is that the real reason he was angry with you?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

I looked at Drake, who was putting his belt back in the loops of his trousers and not paying attention to me.

“Can I get up now or do you want to ask me something else?”

“You can go back to work.”

I pushed myself off his desk. My behind and thighs hurt like the devil, but I ignored the pain and walked around Drake, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. With each step, I wished fervently I had listened to his warnings. I wished I hadn’t pushed him.

I’d put my hand on the door handle when his voice brought me up short.

“I warned Mason if he comes near you, he will have us to deal with. You have our protection… for now. If you do anything to jeopardise it, make no mistake, it will be withdrawn. Don’t do anything stupid.”

His unsaid words hung between us. Do not contact Mason. Right then, I didn’t want to deal with him. My mind was too fucking full of all the other shit going on around me as a result of asking Prescott to save me from Mason.

I didn’t respond to Drake, opening the door and hurrying out of his office. Thankfully, no one else was in the corridor. I didn’t think I could deal with Prescott again. Not after Drake had punished me with his belt.

“Some fucking protection,” I muttered under my breath on the way back to my office. “Totally fine for you to hurt me, but when someone else does it, that’s not okay? Fucking psychos. All of you are.”

I didn’t understand their logic, nor did I want to. All I could think about was how much my arse hurt and how I hated Drake even more for causing me pain.

Fuck him. Fuck everything. I’m so done.

Maybe I should be more shocked and appalled by Drake’s behaviour, but after you’ve been made to murder a man, everything else pales in comparison. I needed a thick skin to deal with these men. I was pretty sure no matter what he’d said, Drake and the others wouldn’t be letting me go… ever.