The Degradation of Shelby Ann by Emma Cole
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shelby
Dirk was gone that next morning when I woke, and again the next day, but the reprieve was nice for a change, and I even got a smile out of Jerry when I drank two of his shake concoctions. The steward had taken to trying out whatever he could to get more nutrition into me after I stopped eating anything but a few bites at a time, unable to stomach more. It wasn't his fault, but he seemed to take responsibility for my lack of appetite. That was fully Dirk's doing though, a result of everything he was putting me through.
I was barely dressed for the day when my sadistic husband came back, but as usual, he was high as a kite. Confused as to what had set him off, but not daring to question him, I stumbled along as he dragged me through the house and past a protesting Jerry. It was as if we'd never had our moment outside of the insanity. It was barely mid-morning, usually too early for his games, yet it was happening anyway.
I had to consider that maybe it was the beginning of the new normal. I hoped not, but hope hadn't gotten me very far in life so far, and I doubted it would help much then.
"Sorry, darling, but I need to hear you scream," he panted as he pulled his belt from his pants mere seconds after the door shut behind him. It was just me and him, and that terrified me more than usual. Enough to make me try to get away from him.
"Please, Dirk, you don't have to do this," I pleaded, trying to get through to him. "I'll do what you want, just please, don't hit me with that." I'd become immune to most of it, but the belt was something I just couldn't abide.
He was shaking his head before I even finished. "He gave it away; he gave it all away. To Carter! He doesn't care that he did this to me. He just lords everything over everyone." I didn't fully understand, though I had an inkling he'd just been disowned, and blanched at what that would mean for me. "Now, get those clothes off and bend over, or I'll do it for you."
I took him at his word. His blown pupils alone would have alerted me to his unhinged state, but add in his dad and Carter? There was no way I had a chance in hell at calming him, especially if my suspicions were correct. It was best just to get it over with. I didn't have anywhere to escape from him anyway.
"That's my girl. I knew you could take it," he murmured as he shoved bits of pills into my ass. "No time for cleaning today. I'll just have to shower down here." He kept on talking to himself until I heard the tell-tale snorting, and my eyes closed in despair that he was continuing with his binge. I didn't expect to have the stuff shoved under my face though, so I got more than I bargained for, not that Winston noticed the lower portion of my face was absolutely covered in the white powder. He was too far gone in his own head for that.
I didn't need the drugs like he seemed to, not once they wore off, but it took more and more to get me to the uninhibited state he liked for me to be in. He reveled in the fact that he could make me enjoy just about anything with the right cocktail of drugs.
And that was what he got. The narcotics did their job, rocketing my arousal as he slapped my pussy with his belt until he'd satisfied whatever demon drove him to crave my destruction. Then he shoved into my swollen flesh so he could continue to hear me cry out from the pleasure-pain until we both came thanks to the violent rush of sensation.
"Geez, boss, you got started without us," Milo complained as he escorted Sasha and Marigold in, startling me from my stupor.
"Don't worry, Milo," Winston slurred from where he'd landed on the bed after pulling out. "We're just getting started."
Winston was true to his word. The day had just gotten started, but thankfully the other two women took their attention from me while I floated on the mixture of chemicals in my system.
Eventually, they got back to me, and Winston pulled me on top to ride him. My coordination was off, and Winston was complaining, so Milo solved the problem by pushing me down and shoving into my ass. He slid in easily enough that he had to have used lubricant, not to mention I wasn't as tight back there as I once was, but the rapid entry still burned enough to make me grunt in protest. Not that either of the men paid any attention.
That was how Jerry found us when his knocking was ignored, me getting railed between Winston and Milo. I was too high to care too much, but I still felt a sense of shame underneath it all when his disgust came through loud and clear.
"Master Dirk, your father is in his study and would like a word," he stated crisply before dropping an admonishment. "I attempted to ring both you and Milo here, but I see you were otherwise occupied."
Grumbling about interfering servants, Milo pulled out, eliciting a gasp of pain from me at the abrupt removal. I scrambled for the edge of the blanket to cover my nudity, not caring that it left Dirk with his erection in full view of his disapproving steward. While Dirk cursed and got up, I curled into a ball, planning to stay there until everyone was gone or maybe take a nap. With not feeling well, I just wanted to lay down and forget the world existed.
"I'll take Miss Shelby to get cleaned up while Milo escorts the...ladies out," Jerry attempted, but he didn't get very far.
"You didn't say that my wife was required to attend this meeting, or did I miss that?" Winston shot back.
"No, Master Dirk, but—"
"Then she stays!" he snapped at Jerry. I braved the tiniest of peeks out of my cocoon, and my eyes immediately met Jerry's furious ones. "Don't look at her. She stays while I go get my latest dressing-down from Father. I'm sure he won't stay longer than that takes, and I want her where I left her when I come back. Is that clear?" When Jerry remained silent, refusing to agree, Winston pulled out his trump card. "If I have to track her down, she'll regret it. Shelby knows not to run from me, don't you, darling?"
At my quick nod, resignation filled Jerry's eyes before he turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Fucking prick." I didn't know exactly who Winston referred to—it could have been Jerry, his father, or both—but he stormed off to shower, leaving me at the mercy of Milo.
The big man pulled the blanket off before flipping me onto my stomach so he could straddle my thighs. I hated when he did this, and he knew it, but there was little I could do as he blanketed my body with his. After notching the head of his oversized member at my asshole, one arm snaked under my torso to grip my shoulder while the other propped under my hips so his fingers could rub and pinch at my clit until he had me wet and wanting despite the drugs that liked to inhibit the ability to produce my own moisture. Or maybe he'd used lube. I was pretty out of it and not quite keeping up with everything.
By that time, Winston had come out of the bathroom, groaning at the sight. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? I'm sure Father will appreciate the hard-on I just got rid of." Despite his complaint, I felt hands spread my cheeks wide so that Milo's tip settled farther into my opening. "Keep my hole warm. I'll be back as soon as I can."
At Winston's command, Milo pressed in until he bottomed out, then pushed again while I cried out into the blanket. This position let him hit the spot inside that caused agony to streak through me, and both men delighted in my reaction because eventually, with enough stimulation to the bundle of nerves at my front, I'd come despite the ache inside. If I was truthful with myself, I'd gotten to the point that I needed the sharp bite of pain to finish.
* * *
Carter
"Where is my son?" Winston Sr. asked from behind his desk as he surveyed the reports I'd brought him. "And you're sure this is correct? The girl is a donor match?"
"Dirk is...occupied with his wife, but I sent Jerry for him," I managed to say with a straight face. I couldn't wait to see Dirk's whole world come to a screeching halt. But first... "Yes, sir, she's a perfect match. It's been independently verified with numbered samples for privacy. No one will suspect a thing if that's the direction you take. The original documents were destroyed, and the tech was informed of what would happen if the information were spread." The find was a game changer, and I had a hard time controlling my excitement. This could be what I'd waited years for.
"Very well. I suppose I should have looked into it sooner. I'll have to call Rafe back as well." The old man pinched the bridge of his nose as the door to his study burst open.
"You summoned, Father?" Dirk was freshly showered, but he'd made a drastic mistake in showing up in his condition, not that he'd had a choice, and it made the next part all the sweeter.
"Yes, Dirk, I did. Have a seat." Then he dampened some of my joy as he kicked me out. "I need a word with my son. If you could step out and wait until I'm done?"
It didn't take long after the door closed for Dirk to start yelling. Moments later, he slammed out of Winston's office to get in my face.
"You'll never fucking have her! Never!" he shouted, spittle flying in his rage, but he was impotent, in more ways than one, and he now knew it. "She's my wife. I won't let him give her to you!"
Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what was going to happen, but for now, I just shrugged. It pissed him off more, and he stalked away, intent on getting back to Shelby. I felt bad for what he might do before I could retrieve her, but there wasn't much I could do about it—besides, I should be able to intervene before he took things too far.
"Carter!" Winston raised his voice as much as he was able, but I heard him all the same and went in to close the door behind me.
"That went about as well as I'd expected," Winston said as he stared at pages that sealed Dirk's fate before looking up to stare at me dead on. "Make sure he doesn't kill the girl and don't drag it out. I'll call Rafe when it's done."
I nodded stiffly, nervous now that the time was here, and stepped out of the office, only to run into a hovering Jerry.
"It's gone too far," he hissed as I pulled him away from where Winston might overhear.
The camera system was down, something the security team was scrambling to fix, but I couldn't be too careful.
"It's being handled. Jer, you need to make yourself scarce," I informed the well-meaning man that was in my way.
"No can do, Carter. I called the cousins. I'm not standing by anymore; I can't have her death on my conscience." He shook his head, probably seeing the same things I had since I knew he monitored them with my access code.
I couldn't keep an eye out while simultaneously handling Dirk's portion of the shipping business, but Winston didn't care about what was feasible. He just wanted it done.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Do you have any idea what you've done?" I couldn’t believe he'd gone behind my back.
"You weren't doing anything. You just let it continue!" Jerry was just as pissed, but fuck.
"How long until they're here? Are you going with her?" I had limited time and needed to fix this shit. Now.
But Jerry was shaking his head. "They're on standby for the moment, and no. If I go, it'll be apparent where she went. If I stay, I can prove my loyalty."
I nodded, and it clicked how I could make this work to my advantage, saving me the trouble of escorting Shelby off the property. Winston had given me free reign to handle it, albeit with a couple caveats, but this wouldn't go against them
"Can they be in the area in twenty minutes? I need them to reroute a call and be the ones to respond." Jerry's eyes widened as he nodded.
"Yes, of course, but… It's happening now? How are you…?" Pity and a small bit of sadness entered his eyes. It was something I echoed, but I couldn't let that in right then, not if I were to do my job. "It was always going to come to that. The boy was too soft, and then he was too hard. The old man is such a bastard. Just don't…" He shrugged, unable to articulate his thoughts, but I understood anyway.
"I won't. It's being handled. Just get the cousins here. He was having a fit the last I saw him, and he headed straight for her." I was getting antsy thinking of what might be happening without any way to monitor the situation.
Jerry nodded again and took off, texting rapidly as he went, and I hoped he'd packed a bag for Shelby; she was going to need it.
I moved through the house and checked my equipment before stepping into the room where several guards were trying to get the system back online. I took them all out, one after the other, not giving them a chance to move. The silencer helped, but it didn't eradicate the sound, and I hoped no one had ventured down the hall while I was in there.
A quick check showed me it was clear, but while I could hear Dirk yelling and trashing the room down the hall, Milo's panicked voice filtered through the door as well. Catching pieces of it as I ran, nearly crashing through the door in my haste, I prayed like hell that the cousins were quick.
The only reason I got the drop on Milo was his nudity. If he'd been armed, I might not have managed it since Sasha barreled straight into me in a bid to escape Dirk's insanity.
She was my first target and went down quickly while Milo tried in vain to cover Dirk. The sadness that passed through his gaze once he realized he'd be too late almost made me hesitate, but I only had to remember the torture he'd inflicted on others to shore up my resolve. Then his light went out too.
That managed to catch Dirk's attention, though it would have been hard to miss the spatter that hit him even without Marigold screeching her head off. A moment later, her shrieks cut off. And then it was just me and Dirk, something that had been inevitable since I came into his life.
"She's dead, you fuck!" he yelled as he turned to face me, tears coursing down his cheeks. Then he noticed Milo, unmoving by his feet, and dropped to the floor, cradling the man's head to him. "Just do it," he rasped out as he looked back up, resignation making his shoulders slump as he clung to his forbidden lover.
He slumped down to rest on Milo's chest as I obliged his request then stepped over him to get to Shelby.
She was beat to shit and not breathing. But she did have a pulse, so I picked her up, racing for the exit and across the lawn with her in my arms. As I handed her off to the cousins waiting with the ambulance, I told them to take her to Gavin, hoping like hell they could save her because a hospital wasn't an option. Not after what had gone down. And I still had to deal with the rest.
* * *
Thirty Minutes Ago
Shelby
"You were supposed to be mine!" That was all Winston kept yelling after he came back from meeting his father, interspersed with something about "him not having me," but I didn't care. I was beyond feeling the cuts from the glass my body was resting in. The smiling photo, marred with my blood, had a happy couple staring out at me. I vaguely knew it used to sit in the frame whose shards now littered the bed, but…that didn't matter either. That happiness was a lie; it always had been. My last thought as I succumbed to my fate in that room of horrors?
I'm free…
Yes, Shelby Ann. Fly free, little one, fly free…