Page 35

Charlee

Cool fingers run along my face, and when I open my eyes, a pair of familiar blue ones are staring back at me. “Kelsey?”

“Oh, thank god.”

Kelsey sighs and rubs away her streaked mascara. Her red hair is a knotted mess as it hangs down her back. “I thought they killed you.”

She leans back and helps me to a sitting position.

A sudden jolt of pain explodes along the back of my head the second I do. It feels like it’s being split in half. My hands cradle around it only to find a huge lump that’s tender to the touch.

I breathe through the pain and focus on Kelsey. Other than a split lip and a huge bruise on her cheek, she appears to be fine, but I know better than anyone some scars can’t be seen. “Are you okay?”

“I’m so stupid.”

She sniffles and shakes her head. “I was pissed at Shawn—well, I guess the bastard’s name is really Axel—for being another dick, so I went out to Orphic to get over him. I’m so stupid.”

I make a mental note to cut off Axel’s balls for hurting my friend if I get out of here alive, but let her continue. “I didn’t even make it through the door before they grabbed me and shoved me in a van, and I woke up here. Not before I could take a bite out of one of them, though.”

“Where are we?”

A sinking feeling hits me at her words.

“Viper’s Den.”

“The strip club?”

She nods. “They own it.”

Shit. “Look at me, Kelsey. We’ll get out of here. We will.”

I glance around the room to form a plan, but other than the door, there’s no other way out of this room. We’re basically sitting ducks unless I can figure out an escape. All thoughts of getting out of here die when the door opens.

Marco stands in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. The grease on his dark hair shines underneath the fluorescent lighting, but it’s his dark eyes that make everything inside of me still. They’re lifeless and cold.

I hold my head high and look him in the eye. He will not intimidate me. “You murdered my dad. You’re a sick bastard.”

His lips spread into a smile, one that doesn’t reach the rest of his face, and the unease I feel inside grows. “You should be more worried about yourself, Chiquita.”

“You don’t scare me.”

Despite all my bravado, my spine stiffens at his words.

“I should. I’m in charge now and tu papá can’t protect you from me anymore.”

He uncrosses his arms and closes the distance between us until he’s kneeling down in front of me. The scent of his cologne lingers in the air like a plague, sucking all the oxygen out if the room. I’m drowning in the stench of it.

Another set of footsteps enters the room. It isn’t until he speaks again that I know things are about to get worse. Much worse.

“Take her out front and close the door,”

he calls over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off of mine.

A bald guy with a bite mark on his face grabs Kelsey from behind and shoves her in the direction of the open doorway.

“Leave her alone, you son of a bitch.”

Kelsey jerks against his grip and shouts the whole way out of the room.

The sound of the door latching closed seals my fate and I’m left alone, at the mercy of the devil.

“You’re all mine now, Charlee.”

Marco leans in so close I can smell the tequila on his breath. It’s bitter and deadly, nothing like the sweet scent of whiskey I’ve come to love. His finger grazes my cheek and I flinch at the contact. This only angers him further. He grabs me by the nape of the neck and forces me to look him in the eye. “Mine.”

“I will never be yours.”

“I warned you about that mouth of yours, Chiquita.”

His words are a huge contrast to his soothing tone. The tip of his nose trails along the side of my face and down to my neck where he sniffs me like I’m a fucking dog. “You smell like him.”

He leans back and grabs the sides of my face. “Did you let him fuck you?”

His fingers dig deeper into my cheeks the longer I’m silent. “Answer me, Charlee!”

I jump at the sharpness of his tone but don’t cower. It’s not in my nature. My voice comes out smooth and controlled as I keep eye contact. “Yes! Several times.”

The attack happens so fast that I don’t realize I’ve been hit until I feel the pain. One second he’s talking and the next his hand connects with the side of my face. It’s a slow burn as the sting spreads across the rest of my cheek.

He fists my hair in a tight grip and yanks me up to my feet and against his chest. He pulls my head back to an uncomfortable angle and glares at me. “Tell me, Chiquita, did you enjoy spreading your legs for him? Being his whore? Because you won’t enjoy anything I do to you, ever. And that’s a fucking promise.”

“Fuck you!”

I spit back.

He lets out a hollow laugh before he slaps me across the face so hard I see stars. I’m knocked to the ground, trying to regain my balance, but he’s not done punishing me. “I promise you’ll be begging for death when I’m done with you.”

He kicks his foot into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I cough and fight back the urge to vomit as he does this a few more times. The only death I’ll be begging for is his.

Just when I think he’s done, he climbs on top of me and forces himself between my legs. I know what his intentions are, but I’ll be damned if I let this fucker have any part of me. My body thrashes and fights against him with everything I have. I attempt to use one of the moves Asher taught me, but he’s ready for it and blocks every single one. I do manage to scratch the side of his face, leaving a bloody trail of claw marks in my path. My lips twist into a deviant smile as I feel chunks of skin gather underneath my fingernails.

“I like it when you fight me. It gets me hard as fuck.”

He grinds against me, digging his erection into me. His hands roam over my body, gripping and squeezing every inch of my flesh in a bruising grip.

I spit in the fucker’s face as tears threaten to spill, but I suck them back. This piece of shit won’t get anything else from me.

A hollow laugh escapes him as I brace for another hit, but it doesn’t come. He licks the side of my face and grunts. “Now, you smell like me.”

I take advantage of this new position and slam my head forward into his. It hurts like a mother, but seeing the pain I’ve inflicted on him gives me some sense of satisfaction.

“You’re going to regret that, Chiquita.”

His fingers go to the button of my jeans, playing along the edge of my waistband in slow circles. The bastard’s torturing me with what comes next.

The sound of the door opening has my insides screaming in relief. All I can see from where I’m lying on the floor is a pair of men’s dress shoes. “What the fuck are you doing, Pendejo?”

“Leave.”

Marco increases the pressure on my wrists and digs his groin against mine even harder, causing a grunt of disgust to leave me.

“No time. Asher’s on his way and I need her in one piece. You can fuck her all you want after we kill him.”

The door shuts behind the stranger, leaving me at the mercy of this deranged fuck once again.

Marco yanks me to my feet and adjusts himself. I have just enough time to right my clothes before he grabs me by the arm and presses the barrel of his gun to my head. “Behave and I won’t punish you too hard, Chiquita.”

I’m dragged down a set of stairs and on to the main dance floor of the club. My eyes dart around the room looking for any signs of Kelsey, and when I find her, my body releases some of its tension. She’s sitting next to the same bald guy who took her out of the room, and other than the bruises from earlier and a gag in her mouth, she appears to be fine, but the fear behind her blue eyes clutches at my heart. I need to get us out of here alive.

“Keep moving.”

Marco pushes me forward to the table next to Kelsey, but as we pass the stage, red fills my vision. I rip out of Marco’s grip and rush the stage, taking the bag of Botox down.

“You’re a fucking traitor.”

I rip a few clumps of the bleach blond hair from her scalp and manage to get a couple of punches in before I feel a pair of hands pulling me back.

“Enough, Chiquita.”

His hot breath crawls along my skin like a snake, causing my body to shudder.

Lola stands up and rights herself. There’s no stopping the smile that spreads over my face at the damage I’ve inflicted. Her hair is a matted mess as blood drips down her nose. I guess I was able to use Asher’s lessons after all. She wipes at her face and spits out a mouthful of blood near my feet. “You’ve always been such a dramatic little bitch.”

“Knew you were a crazy bitch, Charlee, but fuck me I’m hard as stone just watching that.”

Marco laughs.

“The two of you were in on this together?”

“Your Papá wouldn’t let me have you. He made it clear you were off limits. I thought after we offed tu mamá he’d see reason, but if anything, it made him hang onto you even tighter.”

“You son of a bitch.”

I twist out of his hold and spin around to face him, but before I can manage a punch, he has his gun up and pressed against my forehead.

“I always get what I want.”

His black eyes stare back at me, devoid of any emotions. “Lola was my way in, a distraction until I could get him out of the way, and there’s not a chance in hell he could resist pussy that sweet if it was thrown his way.”

He licks his lips as his eyes do a once over of my body. “I know I couldn’t.”

His eyes flicker toward the stage. “Show her what I like.”

She winks at me, but her words are for Marco. “Anything for you, baby.”

“Pay attention, Chiquita. Your only purpose now is to please me,”

he whispers against my ear, inciting a wave of nausea that rumbles around inside of me. “Sinematic”

by Motionless in White blares through the speakers as Lola works the pole for the entertainment of the room, and he forces me to watch. “The game was simple, Chiquita. She got your father’s money and I got you. Long live the king.”

“Fuck you! You’ll never be half the man my father was.”

I spit at him.

His free hand strikes out, slapping me across the face. Kelsey’s screams barely register in the background as the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. “That’s the last time you disrespect me, Chiquita.”

I dab at my bottom lip to ease some of the burning sensation. Pain explodes on the side of my face, but I refuse to cower. If he expects me to whimper and beg, then he’ll be waiting a long time. I stand with my shoulders square and meet his gaze head-on.

The man wearing the dress shoes comes forward, clapping his hands and laughing at our little display. “I really like her spirit.”

His eyes dart to Marco. “Such a waste for you to break it.”

“Fuck off, Eddie.”

Marco doesn’t share in his amusement. He moves to hit me again but never gets the chance.

The lights go out and all hell breaks loose.