Page 29 of Their Stolen Obsession

Lucky me.

I clenched my teeth together as I blew out deep breaths and tried to maintain consciousness. I was afraid if I passed out, I wouldn’t wake up again. Survival was my only choice. The cuffs at my legs cut into my skin from the weight of me in the chair and the extra pounds of the asshole pushing it with his boot.

Fuck. I wanted to hit that asshole badly and make him bleed—give him the same torture I had received. My imagination ran wild while I sat there and had to take the heat.

“Think you’re funny?” he asked angrily.

Asshole’s face was red as a tomato.God. I must’ve pissed him off. Good.

“Hilarious,” I hissed with a chuckle I couldn’t contain.

He pulled out a knife. The sharp blade glistened with the only light in the room. I thrashed in my seat but only dug the metal cuffs further into my skin. Shit.

“Hold his face,” he ordered someone behind me.

Immediately, large hands grabbed my face, and I couldn’t move my head. I was unable to turn awayand had to face whatever was about to happen. This was my fate, my unthinkable destiny. To be punished for my duty and to stare death straight in the eyes.

I couldn’t go back. My life was forever changed as the monster I had kept caged away inside of me let loose to endure all the evil life could throw at me. I let the darkness in. To get through this, I embraced the unknown. I had to become the worst side of me to escape this, or I’d die trying. This was no place for a good or weak man. I had to be strong, a freaking maniac with a heart as cold as stone. I had to become my worst enemy.

This close, I could see every vein popping out of his face. I couldn’t help noticing the large amount of acne on his forehead, nose, and cheeks. The pimples were the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil, screaming out at me to pop them and he had some white heads.

“Skin care has come a long way…” I shrugged. “You should look into treatment for all that acne on your ugly face.”

He groaned at me. The blade slashed, and I thought for sure there would be more pain, but none came. Not yet, at least.

“Hey! Watch where you’re swinging that thing!” I exclaimed.

“Fuck! Do you ever shut up?” he asked.

“Nope,” I answered with a pop of theP.

Acne man snarled as he brought the knife closer, and I almost felt the blade on my skin. “This will be something to remember us by if you ever get out of here, but we don’t plan on it. Consider this punishment for talking too damn much.”

Slowly, in agonizing pain, he carved a straight line sideways, starting from my side burn. I clenched my teeth together as the knife dug in deep, and my nostrils flared. He stopped after what seemed like forever as I clenched my hands together behind my back and bit my nails into my skin to stop the scream that was ready to explode out of me.

The bastard laughed in my face. “How was that, chatty Kathy?”

“Like a day at the spa.” I blinked repeatedly to keep conscious.

Blood dripped down my cheek, and he didn’t waste a second carving the next line straight across my right cheek. Fuck! The pain was almost as bad as my busted balls.

“One last line and the branding is complete…” he muttered under his horrible breath that smelled like a horse’s ass and sliced in the last line. “There. A fucking masterpiece, if I say so myself. Much better than your buddy’s.”

Everyone in the room laughed. The sound was vile, made my goddamn head hurt, and helped numbthe pain afterward for a whole five miserable seconds. He grabbed my hair and yanked me toward him until the chair stood on all four legs. At least the blood could flow back to my feet again.

I smiled at him. “You gonna give me a hand job, too?”

He spit in my face. I’d take that as a no. His saliva mixed in with the blood running down my cheek.

“Fuck you,” he snarled and put the blade away.

“Ah, shit…” I said, my breathing was unsteady from the pain. Some words cracked. “Jumping right to penetration. Aren’t you sweet?”

I swear that motherfucker growled at me. Jesus. He should lighten up a bit. Instead, he went right back to his torture of choice, the ball buster. Fuck me.

My entire body shuddered in pain, rage, and bitterness. I was fucking done with this shit, but I knew this was far from the end. There was much more torment to come as I watched him raise the metal ball and swing it around. Taunting me. This ride wasn’t for the faint of heart, a fragile flower, or a motherfucking pansy. I better unbuckle my seatbelt and get ready to go airborne right out the fucking window. God didn’t exist anymore. The devil had taken over.

Seventeen