I bite back a scream and try to focus on this morning when Lincoln and I were wrapped up in each other and I was certain life couldn’t get more perfect. Devlin climbs off me and stands next to the bed as he starts to undress. I squeeze my eyes shut and only open them again when he lets out a low groan. His cock is in his hand and his eyes trace my curves as he strokes himself and licks his lips.
“This is such a strange feeling,” he murmurs. “I’m attracted to you but I’m also sorry that I have to do this. I’m going to enjoy and hate it all at the same time.”
Shut up, a voice in my head screams as I turn away from him and look at the camera.
He climbs on top of me again and uses the knife to free one leg as I clench my teeth and hold back a curse. If he’d freed both legs, I’d have a fighting chance but I’m sure he knew that. The hopelessness of the whole situation crashes down on me. He’s been planning this for a while and he’s studied me even longer than that so I’m sure he’s thought of every scenario.
Devlin throws my leg on his shoulder and leans forward, opening me up as he spits on my pussy and presses his cock against my entrance. My chest feels heavy as I squeeze my eyes shut again and wait for the nightmare I know is coming. He thrusts forward, burying himself inside me and pain pierces through me as I cry out, pulling on the ropes.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” he whispers in my ear. “Look right in that camera and tell Daddy how awful it is.”
I shake my head, keeping my eyes shut tight. He may have me at his mercy right now but there’s no way in hell I’m giving him anything he wants. With a firm grip on my thigh, he pulls back and drives forward again, groaning as another wave of pain washes through me.
My mind shuts down and my body goes numb as I open my eyes and stare at the light above me, images of Lincoln flashing through my mind. I cling to them as Devlin continues tearing me apart from the inside out, stripping away pieces of me that I know I’ll never get back.
“I’m so sorry, Tate,” he groans, his hand grabbing my tit as he speeds up, chasing his release in my agony. “If you want to blame someone for this, blame your mother. She’s the reason this is happening to you.”
“No, it’s not,” I bite out. “You had a choice and you chose wrong.”
He shakes his head, burying his face in my neck as his thrusts get more frantic and tears pour down the side of my face.
“They have to pay,” he chants again and again. He kisses my neck and I buck against him, unable to take another second of this. He grabs my face and forces it toward the camera. “Tell Daddy how much it hurts, baby. Tell him how much his actions are killing you.”
He groans and his cock twitches, spilling inside me and I close my eyes and a deep, painful sob breaks free.
* * * *
Morning sunlight peeks through the slats in the wall and birds chirp outside, mocking me with their cheerfulness, as I lay naked with my hands and legs still tied to the bed frame. Everything feels tight and my stomach grumbles as another hunger pang hits me. I think I’ve been here for about fifteen or sixteen hours but I can’t be sure. I spent most of the night begging Lincoln to find me and save me but I think I’ve given up on that at this point.
The door opens and Devlin wheels a tray in, smiling at me. “Good morning, Tate. How are you feeling?”
“Go to hell,” I mutter, turning away from him. I don’t care about following the rules anymore. The rules got me raped and I see now that there is no distracting Devlin from his mission.
“I was hoping we could talk some more.”
I turn back to him as he perches on the edge of the bed. “What is there to talk about?”
“Oh, my dear, you only know half the story and you are not done paying penance.”
I glance at the tray and see a scalpel, a needle, and a thick black thread. My gaze flies to his and he smiles with a remorseful look in his eyes.
“What more do you want?”
He folds his hand in his lap and sighs. “After their wedding, Dominic spent months trying to get Claire pregnant, months of forcing himself on her to breed her like cattle, and it finally worked. After six months, she learned she was pregnant but his happiness didn’t last long. Just a couple weeks later, she miscarried and Dominic was furious. He beat her senseless and left her for dead, which is where I found her.”
I watch him as he speaks, unwilling to add anything more to the conversation.
“I carried her to her room and nursed her back to health for a few days. When Dominic came around again, he mistook my love for devotion to him and he promoted me – put me on her personal guard detail. I spent the next few years listening as your father raped and beat the woman I loved with my whole heart on a daily basis.”
“I’m sorry, Devlin,” I whisper. Despite what he’s done to me and the hatred I feel toward him, his story is still heartbreaking and I understand the rage he feels for my father.
He forces a smile. “Do not apologize. It got better when Claire and I finally gave into our love. We had to start sneaking around behind Dominic’s back but it was worth it to me. My Claire was different than before Dominic got ahold of her and there were parts of her that were broken but we both found a little bit of happiness again.”
“But it couldn’t last,” I whisper, pointing out the obvious and his lips flatten into a straight line as he nods.
“That is correct. Right after your father asked me to come here to watch over you and your brother, he heard rumors that someone had been sleeping with Claire. I obviously wasn’t there to witness it but I heard that there was a full on inquisition. Claire and I had been careful, though, and no one knew about us which only served to piss Dominic off further. When he couldn’t find answers elsewhere, he locked Claire up in the basement for three weeks and tortured her for several hours everyday.”
“How do you know this?” I ask, wondering how much of this story is actually true if he was here in Baton Rouge.
“I called to check in once a week. The other guards usually answered and they liked to chat.” He clenches his fists. “I had to sit down here and listen to the pain and agony he was subjecting Claire to everyday but she never broke. She never gave up my name.”
I nod. “And?”
“And he finally lost his patience and killed her,” he snarls through gritted teeth and I suck in a breath. It’s what I expected but still somehow shocking to hear. “Which is why you now have to pay for your father’s sins.”
I glance over at the tray. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Dominic systematically tore my girl to shreds. He broke her and so I’m going to break you and sew you back together again. For the rest of your life, you will be a physical representation of the one I lost.”
The instruments on the tray rattle as he reaches for the scalpel and I jump, sucking in a breath as the room spins. He pulls a remote out of his pocket and points it at the camera set up at the edge of the bed.
“The camera is rolling again so make sure you show him what he’s done to you.”
I close my eyes, my lip wobbling and my hands shaking as I wait for the pain to come and then I feel it. There’s pressure against my shoulder followed by a sharp burning sensation that claws its way down my arm. Gasping, I open my eyes and look over at my shoulder as Devlin pulls on a pair of gloves and grabs the needle and thread. He starts humming the tune of Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin as he threads the string through the needle and I stare at him in horror.