“When should we get them bro?” Wes asked.
“Fucking soon as, but we need to plan it properly. No one can know when I go down in the chamber.”
“I’ll create a sort of diversion. Make Ethan think we need to look somewhere else. I could handle that. But I won’t be able to watch your back.”
“That’s okay. Let’s plan for two days.” Sunday.
Two days’ time would be Sunday.
Wes nodded his agreement.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Jia
“I want you to join me for dinner tonight,” Armand said. His eyes roamed over my body and stopped at my breasts.
He lingered there and licked his lips.
“No,” I answered.
The answer surprised him, stunned him even after Pa’s lecture to me this morning.
He’d gone running to Pa with his crap about me being resistant and Pa came down hard on me, laying down the law.
He said Armand was my husband-to-be and had rights and needs I had to meet.
Then Pa had the audacity to say to me that if I could give myself so freely and easily to Xander, Armand shouldn’t be a problem.
That… that was what Pa had said to me. So I was first of all some kind of easy slut because he’d caught me in bed with Xander and second I could be more of a slut /sex slave to Armand.
No.
I was going along with this fucked up plan but I had my boundaries.
I was going along because I didn’t have a choice. In the realistic essence of the big picture though if I could escape I would.
Until I found a way, this was it. I wasn’t going to sleep with Armand and I wasn’t going to dinner with him either. A façade to get me away somewhere private so he could do whatever the hell he wanted to me.
I had two full days and part of Monday.
I’d be leaving Monday night for Italy with him. I wanted my freedom until then.
“You are one stupid bitch, you know that?” he threw back.
“Am I?”
“You know you are. Very stupid bitch. Any woman would kill to be with me. We used to be together Jia. This is just slipping back into who we used to be. That’s all it is baby.”
Every time he reminded me of that I cringed. Yes, I’d been with him for a whole year, but… I didn’t know what he was like.
“I was a different person then.”
“You mean you hadn’t met him yet?” He threw back. He was talking of course about Xander.
I decided not to respond. I couldn’t deny it and didn’t want to.
“Jia, open your eyes to the bigger picture baby. You and me are it. You mustn’t fight this and you mustn’t fight me.”
“I’m not fighting, I’m telling you I don’t want dinner with you.”
“And you won’t have sex with me either.”
“No, I won’t.”
He stepped closer, coming right up to me with his face contorted into a heavy scowl.
“You will.” He lowered and got right up in my face. “What do you think this is going to be. Some little hayride where you tell me what you will and won’t do?”
When I didn’t answer he lashed out, growled and grabbed my shoulders shaking me hard.
I cried out and shoved him hard in his chest. The impact made him let go of me but he came for me again, reaching out to grab me. I slapped him and my fingernails grazed his cheek leaving a print and blood seeping from the wound.
He touched his face and when his hand came away with blood he snarled, his face changing into the evil he was.
When he came for me again I knew I wouldn’t be able to defend myself.
One heavy hand landed across my cheek and sent me down to the ground. I screamed as I fell. The pain that shot across my face went straight to my stomach and made me feel sick like I was going to vomit.
He was the second man to hit me like that. The first was my father weeks ago.
Pa hit me and Armand saw. Pa hitting me opened the floor for Armand to follow suit, as if I was some sort of punching bag for everyone to hit.
I tried to get up but he went down and grabbed my leg, pulling me straight to him and securing himself on top of me, holding me down.
I screamed again knowing what he meant to do.
“Fucking little slut. I’ll show you. You won’t do that again and you won’t say no to me ever again.”
“Get off me!” I cried balling my fists, trying to punch him.
He was too strong.
Way too strong. He smiled down at me and started undoing his belt buckle.
“No,” I cried.
He answered by ripping my top. He ripped it right off causing me to scream again, louder this time.
“Help!” I bawled realizing what he truly meant to do. “Please someone help me!” I wailed but there was little point. I didn’t know who would hear me.
He grabbed my thighs and was about to shove his pants down when a fist sent him flying off me.
That was the best way I could describe it.
The fist came from nowhere. It just appeared at the side of his face and lodged in his cheek in a bone crunching punch that actually snapped his head back before he went flying.
The next thing I saw was Xander throwing himself onto Armand.
I just managed to lift myself up onto my elbows to look at the two.
Armand tried to throw a punch but Xander evaded it and landed a series of punches in Armand’s face. Somehow he got on top of him and the punches were so fast they seemed robotic in movement.
The fear of God rippled through me when I realized he was going to kill him.
I opened my mouth but no words came out.
Frankie came next into my view.
He threw himself on Xander’s back stopping him from punching.
“Kid stop it! Fuck. Stop it. You’ll kill him!” Frankie shouted. “Stop it kid. Xander. Fuckin stop it. It will be worse for her!”
God, it was only those words that made him stop. He stopped punching and Frankie let him go.
Xander backed off Armand and I was surprised when he got up. His face was a mess of blood and bruises.
He looked at Xander then to me.
“Wow, look at the dark knight. You two been fucking around behind my back?” Armand mocked.
“Armand cut it,” Frankie warned. He still had a hold on Xander.
“No, let him talk. Let him say whatever it is he has to say,” Xander retorted. “He thinks it’s such a great thing to force himself on a woman.”
“She wanted me. She wants me,” Armand taunted.
I shivered at his words.
How did I get here?
How did this happen to me?
Pa… that was how.
Pa did this to me. He made Armand think he owned me and could do whatever he wanted to me. I had no choice in the matter.
“Screaming for help doesn’t tend to suggest she wants you.”
“It’s you… your presence that’s caused this shit to happen. You fucking asshole. Things were okay until you came. And look at you now riding in on your horse to save your little slut.”
I always knew he didn’t have much sense. It was clear to me now that he didn’t.
As the word slut left his lips, Xander rushed him again and rammed him straight into the wall. He pressed him up against it, holding his arm at his neck. Armand gasped for breath. This time Frankie didn’t intervene. He allowed Xander to go and he went in for what looked like the kill.