When I’m upright again and have brushed the wet hair out of my face, I see that Xavier is standing nearby with a mischievous grin. I offer a determined grin of retribution in return and quickly charge him, knocking him down into the deeper water with me.

  Before I can upright myself this time, Xavier has his arms around me from behind. He brings us both out of the water enough that we can breathe and starts tickling my sides and armpits with his strong hands.

  My body’s reaction is immediate and impossible to stop. I laugh hysterically as I hopelessly struggle against his hold. It feels like minutes go by as he tortures me until the tickling finally stops and he holds me against his rapidly rising and falling chest instead.

  I’m still trying to catch my breath and recover when he turns me around to face him. The hungry look in his eyes tells me that our enjoyment of this beautiful summer day together is far from over.

  There’s a mutual understanding between our bodies that brings our lips together again. We devour each other while his hands run across my breasts and down over my ass. I massage his cock in my hand and manage to keep it stiff despite the cold temperature of the water.

  I do my job and pleasure him while he touches me again. I try to enjoy myself while I feed this insatiable monster once more to protect my family.

  19

  Xavier has been in a particularly good mood over the last few days, not just because of my willingness to pleasure him and let him touch me and stick his cock inside me, but also because a couple of his men returned to the house yesterday with a large dead buck in tow. The promise of fresh meat after living off of fruits, vegetables, and what’s left of our non-perishable food supply has all of the men practically celebrating as a result.

  They’re having a goddamn party in our backyard.

  The black drink cart from the kitchen is outside on the patio with the majority of our remaining liquor supply set up as an open bar for the men. I’ve had a perfect view, watching them pillage the bottles of precious liquid, from my seat at the wrought-iron table across from Xavier, who has been watching the festivities with a wide grin on his face and his own glass of bourbon in hand.

  It’s bittersweet to take in the delicious scent of venison cooking on the propane grill. It reminds me of the celebrations my family has had out on this patio together, joyful gatherings that might never happen again. I expect what’s left of our propane supply will be quickly depleted with the presence of Xavier and his men in our home.

  The only good thing about sitting here watching our propane supply burn away is that I’ve seen more of Jake in the last hour than I have in the last few days. They have him manning the grill even though any one of the men could have cooked the meat. Of course they were more than happy to have Jake do the work instead of giving him a break.

  I worry about Jake, even though I know Xavier has left him alone since I agreed to give myself to Xavier freely. As much as I hated sleeping on the cement floors of the dark room, it was at least comforting to know that Jake was there for me and that I could be supportive of him, too. Now that I’m sleeping in my room with Xavier at night, Jake is all alone in that dark room of nightmares for extended periods of time.

  I wish I could do more for him. I wish I could relieve the pain clearly present on his face, but I feel like I’m doing everything I can already. Until I get the opportunity to make a move on Xavier to end this once and for all, I will be stuck watching my despondent brother toil for Xavier and his men.

  Just as Jake starts removing the cooked steaks from the grill, I hear a faint sound in the distance that pulls my attention away. It’s unnatural out here in the woods—a slowly building song composed of notes created by pieces of metal scraping together.

  It’s the sound of clanking chains.

  My heart begins to race at the realization that the missing half of my family is approaching the house. I haven’t seen Silas or Joseph since the night that Xavier fucked me in front of them.

  I can’t imagine what they’ve been thinking since then. They’re probably just as broken as Jake.

  I try desperately to maintain an indifferent expression when I hear the driveway gate roll open and the sound of the chains getting closer. When Silas and Joseph appear from the stone path between the house and garage, I have to force myself not to cry when I see them being led like animals in heavy chains again. They are filthy, with even more cuts and bruises visible on their faces and arms than the last time I saw them. They each have the beginnings of a beard. Their growing facial hair clearly hasn’t been maintained in the time since our captors’ arrival.

  Xavier looks over at me, gauging my reaction to seeing Silas again, but the indifference I’m portraying doesn’t waver. My eyes remain dry while Xavier holds my gaze. After a few seconds, he turns back around with a pleased smirk to greet the newest arrivals to the party.

  “So glad you could join us, boys,” he says with mock congeniality dripping from each word. “You deserve a break after all of the hard work you’ve been putting in.”

  The men behind Silas and Joseph push them forward onto the stone patio, offering them up to Xavier, ready to subject them to Xavier’s will.

  Jake is watching them from his position in front of the grill. I see in his expression and body language the same urge I feel inside to run forward and take the men we love into our arms and never let them go. But just as I am trying to avoid any reaction to seeing the other half of our family in front of us, Jake is similarly doing his best to maintain his control.

  Silas glances up at me only briefly before his eyes dart to Xavier; he is clearly seething. “Just get on with it already. We both know that Joseph and I are not here to partake in these festivities.”

  “But you’re wrong,” Xavier insists. “Please, come join us. Jake would be more than happy to serve up some of the lovely venison he grilled.”

  Xavier motions to the wrought-iron chair that is across the table from him and next to me. It takes a moment, but Silas does finally shuffle his way across the stone patio to hesitantly take a seat in the chair. Joseph follows his lead and fills the remaining empty chair at the table.

  No one speaks for the next few seconds, making the rapid pulsing of my heart sound like a massive drum beating inside my chest. I’m unbound and within feet of Silas for the first time in days, stuck between the man I love and the man who is trying to destroy me. There is so much I want to say and do all at once, but I manage to resist taking any action toward Silas.

  Jake breaks the tension-filled silence as he approaches the table, moving away from the group of men who have surrounded the cooked steaks like a pack of ravenous wolves. He has four steaks stacked on a plate in one hand with additional plates and silverware in his other hand. I’m surprised to see that Xavier has allowed the steak knives to come out for this occasion. We haven’t seen them since he had all sharp objects removed from the kitchen when all of this began.

  We all watch closely as Jake sets everything out on our table, including a steak knife for each of us. For a moment I think Xavier is crazy to let each of us have a sharp object that could be used as a weapon, but I quickly realize that this was intentional. He’s testing us, giving us the opportunity to make a move that will allow him to punish us in this rare moment that we’re all together like this. From the cautious looks of my family around me, it appears they also understand that this is all part of Xavier’s game.

  When the table is set and the steaks are served, Silas and Joseph waste no time in digging in to their food, tearing through the meat with voracious appetites. It pains me to see them acting like starved and abused animals suffering from mistreatment by their master. I see similar worry on Jake’s face as he keeps an eye on us from the place where he’s standing at the counter eating his portion of steak.

  I eat my steak at a quickened but steadier pace, almost instantly feeling invigorated by the much-needed protein entering my body. I’m still eating by the time Silas and Joseph are done.

  No longer distracted by his meal, Silas has his eyes on me now, watching me carefully while I struggle not to react to his presence and his gaze upon me. The urge to reach my hand to the side under the table to grasp his knee is almost strong enough to make me go through with it, even though Xavier would be able to see me doing so through the grating of the table. Despite the difficulty of it, I manage to keep my hands to myself.

  “You’re all so quiet,” Xavier observes with the slightest bit of a taunt to his tone. “I thought you’d have a lot to say to each other after being separated for such an extended period of time.”

  “Fuck you,” Joseph mutters under his breath, though loud enough that Jake even turns in concern from the other side of the patio.

  Xavier cackles with laughter before becoming completely serious again as he whispers, “There’s been plenty of that going on. Believe me.” He belts out one final laugh. “Ah, that’s right. I forgot. You and Silas experienced some of that firsthand. You witnessed with your own eyes just how much fun Ash and I had together out at the pond the other day.”

  My breath catches when I realize what Xavier is saying. He had Silas and Joseph somewhere nearby watching us when I was fulfilling my commitment as Xavier’s plaything. They saw me smiling and laughing uncontrollably while Xavier tickled me. They saw me reciprocate Xavier’s kisses and touch with just as much fervor as I would have shown Silas. They saw my betrayal of them firsthand.

  They saw me give myself completely to a madman.

  Silas becomes visibly tense in his chair next to me, practically ready to explode with rage. The monster he hides away inside him is lurking just below the surface, begging and screaming for the opportunity to come out and tear Xavier to pieces.

  “Ash, come here, darling,” Xavier suddenly says to me, motioning me to him casually as if he doesn’t even notice that Silas is about to reach across the table to throttle him.

  With the majority of my family only an arm’s length away from Xavier, close enough for him to be able to inflict his pain and violence upon them, I have no choice but to comply. I quietly get up from the chair and take a seat where Xavier is offering for me to sit on his lap, pulling up the sides of my white cotton dress enough that the bare parts of me connect with Xavier’s legs, just the way he likes it.

  Xavier leans in and rubs the side of his face up against my hair at the same time that his hand slowly moves down the back of my shoulder to my hip. “You really do have great taste in women, Silas. You always have. I have thoroughly enjoyed tasting this one.”

  He turns his head just enough to kiss the side of my neck just below my ear, purposefully taking advantage of the spot that he now knows is my favorite place for Silas to indulge his lips on me. Silas’ face immediately reddens, fury barely contained inside of him.

  Xavier pulls back from me so that he can meet Silas’ furious gaze directly. “It’s too bad the women you’ve actually loved have given up on you so easily.”

  Despite my better judgement, I open my mouth to debate Xavier’s claim, but he yanks me against him and interrupts me, narrowing his entire focus toward Silas instead.

  “It’s been a pleasure taking everything from you. I must say, it’s even more satisfying this round than the last time.”

  Silas peers back at him with a terrifying mix of anger and confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Xavier’s face breaks into a crazed grin. “Oh, I neglected to tell you.” His expression suddenly turns cold. “You didn’t seriously think that Vincent Marshall found his way to your last home all by himself, did you? I must admit, I surprised even myself with the level of success I achieved with that one. I was only looking to disrupt your love life and cause you to lose out on some job offers. I never expected your fiancée to leave you or that you’d give up being a merc entirely as a result.”

  The beast caged inside Silas suddenly breaks free, and in an instant, Silas has a steak knife in hand and plunges toward us over the table. Rather than discard me to the side to get me out of the way, Xavier pushes me out in front of him, shielding himself with my body.

  “Careful, Silas,” Xavier warns. “You know your woman has a bad history with knives. I’d hate for you to cut her.” He thinks to himself for a moment before returning to meet Silas’ enraged gaze. “On second thought, maybe we should do just that. How about a matching scar next to the one she already has on her hand?”

  “No!” I scream out at the same time that Xavier forces the back of my left hand down on the table to expose the thick but faded white scar across my entire palm.

  “Cut her now,” Xavier demands at Silas who is frozen in shock, “or I’ll do it for you.”

  “No, please,” I beg through the tears now streaming down my face. “Don’t do this. Anything but this!”

  My other hand trembles as I reach it up to Xavier’s face in my desperation for him to stop this madness. He grasps it lightly in his hand and kisses it before letting go to lean forward and grab the steak knife from his plate. I watch helplessly as he drags the sharp edge across the skin of my palm parallel to my scar, slicing roughly through the surface.

  I scream out when the pain fully hits me. It’s not just the physical pain of the sharp object having pierced through my skin that afflicts me; it’s also the agony of reliving my worst nightmare all over again. Flashes of my attack in Boston bombard me as I stare at the knife slowly cutting into me and the blood seeping out from the wound.

  I want desperately to draw my hand away, but I fear that I would only make the cut carve deeper. Once he has sliced the full length of my palm to match my scar, Xavier finally withdraws the knife and lets go of me.

  Before I can even move my hand away, Silas has it held firmly between both of his hands. He’s applying pressure against the wound for me while I stand hunched over the table, barely able to function through the heavy sobs racking my chest.

  I’m almost to the point of hyperventilating in my panic when I realize that I’ve been moved to a different position now. I’m held against something warm and comforting. I feel a soft touch on my arm to combat the solid pressure on my left palm. I hear Silas’ words of comfort behind me, the whispers of love and support that have brought me back from the dark depths of pain and despair numerous times before.

  By the time he seats me at the table again, my sobs have subsided and turned into a steady stream of tears. When someone sets the first-aid kit on the table and Silas gets to work cleaning and dressing the wound, my tears have almost dried up completely, leaving only the numbness behind.

  “Look at me,” Silas demands desperately. When I don’t respond, he catches me by the chin with his finger and forces my gaze to his. “It’s not that deep,” he assures me. “It’s not like the wound you had before. It’s much more superficial.”

  I dare to look down at my palm, horrified at the sight of the stitches that he placed across my skin. My entire body shivers at the familiar sight of it.

  “Try to move your fingers,” he suggests. “Make a fist.”

  I carefully move my fingers in all directions, confirming that I still have full use of them. It hurts like fucking hell, but I also manage to collapse my hand into a fist.

  “See? No muscle or tendon damage. You’re going to be fine.”

  The moment that Silas’ hand finds the side of my face, his soothing touch is ripped away from me. Xavier throws Silas back and steps in between us.

  “That’s enough,” Xavier warns, turning toward Silas with malicious intent. “I think it’s time for you to leave and get back to work.”

  My entire chest feels hollow at the thought of having to face recovery from this horrific event without Silas by my side. The resulting tears fall hopelessly down my face as two of Xavier’s men step up behind Silas and grab him by each arm. Two other men approach Joseph from behind in a similar fashion, ready to drag him away, too.

  It takes all of the willpower I have left not to run to Silas when they lead him away toward the stone path between the house and garage. He keeps glancing back at me as he walks away in chains, his expression hardened but strong, his means of giving me his ongoing support to keep me going through the next five minutes, five days, or five months if necessary.

  As he and Joseph disappear from view behind the garage, I want nothing more than to crumble to the ground, but I won’t let myself give up like that. I do what I can to embrace Silas’ strength to move forward. I’ve come too far and been through too much to let an asshole like Xavier defeat me.

  I resolve to end this quickly. I’m ready to take back what’s ours. I’m going to fight for my family in a different way this time, and I will find a way to defeat Xavier.

  No matter what it takes.

  20

  My eyes open to find the late afternoon sun filling the bedroom with daylight. The weight of exhaustion pressing on my body and soul makes it feel like I’ve only been sleeping for minutes, but I know it has been at least a few hours since Xavier dragged his steak knife across my palm at lunch.

  I’m still a bit shocked that Xavier has allowed me this time to rest. When I made the request to lie down for a while after he sent Silas and Joseph away, I didn’t expect him to allow it, at least not without special conditions or favors in return. He just sent me upstairs with one of his men to keep an eye on me.

  It didn’t even bother me to have some creepy guy watching me sleep from the side of the room. The moment my body found the comforting sheets of the bed and I hid myself away beneath them, I gave in to my exhaustion and fell asleep.

  The guard is still in the room watching me from the black leather chair near the back windows. He looks annoyed as I sit up in bed and rub my non-injured hand over my face.