Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
I snort. “Yeah, because no one can hear her.”
He sets down the collar and leash, the weight of them making the bed dip, then he steps into me, pinning me between the foot of the bed and him. “Women want to be desired, cherished, owned.” His eyes drop to my lips, and I suck in a shaky breath before they return to mine. “I’d be more than glad to strip her naked, walk her around the block, and show her off to the world.”
“Kashton…” His name trembles on my lips. He’s so close if I puckered them, he’d kiss me.
He reaches up, cupping my face and my pulse races. “Women love a man who is proud to call her his.”
“You’re degrading her.” I manage to get out.
“You of all women know that some are into that.” He turns to leave, but I stop him.
“How many women do you have chained in the basement, Kash?”
He turns and smirks at me. “None right now. But one day there will be one. I’m a patient man.”
The way he says it tells me he already knows exactly who it will be. He turns and exits his room.
* * *
I left Kashton’s room and went back to mine. I paced for another two hours, waiting for Saint to barge into my room and get onto me for wandering around in Kashton’s. But I was still ignored.
So I left my prison again to explore some more. This time, I go to the elevator. I used to spend a lot of time roaming the halls of Carnage, but no one was allowed up here on this floor. I’m not sure if these rooms have always been here or if this is something the guys did after they took over.
Stepping inside the elevator, I take it down to the basement. I know that no matter where Saint is, he’s watching me on the cameras. Maybe he’ll show up and drag me back to my room, tie me down, and fuck me.
A girl can hope.
Stepping off the elevator, I shiver. It was always so cold down here-something I never got used to. A song filters down the long and cold hallway. “Hallelujah” by No Resolve.
It makes the hairs on my neck rise. It’s such an odd song to be played down here. I find myself walking toward it with my arms out wide, running my fingertips along the concrete walls.
I come up to pieces of plastic strip door curtains that hang in the doorway. You know the kind I’m talking about? They’re in every scary movie usually covered in blood. I push them out of my way and step through them. The music has grown louder, but I realize the song has started over. Whoever it is has it on repeat.
I slowly come to a stop outside of an open door, finding the source. Taking in a shaky breath, I look inside. A man has his back to me, but I’d recognize him no matter what. Haidyn stands in the center of a room, his right hand is down by his side, holding a knife as blood drips from it onto his black combat boots. A line of it flows down into the drain next to him.
A man hangs from the ceiling. His arms are tied above his head with chains, and he’s naked. He softly rocks back and forth because his toes cannot touch the floor. He’s bleeding from his chest. It appears his brand has been removed. Pieces of skin cover the metal table to the left.
It looks like Haidyn has used the man’s body as target practice. Different sizes of knives are sticking out of the man’s legs, arms, and stomach. Blood runs down his sweaty body and onto the floor as well.
My hand comes up to my mouth and nose to try to lessen the smell of blood, sweat, and piss. A knot forms in my throat. I almost forgot how sick this place is. It’s made of nightmares.
The man lifts his head, a strangled moan escaping his busted lips. His dead eyes meet mine when he speaks. “He-lp…me.”
I take a step back just as Haidyn turns to see me. I freeze, my body stiffening.
Haidyn has always had the power to tear a man’s head off with his bare hands. I once watched him gut a guy without blinking. So the fact he’s smiling at me right now with a bloody knife in his hand scares the shit out of me.
Without even looking back, he stabs the knife into the man’s stomach as he hangs from the ceiling. His head falls back, and he begins to sob. His voice is hoarse. There’s no telling how long Haidyn has had him down here.
Haidyn walks over to me, and I tremble as he reaches for me. “Haidyn-” He yanks me forward and wraps his arm around my neck from behind. I start kicking and screaming over the music as he lowers his lips to my ear.
“Shh, calm down, baby girl. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly.
Tears spill over my bottom lashes as my fingers dig into his bloody forearm. My throat is still sore from Saint yesterday, then the added pressure of his muscles makes it even worse. “Haidyn, please-“
“Watch him.” He interrupts me. “Watch him suffer, Ash. Like the piece of shit he is.”
The guy’s head hangs forward, and snot and drool fall from his face. He’s sobbing uncontrollably, and every breath he takes makes the knives move.
“Do you want him to suffer, baby girl?” Haidyn asks.
It’s a trick question. Suffering is what Carnage was built on, what the Spade brothers do. The man coughs up blood, and it lands on me, making me flinch. “No,” I say roughly.
“Go ahead.” Haidyn removes the arm around my neck, gently placing my feet on the floor and instead grabs the back of mine. His fingers pinch into my sensitive skin. “Go ahead, Ash.” He repeats. “Help him out. Show him the mercy that you think he deserves.”
“Pl…ease,” the man cries, his voice barely audible over the song that plays on repeat. It’s almost as terrifying as the bleeding man hanging naked before me. “Help me.”
I sniff, my nose running. But I reach out with a shaky hand and wrap my fingers around the bloody handle. When I yank it out, he screams. I pull another one out of his side, and he starts to thrash around. Blood gushes from both wounds, and his body begins to spasm, making the chains rattle. Blood pours from his mouth and down his naked torso before his head falls back and his body goes limp.
He’s dead.
I release the last knife as if it just burned me, and it clanks to the floor. I’m grabbed from behind, and I scream out in surprise. My back is slammed into a wall. So hard that the air is knocked out of me, and my watery eyes look up to meet Haidyn’s hard ones. His large hand wraps around my throat and he gives it a firm squeeze, crushing my collar into my skin as he holds me captive to the cold wall.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you stay in your room, Ash. There are no cameras down here. Saint can’t save you if he can’t see who is hurting you.” His words aren’t menace in any way. They’re actually spoken softly.
I always loved Haidyn. Something about him terrified yet excited me at the same time. I wonder if he still keeps my secret.
Four Years Ago
I run out of her office, not caring that my mom’s therapist is calling out to me. I can’t hear anymore. So many lies. So much betrayal. And now a baby?
Sucking in breath after breath, I round a corner and run into someone. I scream as hands grab at me and lift me off my feet. I kick and fight, but they drag me into a room. It’s one of the fathers. She called them to come get me and take me downstairs. They’re going to kill my baby, force me to have a hysterectomy, and then throw me in a cell.
Saint won’t protect me. Not after what he finds out. A hand slaps over my mouth, muffling my screams, and I buck wildly since my nose is so stuffed up I can’t breathe through it.
“Shh, Ashtyn, calm down,” a familiar voice growls.
My body instantly goes limp, and he releases my mouth. I sob as he sits me in a chair and kneels in front of me. “What the fuck is going on?” He places his hands on my shaking thighs and rubs them over my jeans.
“I’m…pregnant,” I cry, knowing I can trust him.
“Shit.” He sighs, running his hand through his hair. “Does Saint know?”
I shake my head, tears spilling from my eyes, and I run my hand under my runny nose.
“I’ll call him.” He stands and removes his cell from his pocket, and I slap it out of his hand. “Ash-“
“No, You can’t,” I cry out, and he grabs my trembling shoulders.
“It’s okay,” he assures me softly.
He’s so wrong. “No.” I shake my head quickly. “He cheated.”
His brows pull together. “What? No. He’d never-“
“He cheated.” I gasp, trying to breathe, but my throat is closing. “You…can’t.”