Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
“You’re okay, doll face,” I tell her, knowing it’s a goddamn lie. This is what they wanted. Her broken and compliant. The water fills the tub as the dirt and blood swirl around her. “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I couldn’t kill you. I love you.” I couldn’t do it. I know it’s the most cowardly thing I’ve ever done. But I just can’t let her go. It doesn’t matter what she’s been through; I’ll love her the same way and take care of her. She’s my wife. I took vows.
A single tear falls from the corner of her eye before she speaks. “I hate you.”
I blink, and she’s gone. I’m no longer in the bathroom. She’s no longer in the tub. “Charlotte?” I bark, starting to panic when I see nothing but darkness. “CHARLOTTE!”
“How was it?” A woman’s familiar voice fills my ears as a light turns on, blinding me.
“What the fuck did you do to her, you fucking bitch? Where did you take her?” I’m gasping for air, trying to get up, but I can’t move. I blink rapidly needing my eyes to adjust to the harsh light.
“Haidyn, you’re hallucinating,” Isabella speaks.
“No-“
“Yeah, that’s what the drugs do to you. Nothing is more terrifying than a mind. It knows your worst fears. You can’t escape it. And I was in yours for six months. I know how it works.”
“History has a way of repeating itself, Haidyn. Remember that.” She had said to me when I found her in my house while Charlotte was in my bed. She wanted me to remember what she made me do to Sierra and put Charlotte in the same position.
“For the next several days, you’ll have hallucinations. It’s poetic, really. You’re going to drive yourself mad, putting the woman you love through so much pain and suffering because we both know your biggest fear is living without her.” She snorts. “And although I tell you it’s not real, it’ll feel real. Every single time.”
I blink, trying to get my breathing under control. My jaw is sore from being clenched so tight.
She walks over to the bed, and I wonder if any of it was real? Was I ever hanging from the ceiling in this concrete box? If so, when did she cut me down and secure me back in the hospital bed?
Her hands touch my chest, and I stiffen as she runs her pointy nails over my Lords and 666 brands. “She’ll be here soon…”
“No.” I don’t believe anything she says. How do I know that wasn’t real and this is the hallucination? One of my fears is her being locked in this place.
Isabella gives a rough laugh. “Oh, she’s on her way. Did you really think hiding her out at Carnage would stop me from getting my hands on my daughter?” She makes a tsking sound. “I’ve let you keep these.” She pinches my Lords brand. “Because that will be her first task. You’re going to get to see just how much she loves you, Haidyn. If she chooses to hurt you or take a punishment for herself.” With that, she walks out, bathing me in darkness again.
I arch my neck and let out a scream of frustration as I yank on the restraints that keep me tied to this bed. Breathing heavily, I sink into it, knowing I’m not getting out. I knew when I left her tied to her bed, that this is where I’ll be until I die. Charlotte will choose the right thing. And if she doesn’t, I’ll cut them off myself to keep her from being punished because of me.
In a world where it’s either you or me…I’ll always choose me. I hope my wife still feels that way.
EIGHTY
CHARLOTTE
We rode the rest of the quick drive in silence. As he pulls into a drive, he orders, “There’s a hoodie in the back seat. Put it on.”
I turn and lean over, grabbing the black hoodie and pulling it over my head. It has to be a man’s large due to how big it is on me. It makes me think of Haidyn.
He comes to a stop and puts the car in park. “It has to look real.”
I swing my head to look at him just as his fist connects with my face. He knocks my head back into the window. Tears instantly fill my eyes, and my breath is momentarily taken away before the pain takes over, making me cry out. An instant headache throbs behind my eyes.
My shaking hands go to my face, and I lean forward as blood drips from my nose and fills my mouth.
He opens his door and slams it shut. I realize I’m crying when he opens mine. He pulls me out by my hair and shoves me to the ground. I try to crawl away, but he grabs my hands and pulls them behind my back. He places me in handcuffs and yanks me to my feet. “You fucking…”
He slaps a hand over my mouth. “Save your energy, you’re going to need it.” He leaves me to stand there by myself on shaking legs as he gets back into the car.
Yanking up my hoodie, I feel him slide something into the back of my jeans and then he puts the hoodie back down covering it up. “You’ll need this too.” He shoves something into my back pocket. “Let’s go.” He grips my upper arm and yanks me up a set of steps.
I try to even my breathing out and calm down, but I’m having a hard time walking in a straight line. I feel dizzy, my face is throbbing, and I’m spitting blood. I can feel it running down my chin. He opens the front door and pushes me inside. I fall to my knees and cry out.
Fuck, Haidyn’s brothers are going to kill me if Bill doesn’t do it himself.
“Bill,” a familiar voice sings. “What did you bring me?”
My hair is grabbed, and my head yanked back. I grind my teeth to try to keep quiet. But my stomach drops when I see a set of brown eyes.
“What?” I gasp. “No…”
He kneels in front of me. His eyes search mine before they drop to my bloody hoodie. He reaches out to touch my face, and I pull away, dropping my chin to my neck to avoid him.
He yanks my head up and grips my tear-streaked face. It makes my already throbbing cheeks hurt. “I thought you’d miss me, doll face.” He calls me by the nickname that Haidyn gave me, and I flinch.
“What…are you doing here?” I ask breathlessly. So confused. Bill didn’t mention Wesley being involved.
He laughs loudly. “Did you really never question my involvement in your life? The fact that I wouldn’t fuck you?” His laughter grows. “Your mother made me promise that I wouldn’t touch you. And it was so hard to do when you begged me like a whore.”
I flinch and try to pull away, but he just tightens his grip, making me cry out.
“And your brand…didn’t you wonder why I never brought it up when I saw you naked?”
“Nooo,” I say as my cheeks dig into my teeth from his tight grip.
“You’re such a naive little bitch.” He laughs in my face.
“Where’s my wife?” Bill asks, sounding bored.
Wesley lets go of me and stands to his full height, but his eyes remain on mine when he smirks. “She’s in the middle of something.”
“What am I supposed to do with Annabelle?” he demands as if babysitting me is putting him out.
“I have an idea.” Wesley bends down, grabs my hair, and yanks me to my feet. He’s got me bent over at the waist so all I can see is our shoes as we walk on old hardwood floors, and then we’re going down a flight of stairs, and the floor changes to concrete.
I’m brought to a stop and shoved into a wall. The side of my face smashes into it as my wrists are freed. The sound of steel squeaks, and then I’m shoved to my knees once more. “She’ll be fine in here until her mother is ready to see her. She has him to keep her company.” He nods behind me.
Looking up, I see a hospital bed shoved into the far wall of a small concrete room. “Haidyn?” I gasp, scrambling to my feet before running over to him. “Haidyn…oh my God.” I cry as I see him lying on the bed. His eyes are closed, and I quickly look over the restraints that keep him secured to it. He has an IV in his right arm, and a bag of fluids hangs from a nail on the wall next to him.
“What did you do to him?” I demand. “Haidyn?” My hands shake his bare chest. Oh my God, he feels so cold. “Haidyn, wake up.”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Wesley laughs. “This could have been avoided if Isabella had just let me slit his throat.”
I spin around, my hair whipping my tear-streaked and bloody face. My stomach drops at his words. Stepping forward, I ask, “What did you say?” My voice trembles just like my body.
He smirks, placing his forearm on the inside of the door. Popping a hip out, he speaks. “Didn’t you watch the video I sent you?” He laughs and adds, “When he tried to commit suicide.”
I step toward my once fake boyfriend, tears running down my face. “Why would you…?”
“How about all the other videos?” he smirks and I’m having a hard time catching my breath. “See…it was all a test. One to see if you were that easy to manipulate.” He laughs like it’s a joke. “I knew you’d fall for it. You wouldn’t be able to not feel sorry for the tortured man. Didn’t matter how shitty he treated you. All of you bitches are the same.” He places his hands under his chin and speaks in a high-pitch voice. “I can change him.” Then his eyes go hard, and he takes a step closer to me. “No matter how many times your mother has told you that you’re special, I promise you, you’re not special, Annabelle. Especially to a Spade brother.” He throws his head back laughing. “He’s here for your mother, Anna, not you. And when she decides he’s served his time and you’re ready to take her place-she’ll make you kill him.” He steps back and grabs the door.
“No,” I say, running toward it, but he slams it in my face. “Wesley?” I shout, slamming my fists on the cold steel. I hear the locks set in place as we’re covered in complete darkness. “Haidyn?” I ask, spinning around and blinking rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes to get my vision back. “Haidyn?” I reach my hands out to feel my way. I come to a stop and remember that Bill put something in my back pocket that he said I’d need.
My shaking hands go to my jeans, and I feel my phone. I pull it out, sobbing with excitement. My trembling hands almost drop it before I can open it up to the flashlight. Turning it on, I make my way over to Haidyn and prop it up on the bed so I can see the medical restraints. I unbuckle his wrists and ankles, and I rip out the IV, knowing whatever is in it can’t be good.