Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance Page 0,82

I managed before he shoved the gag back into my mouth. He reached forward and tore a piece of my shirt off, using it as a rag to wipe his face.

“That was very, very stupid,” he said calmly.

He turned away and didn’t say another word.

My shirt hung in tatters on my frame, barely concealing my breasts. I felt exposed and destroyed, but I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to give the sick fuck the satisfaction.

We drove for an hour and eventually pulled off onto an uneven and bumpy dirt road. We drove back, well away from any other living person, deeper into the woods. We came up to a gate, which slowly opened. Large fences ran all around the building and thick trees blocked the view of anyone who happened to wander by. The house itself was almost plain and boring, completely nondescript. They piled out of the car and pulled me out with them, pushing me up the walkway and through the front door.

I looked around, totally unsure about where I was. Jay silently pushed me forward, herding me through a door and down some steps. We entered a dank, dirty-looking basement. Old exercise equipment was scattered all over the place, gathering dust.

He shoved me forward. In one corner there was a metal ring in the wall with chains hanging down from it. Directly below the ring was a drain in the ground.

I was positioned with my back to the wall directly below the ring. Jay took the chains and wrapped them around my neck, fastening them with a padlock. He stepped back and smiled at me.

“You will stay here until you choose to cooperate.” He nodded at the drain. “Do your business there. We won’t bother you.”

He was about to turn and leave but then thought better of it. He moved up close to me, his breath hot on my face. I tried to scream through the gag but nothing came out, only a muffled choke.

“This is for spitting on me,” he said.

He grabbed the rest of my shirt and tore it from my body.

I struggled, trying to shield myself, but the chains choked if I moved the wrong way. He stepped back, laughing.

“Beautiful girl. Will be a shame if we have to hurt you.” His eyes bore holes through my chest. “Tell us what we want to know and all will be forgiven.”

I tried to tell him to fuck himself. I tried to scream all the horrible things I wanted to do to him, but nothing came. There was nothing else inside me as I stood bound, gagged, and chained, in only jeans and a bra to cover me.

“See you later,” he said, and walked away.

He disappeared up the steps. I heard the door shut, the lock turn, and I was bathed in near darkness. The only light came from a window that was covered by a thin sheet.

I sagged up against the wall, falling to the ground. I had just enough slack to sit up, though the chains were tight.

In that moment, chained in a gangster’s basement, half naked and cold, all I could think about was Reid. He had done so much for his family, so much for me, and I hadn’t even known about it.

I had to be strong. He was going to come for me. I knew he would come for me. I just had to last until he did. He never let me down.

That thought was my only solace as the day wore thin.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Reid

I woke up early feeling decent for the first time in a long time.

I didn’t have a long hike ahead of me. Since I didn’t have a drug shipment to lug along with me in my pack, I could move a lot faster. Consequently, I was going to get back into town around noon, hours before I usually did.

I broke down my campsite and repacked my bag, but kept my phone slipped into my front pocket instead of buried in some random pouch. I wanted to get any messages from Becca as soon as they came.

I had messaged her the night before when I finally got on an American cell tower with decent enough service, something pretty rare. The little blue bubble said it was delivered, but the night went by without a word from her.

That was unusual, I had to admit. That girl always had her phone with her. It was the most reliable thing in the world: the sun would rise, the wind