The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,429

and he starts bucking like a wild man. “You gotta help me. He’s crazy; you can’t do this,” he shrieks, tears running down his face. I would laugh if I wasn’t starting to twitch the onslaught of memories that are too vivid, and too painful.

I slap Weston, hard and he howls and starts to sob. “God, you are so pathetic. You, who tortured women for years can’t bear to be slapped?”

“He’s gonna cut off my cock,” he sobs, his chest heaving.

“Oh, shut up. He’s not going to cut off your little prick. He knows you’re not worth it.” I put my hand on Stone’s shoulder and squeeze. He looks up at me, the sinister look in his eyes morphing to worry when he sees the look on my face.

He drops the knife and stands up. “Are you okay?”

“Please, I need to go.” I whisper. I don’t want Weston to know how much being here is affecting me.

He wraps an arm around my waist, and I lean my head on his chest. The thundering of his heart against my ear is soothing and muffles the horror of this place.

The wail of sirens approaching fills the cabin. My mother sticks her head in from the bathroom. “Who called the police? I haven’t even gotten the honey on him, yet.”

“Mom, come on, please let’s get out of here, I just want this over.”

She looks between me and the bed and purses her lips in disgust. “Fine.” She marches out of the bathroom with a big black marker in her hand. “But this time, I’m going to force them to get the story right.”

Weston was apprehended, dragged out of the house with the words “PIMP” and “RAPIST” drawn in black marker on his chest. Courtesy of my mother and the news cameras she made sure were waiting when he arrived at the Harris County Court House for processing.

My grandfather not only helped him escape the cabin before he rescued us. He also helped him fake his death and start a new life.

All to ensure no one would ever know about his involvement with the sex trafficking ring whose members tattooed blue thunderbolts on their wrists as a cost of entry.

My grandfather hadn’t been a member for a long, long time. But Weston, whose father had been a member of the same ring, found out about his membership and he saw it as a chance to get revenge for the time he did in prison.

My grandfather ensured Weston served the maximum sentence for that small drug possession charge he caught the night Stone stabbed him.

So, he lured me to the cabin, had his way with me and my friends and sent the pictures to my grandfather in attempt to extort money in exchange of our return.

To his surprise, my grandfather offered him something better.

A clean slate, a lifetime of income in return for And to protect his reputation, to make sure no one ever knew of his involvement, he lied to me and used my guilt as a weapon against me.

Love Of My Life

Regan

* * *

“So….are you okay?” Matty’s question surprises me. I expected her to be angry, to demand to know more, to ask why I didn’t call months ago.

“Uh, yeah. I am. Just reeling, and exhausted.” What an understatement if there ever was one.

“Thank you for calling to tell me. For what it’s worth. I’m sorry I was right. And I’m so glad that asshole if finally where he belongs. You should have let Stone cut off his dick.”

I chuckle, but it’s weary and sad. “That would have been a disaster on top of everything else. But it was kind of fun to hear him scream.”

Matty laughs and even though she sounds as tired as I do, it’s lighter than she’s sounded in a long time. I feel unworthy of it.

“Matty, I’m sorry we can’t find Rebecca,” I address the last elephant in the room. “I wanted to wait until I had more to say than that, but my mother has been looking for her almost a year.” I hold my breath and wait to see if we can cross this hurdle.

“I’m sorry for that, too. It’s the reality though, isn’t it?”

“Sadly, yes.

“But I think what you’re doing in her name over at Venus Rising is amazing. I’d like to help. If you need it.”

“We need it, badly. And we have funding for two staff positions.” I respond quickly, hope kindling in my heart.

“I don’t want to be on staff, I want to