I wrung my hands together as I began telling him the details. "He kept me in his home. Trained me. He used pain and pleasure—BDSM. He spanked and whipped me, conditioning me to enjoy it."
Hector chuckled darkly, stroking his chin. "Yes, I know you have fight in you. That explains why you can take beatings like a champion. Now tell me...is this man still alive? And if so, how did you escape?"
Sweat gathered under my collar. I was a nervous wreck. My chest felt like it might cave in. Lying again meant risking losing my tongue, and worse. Telling the truth could mean the end of me and Becca. There was no way out of it this time. Either way, I lose something.
"He let me go," I said finally, my voice trembling. "He grew a conscience, I guess. We didn't discuss why he released me. He just did it."
I didn't need to tell him the reason. It wasn't any of his business, and it wouldn't make a difference in the outcome.
I couldn't stop there. I had no choice but to come clean. My stomach churned as bile rose in my throat, but the words spilled anyway.
"He's not dead. The day your brothers ambushed me, I was moving in with him. Becca never knew the full truth. In exchange for my freedom, I had to keep what transpired between us quiet. So I did. His name is Atlas."
I forced the next words out like poison.
"And he's an assassin."
The moment the truth left my mouth, I felt my soul weep. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to look away from Hector. An icy shiver ran down my spine because now our lives were in danger. There's no telling what Hector would do with us knowing this new information.
His eyes narrowed, pitch black and gleaming with triumph. "And you didn't think of telling me this when you first arrived?"
"I—I was afraid," I stammered.
My knees shook, and my hands trembled.
The tears slipped down my cheeks as I begged for mercy.
"Please, master…I didn't know if you'd kill us if you found out." The word master tasted like ash on my tongue, but pride meant nothing if it meant saving mine and Becca's lives. I figured if I called him master, he might relent and not kill us if that was his plan.
I hoped he would be merciful, but who the hell was I kidding? This is Hector I am talking about. He is a cold, ruthless monster. He has no empathy or compassion for anyone of us, including his brothers.
Hector's grin was like a blade. Sharp and dangerous.
He pulled me up by my hair, wrapping his fist tightly around the strands. I stood next to him, trembling. My stomach twisted in knots. He yanked my head back, pressing the knife against my neck. Becca started sobbing quietly, while John tried to intervene, shifting nervously in his seat.
"Uncle," John said cautiously, "you don't need to kill her. If that guy wanted her, he'd have come by now. She's still here."
Hector turned his gaze on him, eyes burning like coals.
"Who said anything about killing her?"
He looked back at me, his lips curling into a manic smile.
"No…I'm going to ruin her before I sell her."
He bent low, whispering in my ear as the blade nicked my skin. "You should have told me from the start, bitch. Maybe I'd have cut you loose and sent you back to him. But now? Now it's too late. You'll be auctioned off tomorrow to the highest bidder, and your precious friend? She goes to the cutter." His tongue dragged along my cheek, collecting my tears.
"I actually liked you green eyes. You have spirit. Why the fuck do you think I was going to allow Becca to stay with us? I knew you weren't sick. She means a lot to you, and what would have been the big deal in keeping her, too? Why do you think you haven't been sent to the cottages with the others? But now you've destroyed the chance of remaining with me under my protection."
He sneered in my face. "Now, you are off to a new master, who will probably be ten times crueler than I am."
He shoved me to my knees, fury radiating off him.
"Get on your knees and pull my cock out," he snarled, looming over me. "Make me hard and don't even think about scraping me with your teeth. One slip, and I'll split your fucking skull open."
His voice was venomous, dripping into every crack of my nerves. "Once I'm fully erect, I'll use you however I want. Both holes, until you bleed. If you thought I was a bastard before…." he leaned down, his eyes black as night, lips curling into a snarl. "You have seen nothing yet. The next twenty-four hours will make every beating you received in the past feel like a kiss."
My stomach turned to ice as his words sank in.
