“In fact, I still do.” She falls down into a chair in front of me. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist a pretty face.” My heart accelerates at the mention of my wife. “Hudson?” she calls out, and a man walks into the darkly lit room. My eyes narrow on him, knowing exactly who he is. I remember him from Charlotte’s kitchen when I found her lying on the floor thinking she was dead.
Walking over to her, he says, “Yes, Mommy?”
I pull my lip back at his pet name for her. I’m not one to kink shame because I like some fucked-up shit, but the fact that he’s calling his ex-girlfriend’s mother,Mommygrosses me out. Sliding his hand into the V of her dress, he grabs her breast and leans over, kissing her.
“You fucking?—”
“All a part of my plan.” She interrupts me, pulling away from him. “I made sure she had you as an assignment, but it wasn’t going anywhere.” Rolling her eyes, she continues. “Then Ashtyn returned, and you left—Benny almost fucked all of that up. I wasn’t sure what to do. But Hudson came up with an excellent idea. He called his friend and had him follow Annabelle while she sat outside of your house. He waited for her to leave, pulled her over, and roughed her up before taking her to jail. Where the only person she thought she could call was him.” She smiles, and I’m shaking, staring at the fucking bastard. I should have killed him in her kitchen, but I was too concerned with waking up my wife. “You, of course saw her car and made the call to look into her. You couldn’t resist wanting to see her once you realizedwho she was.” He lights a cigarette and hands it to her. “You’re a fucking soldier, Haidyn, but you have too big of a heart.” She frowns, taking a drag. “It’s not a good quality in a Lord but predictable. After everything you did for your brothers and then Ashtyn, I knew you wouldn’t be able to turn down a damsel in distress. So…he roughed her up a little bit and sent her back to you.”
“We have a deal,” I grind out.
“Oh, I’m a woman of my word. You remain here; she remains untouched.”
Hudson laughs. “Well, I wouldn’t sayuntouched.” He smiles at me. “I’ve enjoyed watching everything you’ve done to her. After seeing how much she liked it, I have plans for her.”
I yank on the chains, making them rattle along with the cuffs, trying to pull them from the floor, but I’m too weak. “You touch her…”
“You left her vulnerable. The poor bitch actually fell in love with you.” He laughs. “I’ll sweep in, pick her up, and give her a shoulder to cry on. Slowly, I’ll take over her mind. It won’t be hard to break her, not after what you did to her. But don’t take my word for it. I’ll have the chance to prove it when she moves in here.”
I look at Isabella, waiting for her to say something. To elaborate on what he means bymoves in here.Our deal was me, not her. If he drags her here, then she’s breaking it.
“Do you know how the Lords started?” She tilts her head in thought with a smirk on her face.
I don’t answer. There are theories, but nothing has ever been proven. I never cared to dig into it because I knew I’d never get the truth. And what the fuck would it change? Nothing.
“All men are the same. They think because they have a dick, they own the world. But what if I told you that women started the Lords centuries ago?”
Hudson laughs as if it’s a joke, and she glares up at him. He begins to cough, trying to cover it up. I say nothing.
“See…look at you right now.” She crosses one leg over the other. “Chained up like a dog.”
My cuffed hands fist.
“Do you really think a man would put another man in this position?” She throws her head back laughing. “You go through three years of initiations to weed out the weak. You’re told you can’t fuck. What man would decide to go without pussy for so long?” She takes another hit from the cigarette. “Women run this fucking world, but we have to let men think they’re the ones in control. Without us, your legacy would die. Your name forgotten.” She chuckles. “Part of the rules—everyone must serve. You are put to the test. Fight to your death sort of speak. Our daughters have to spread their legs…” She shrugs. “As if that’s hard to do. But you, the men…three years without sex and then given someone to fuck? You’re like a kid on Christmas morning. You parade her around like the trophy you’ve won, and it makes you feel like a man again.”
This isn’t my senior year at Barrington, and she’s not my chosen. I knew Charlotte was her daughter the moment I found out her true identity. I wanted revenge and saw an opportunity. Even though I knew it was a setup. I couldn’t deny I wanted her since the day I saw her on her father’s yacht.
Four years ago
I was kept in a cell—starvedand drugged—for who knows how long. Four men had entered, and I didn’t even bother to fight. What’s the point? I’m not saying I’m giving up, but I refuse to give that bitch the satisfaction of watching me lose a fight when she’s stacked the odds against me.
I woke up after that, thinking I was buried alive. I couldn’t see, my nose was plugged, and I couldn’t move—the space so small. The only source of oxygen was through a tube that I could feel in my mouth. At times the airflow was cut off, forcing me to panic, no matter how hard I tried not to. I was burning up—my body on fire and sweating to death. I’m pretty sure I was hallucinating, unable to see or hear anything and unable to control the body spasms.
I knew it was the pits. I don’t know how long I was in there—felt like days—but I eventually lost consciousness, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed.
Now, I’m returning to the basement for more torture, more training.
I’m shoved through the plastic curtains by the Lords who remain covered in cloaks and masks. I immediately come to a stop. Saint and Kashton both hang from their tied wrists secured to the ceiling in the center of the room. It’s the first time I’ve seen either one of them since Ashtyn shot my brother. How long has it been…days, weeks, months? Time doesn’t exist down here. At least they’re both alive.
Kash looks like fucking shit. Bruised, cut, and bleeding, he’s on the brink of death. His skin ashen and breathing labored. Scanning Saint’s body, I see he’s got a fresh 666 brand not far from his bullet wound. He hasn’t been down here long. Maybe a day. At the most two.
“Oh, you’re back.” The bitch turns and smiles at me. Slapping Saint’s fresh brand, he grunts. “Told you Haidyn would be okay,” she tells him.
“What do you want?” I ask. It’s a stupid question, but for us to finally be seeing each other, there has to be a reason. It’s all about mind games with her.
“I’m here to teach you to be men.”
Kash snorts and spits blood from his busted lips onto the floor.
