“Hey, I thought I was the one that was supposed to be making things better?” She smiled, pushing away her sadness and appearing strong for Holden. “I’m your big sister, right?” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Only one more week, Holden, and then you and I will go far away from here. Hey, maybe we will finally go to the beach like you always wanted.”
He really smiled this time, but although he tried to look strong, there was just no more fight in him. The drugs and his lifestyle, and now everything that was happening with Trent had sucked the life right out of him, and he was only twenty-one.
“Just hang in there, little brother.” She kissed his knuckles and took a step back just as Lor gestured that her time was up.
“I love you, Olive Oil.” She chuckled for the first time since all of this happened at hearing the nickname Holden had for her.
“I love you, too.”
She followed the big guard out of the catacomb of tunnels and back onto the main floor. Right when the darkness left and natural sunlight poured in stopped and tried to get her emotions under control. Lor watched her curiously, but didn’t say anything. She could either go to her room and get through the next week, or she could bargain with him, maybe offer him something he wanted in hopes that he would show mercy on her brother.
The choice was simple. She quickly made her way down the hall until she found herself standing in front of Trent’s office. She’d give him whatever he wanted, even if it was vile and disgusting. Seeing Holden like that, nearly broken and a step away from death, made these three weeks seem insubstantial. What was the point of trying if Holden wasn’t around to enjoy life with her? He was fading away, deteriorating right before her eyes, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Knowing that Trent was on the other side of this door, and smelling the stench of his cologne and everything vile that made him up waft up from under it, had bile rising in her throat. She shook her head as a wave of dizziness assaulted her. Her heart pounded so hard and fast that it felt like it would come right through her chest.
“Well, are you going to stand out there all day or come in, Olive darling?” His voice was deep, but it still penetrated the thick wood. Steeling her nerves and grabbing all of her strength, she pushed his door open, ignoring the two guards that were stationed on either side of his monstrous desk, and not paying any attention to the male sitting in the leather chair right before him. Olive kept her eyes on Trent and stepped inside. “Well, Olive, say what you have to say. Time is money, sweetheart.” She hated the endearments. Looking among the three other men in the room, she swallowed, and shook off the rest of her fear and hesitation. Clearly he didn’t care what these men heard, so she wasn’t going to mince her words.
“He’s dying down there, Trent.” He smirked, but said nothing. “Please, let him stay in my room. I swear I’ll finish out the week, even work extra, but he’ll die down there.” She hated that her tears were falling uncontrollably, but Trent didn’t give a shit, and that was clear by the sudden apathetic look on his face. Twisting her hands together, she refused to break eye contact for him. “I’ll do anything, but please don’t let him die down there.” He suddenly stood, and looked over at the man seated before him.
“Mitchell, please excuse me while I handle this.” The ash color haired man nodded, but didn’t speak or look at her. She breathed hard, her emotions running a riot inside of her. Olive hated that she couldn’t control herself, and that this was the first time since she had agreed to do this that she had broken down. Being strong was what was important, and clearly she had failed at that, too. Trent moved around the table, and one of the guards made a move to follow him, but he held his hand up to stop him. “I can handle this.”
She took a step back, fear suddenly clawing at her insides as Trent stalked forward. He was the master of keeping his emotions in check, and right now it was like he had a steel wall surrounding him. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her forward. His steps quickened as he pulled her out of the room, slammed the door behind him, and continued to pull her down the hall and away from his office. Her animal quivered and burrowed deeper inside of her. He let go of her, and she moved quickly away from him, her instincts screaming that she was in a very bad position right now.
“If you knew what your running does to me.” He slammed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her against the wall. The pictures on the wall shook from the force of the action. In only a few seconds he had his body pressed against hers, digging his erection into her, and leaned his face in closer to hers. “You would stop because it makes me so hard that all I can think about is tearing you into pieces.” He grinned, and she stilled. Her heart thundered in her ears, but even though the house was filled with servants and guards, she was suddenly so very alone. His hot, humid breath smelled of liquor and had her stomach roiling.
She turned her head and closed her eyes, the force of her actions causing her neck muscles to stretch painfully as she tried to evade him. In the wild he was he predator and she was the prey, but even civilized and in their human form she was no match for him. How had she thought she could possibly reason with this male, one that derived pleasure from pain?
“You don’t know how many times I’ve fantasized about taking you against your will. Or how often I picture you up on that stage dancing only for me, but instead of that distant look on your face you’re crying because of the things I am doing to you.” He gripped her chin with his fingers painfully and turned her head so she faced him head on. “Open your fucking eyes, and look at the male that owns you.” Slowly Olive did as he asked. The fear was like a thick coat surrounding her, and there was no escape. She stared into his cold, dark eyes, wishing so many awful things on him that she even shocked herself. “I could do anything to you, and there would be nothing that you could do to stop me.” He leaned in, and she made a frightened noise when he ran his tongue along her cheek. He liked licking her face, liked the fact he could do it and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. It was a vile sensation, but he enjoyed it as the purr that came from him was deep and long. “I could do anything, Olive. I’m toying with you, letting you degrade yourself purely for my enjoyment.” His grin was slow and stretched wide across his face. “That’s right. Do you really think stripping like some kind of whore for four weeks could even come close to paying off what your junkie piece of shit brother owes me?” He held her stare for a moment and then tightened his fingers on her chin. He stared into her eyes. His were so dark, so cold. “No, Olive, there is no way that you could leave me, because I won’t let that happen. At least not until I’ve had my fill of you.” He moved his hand to her throat and curled his fingers around her neck.
“What?” That lone word stuttered out of her mouth.
“Come on, Olive. You’re so much smarter than that.”
Her shock gave way to anger, and that to desperation. “That was the deal, Trent. What kind of business man doesn’t follow through with what he promised?” She was grasping for straws, trying to have him listen to reason, even if that seemed impossible. Servants bustled around, none of them paying any attention to her even though she was now sobbing. “One month, that was the deal, Trent.” She was shaking, so angry at the confusion that churned within her. “I had one week left, and you said you’d let me and my brother leave.” She didn’t bother wiping the tears from her face, didn’t bother lowering her voice as it steadily rose. And there he stood, like a sadistic asshole just grinning at her like this was the best time in the damn world.
“Olive, you’re not stupid, but you’re acting pretty fucking dumb right now. I know you’ve questioned how stripping could possibly pay off the debt.” She felt her face heat from the force of her anger, and although she was on the verge of shifting, that would be the very worst idea imaginable, not when she would be far too vulnerable in her lamb form. “And I know you’ve thought about the fact you may never leave. But I like your fire, sensed it as soon as you stepped into my office. You have a mouth on yo
u, and your will is one that I am going to have an immense amount of pleasure ruining.” He leaned in even more until his warm breath bathed her face and she felt suffocated by him. “And sensing your strength climb every day as you think of your freedom, makes me so fucking hard.” Fire snapped behind his eyes. “And you know why that is?” He didn’t give her time to respond, even if she had planned on it. “Because the stronger you are the harder you break.”
Fire snapped and crackled inside of her, and she pushed away the victim she had become. This was it. Her life was over. Holden was as good as dead. And there was no future for them. “You fucking piece of shit.” Without thinking, because Olive was working purely on instinct, she lashed out. But before she could strike out, he had his other hand wrapped around her throat as well, and started to squeeze the air out of her using both of them as leverage. She clawed at his hands, but compared to him she was nothing more than an annoying fly.
“Now, now, Olive. You’ve stayed under the same roof as me for the past three weeks, no doubt heard the screams of the women I fucked just down the hall from you, yet you still think you have any power.” He snapped his teeth at her, and just as quickly as he tightened his hold on her throat he started to loosen it. “If you actually thought I would let you go without sampling every ounce of you, and without leaving my mark on every inch of your body, then this will be the single most exhilarating experience of both of our lives. You’ll scream and bleed for me like no other before.”
Chapter Five
Olive had been staring out her bedroom window for the last ten minutes watching the driveway where Trent had just disappeared down. Sometimes he left early in the morning, other times late at night, and sometimes he had frightening looking males come to the mansion. There was this pressure inside of her every time Trent was near, an uncomfortable sensation that left every cell in her body feeling as if acid covered them. She lifted her hand and traced a finger over the bars that were just beyond the glass. It had only been a few hours since she had seen Holden, and had the confrontation with Trent. Her throat was sore, and when she had looked in the mirror there was a nasty bruise on her throat in the form of Trent’s hand standing in stark contrast to her pale skin. She had no more tears to cry, no more hope that everything would be okay, because the leopard had been right when he said she had been dumb in thinking she actually had any hope of surviving this. What she did know was she had to get herself and Holden out of here, and get as far away from Kashton as she could. But the real concern was how to even go about doing that with them constantly being watched.
Her breed of animal may be considered weak and docile, but she wasn’t just a sheep shifter, and if she was going to go down then she would do it fighting. She had strength and willpower, and there was no one that would take that from her. She would fight, even if her fate was already planned out and looked grim.
“You want to leave.” Lor’s deep voice had Olive turning around so quickly that she lost her balance and had to hold onto the window frame for support. She hadn’t heard him enter, but there he stood, right on the other side of the door, watching her like he could see into her very soul. He didn’t phrase it like a question, but then again it wouldn’t have taken a genius to know she didn’t want to be here. She didn’t bother responding, because there was no one in this house she could trust. Turning back around, she stared out the window again. The door closed, but she wasn’t left alone, not when the very presence of this human man seemed to encompass every part of the room. Her heart started to pound, and she faced Lor once more. He stared at her but didn’t move away from the door. Olive was shut in here with him, and although he was a human, he was also monstrous in size. But it wasn’t just his size that frightened her. There was something below the surface of his scarred persona, something she couldn’t pick up on even with her heightened senses. For a human he hid his emotions very well. They stared at each other, and although Olive should feel pretty scared right now, and was to an extent, she didn’t feel as apprehensive as she should.
“What are you doing?” No way was she going to admit anything to this male, one that had seemed to be assigned by Trent to keep an eye on her.
He didn’t respond right away and instead looked around the room. “You want out of here, understandably, but you are intelligent enough to realize that will never happen.” Her palms started to sweat, and that almost absent fear slowly grew inside of her. “Not without my help.” Had Trent told Lor to come in here and make her feel even more off balance? It didn’t seem like his style since he liked getting his hands dirty. When she didn’t answer once again he pushed away from the door only enough to open it once more. He stopped when he entered the hallway and looked over his shoulder. “If you want any chance at surviving this, then I suggest you come with me.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, just disappeared down the hallway. For a few long seconds all she did was stand there, not knowing if this was a trap of some kind. But then something inside of her kicked on, and she headed after him. His steps were slow but precise, and he never stopped to check if she followed him. He led them down the stairs and to the basement. Was he taking her to see Holden again? Oh God. Was he taking her to some room where unspeakable things would happen to her? That seemed like the more logical explanation, and her steps faltered.
“I…” She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Still he didn’t turn around, but she heard his deep voice even though he was some distance in front of her.
“You won’t be hurt. I want to talk, but we have to hurry, and we have to be quiet.”
What could Olive do? She followed him, because she was out of options. When they reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs he took them in a totally different direction from when she normally went to see Holden.
The basement was cold, the stone surrounding them closing in on her. She pulled the edges of her cardigan closer to her neck. When they reached the seemingly endless hallway he took a sharp left and stopped in front of closed door. Lor pushed it open and stepped inside. She followed him in, but stopped immediately as she realized where she was. Fear slammed into her as she took in the rust stained exam table sitting in the middle of the room, and of the stainless steel table off to the side that held an array of tools, which she could only imagine were used for the most horrifying reasons. The door shut behind her on its own accord, and her heart jumped into her throat. She back away and reached behind her for the handle, but came up against the smooth metal of the door. God, how foolish she had been to believe anything he had said. Olive had been stupid enough to actually think Lor could help, but in reality she had come with him on her own, without a fight, and now she was about to pay the price.
“You can’t leave this room until I let you.” He stood beside a small panel that she hadn’t seen when first entering. Lor walked toward the exam table and stared down at it. The single light hanging directly above it made the whole room have an almost ominous quality. “You know what they use this room for?” He looked over at her, and his expression told her he hadn’t asked because he obviously thought she was blind to what happened in this room of death. “Trent takes the men he wants to torture information out of down here.” He ran a big, scarred hand across the smooth surface. “This room, along with the hallway leading to it, and also Trent’s office, are the only places on the estate that don’t have cameras in them, for obvious reasons.” He turned around and faced her once more and took a step forward, folding his big arms across his chest.
“I don’t understand what any of this is about.” Her voice was stronger than she thought possible given the fact she was scared out of her mind. Lor answered her unspoken question.
“I don’t torture people, and I don’t kill people. My only duty is to watch you and take you to see your brother when I’m told to do so.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, still not understanding why she was here, and why Lor seemed to want to help her at all. But he didn’t make her wait long before he star
ted talking again.
“Do you know how I got this scar?” He ran his finger along the side of his face, right over his missing eye. She slowly shook her head. Honestly she didn’t want to know, but she knew he’d tell her anyway. “One of Trent’s men did this, right before I gutted him like a fucking pig.” The room was freezing already, but once he said those words it felt like it dropped about ten more degrees. This was certainly not the conversation she thought they’d be having. But if she was being honest she didn’t know what conversation they would have had. “Two years ago I watched three men kill someone in the back alley in downtown Cleveland. I tried to help, because I couldn’t have just stood there and watched them do that to another human. I can handle my own, but not when I am ambushed by three men with guns and knives, and sick desires to watch people bleed.” He looked down at the ground. “They found out my name, where I lived, and instead of killing me, they took something from me that meant more than my very life.” When he looked up at her again she sensed his bone-deep pain. “They took my wife from me, raped and killed her for the sole purpose of making me suffer.” His pain turned to rage, but just as quickly as it had surfaced, it was gone. “I waited, plotted out my revenge for the last two years. Through different outlets and channels I realized the men that had killed my wife worked for Trent, and had done so on his orders. They also maimed my face. It became like a reminder for me of what I lost every time I looked in the mirror. But I didn’t need to look at my reflection to know that I didn’t have a life anymore. I had never seen the leopard before, and he had never seen me, and so after years of perfecting my way to get to him, I finally found it.” He took another step closer. “I had to do a lot of illegal things to get where I am right now, but if it means finally exacting vengeance for what he did to the love of my life…” He exhaled loudly. Even though he might be here to seek revenge for what was done to his wife, Lor was still a dangerous man, even if he was only human. “It took a lot to get where I’m at right now, to be this close to Trent, and nothing is going to stop me from taking his life. But I can’t have you here, can’t sit back and bide my time while he has nasty, vile plans for you.” The silence stretched between them after he spoke, and it was as if he was waiting for her to take note of what he was talking about. “And what he has planned is vulgar, Olive. He gloats about it after he’s been drinking, and goes into great detail on the painful and degrading things he gets off on.”
A Lamb for the Bear's Appetite Page 5
