by K. M. Scott
All the while the two of them beat the hell out of me, I heard Robert say over and over, “Only I can order you to kill someone! Only me! No one else. Not even Serena!”
He was like a man possessed, and he watched his two goons fuck me up, smiling every so often when they got a good shot in and I cried out in pain. By the time they finished with me, I couldn’t even sit up straight from the searing pain of broken ribs and my face hurt like someone had hit me with a fucking sledgehammer.
At some point they must have stopped, but by then I’d slipped into unconsciousness. I think it was after the guy beating my face began slamming my head off the back of the chair.
I opened my eyes and felt a rush of unbearable pain tear through me. They’d dumped me on the floor just inside my apartment and left me there, unconscious and for all they knew, dead.
Not that I wouldn’t have done the same thing. I had done exactly that many times for the very man who’d had me beaten within an inch of my life.
As I lay there with the hard floor pressing into my aching body, a terrible thought settled into my brain. What had Robert done to Serena for her part in Oliver’s death?
I lifted my head to begin getting up and got my shoulders about two inches off the floor before the pain became too much. Stupidly, I tried to take a breath, but that was cut off by the stab of agony from my broken ribs. Crying out, I gritted my teeth and prayed to God it would go away or kill me, but whatever happened, I just wanted the pain to end.
Tonight I was supposed to take Serena away from this terrible place, but once again, her father had made sure that didn’t happen. I didn’t know if he’d caught wind of our plans or just found out that I’d gotten rid of Oliver, but the end result was still the same.
We were stuck here, and as I lay on the floor hating everything about Robert Erickson and his fucking world, I couldn’t see us ever getting out.
Pain ebbed and flowed over me in waves, sometimes starting at my eyes and other times in my ribs. It didn’t matter where it started because once it did, it immediately became unbearable. I faded in and out of consciousness so many times I lost count. When I first opened my eyes, the sun still streamed through the window, but at some point I must have passed out because when I opened my eyes again, everything was dark around me.
My phone vibrated against my hip, but no matter how much I wanted to see if Serena needed me, I couldn’t move to grab it. Over and over, it signaled someone wanted to contact me, but all I could do was wait until the vibration stopped and hope to God she was okay.
As I lay there, I knew I should be angry enough to kill Robert when I could walk again, but that thought never stayed long in my head. Every time it popped up, another thought joined it, reminding me of all that he’d given me since bringing me to this place two years ago. I should have wanted to make him pay for what he’d done to me and Serena, but somehow my brain couldn’t get past the fatherly feelings I harbored for him, as ridiculous as that sounded.
How could I ever forgive him for having me beaten within an inch of my life for killing a man he likely would have ordered me to kill eventually anyway? What kind of fucked up person was I? He’d never truly treated me as his son. I’d always been a pawn he liked to parade in front of people when it served him and his thug when he needed to make a point to people who thought they could cross him.
I’d never been anything more to him, but now as I lay there in agony because of him, I still couldn’t bring myself to want to kill him. Leave this place? Fuck, yeah. Never look back. Yep. But not kill him.
Someone else he fucked over would take care of him. I’d always believed that. Some part of me hated him for what he did to Serena by sending her away and then forcing her to marry Oliver even when he knew she’d rather die than do that. For her, I’d never doubted I could kill him or anyone else.
But not for me. Not even now as I lay there broken in pieces by his command.
A noise outside my door roused me from the misery of my pain and my thoughts, and I struggled to turn my head to hear who it was. For a long moment, I heard nothing and became convinced my mind was beginning to play tricks on me, but then the sound of a faint knock filtered down to where I lay.
I groaned out the word hello but far too low for whoever was outside to hear. I tried to speak again, louder this time, but still I doubted they’d hear me.
Another knock sent my spirits soaring. I had to find a way to let them know someone was in here.
With all the strength I could muster, I slammed my hand down on the floor next to me. Not as loud as I’d wanted, but I hoped the person on the other side of the door could hear it.
“I’m here!” I croaked out far too quietly. “Come in!”
The person knocked once more, and then I heard the sound of them jiggling the doorknob. I just hoped to God it was Serena and not Robert or his bruisers.
“Ryder?”
Happier than I thought I could be feeling like a team of horses were pulling me apart, I breathed a shallow sigh of relief at the sight of Serena poking her head in through the door.
“Ryder, are you here?”
“Serena, I’m here,” I said with all the volume I could give my voice.
She looked down and saw me, and instantly I knew how bad I looked by the horrified expression on her face. Throwing the door open, she rushed in and knelt at my side.
“What happened to you? Who did this?” she asked as her gaze ran up and down my battered body.
I took her hand and held it like it was the only thing keeping me tethered to the earth. “I’m so glad you came looking for me. Was that you texting me for the past few hours?”
Gently, Serena touched my face, and I flinched in pain. “Oh, Ryder. What happened to you?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to message you. I’ve been busy lying here on the floor for a while.”
Her dark eyes filled with tears. “Don’t joke about this. Who did this to you? Does my father know?”
I didn’t want to burden her with the truth just yet. It meant more to me to have her there by my side. Knowing she was safe at least took the pain of worrying about her away.
“Did anything happen to you today?”
She shook her head. “No. Why? What’s going on, Ryder? Why are you asking me that when you’re lying half-dead on your living room floor? Why won’t you tell me who did this to you?”
I couldn’t keep the truth from her forever. She’d have to find out that her father knew everything. But what would he do now?
Chapter Ten
Serena
My heart broke at the sight of Ryder bruised and bloodied there on the floor next to me. His right eye was completely swollen shut, and the left eye wasn’t much better, but at least he could see out of that one. His right cheekbone looked like someone had pounded on it with their fist repeatedly until it was nearly as swollen as the eye above it. Dried blood from where it had trickled out of his mouth stained his chin and jaw. And by the way he cringed every time I even got close to his shoulder and his side, I suspected whoever had done this hadn’t limited their anger to his face.
“Ryder, can you get up? If you can get to the couch, I can clean you up and get you some ice so some of that swelling can go down.”
He winced at my mention of moving and let out what sounded like an excruciatingly painful sigh. “I don’t know. I think I’ve got some broken ribs, and my shoulder might be dislocated. I can probably walk, but getting to a standing position is going to be the problem.”
“I can just sit here with you then,” I said. “I can bring everything you need right here.”
Shaking his head, he gave me a tiny smile. “No, I can’t stay on the floor forever. I need to get up.”
Every word sounded like it was being dragged out of him. I didn’t know how he’d ever make it across the room to the couch, even with me at his side.
He closed his eyes and groaned loudly as he slowly rolled over onto his stomach. I wanted to reach out and r
un my hand down his back, but I knew it would only make him hurt worse. When the pain subsided, he eased up onto his hands and knees and let out a low groan.
“Just tell me when you want me to help you up,” I said, trying to sound chipper and supportive even as I struggled seeing him this way.
Hanging his head, he took a few shallow breaths. “I’ll meet you at the couch. Go get some ice and some water. Actually, forget the water. Bring the whisky.”
“Are you sure? I can help you get there.”
He shook his head but didn’t look at me. “No. I’ll be fine.”
I knew he was too proud to have me help him, even though he obviously needed help. I wasn’t sure if I’d see him back on the floor when I returned from the kitchen, but I hurried off to gather up the things he needed.
Even though I found the whisky and ice quickly and even got a bottle of Advil and a wet washcloth to clean his face, I didn’t go back into the living room for nearly five minutes, as much as I wanted to just in case he needed my help. I knew him well enough to understand he didn’t want me seeing him beaten and broken like this.
What I wanted was to know who had done this to him and why.
“Serena, you can come out now,” he said in a low voice that barely made it to the kitchen.
I walked in and saw him leaning back against the couch with a look of utter agony on his face. Hurrying to his side, I moved to place the ice pack on his cheek but stopped.
“I don’t want to hurt you. Where do you want me to put the ice?”
He held out his hand. “Just give it to me.”
Gingerly, he put the ice on his face so it covered his right eye and cheek and asked, “Did you find the whisky?”
Nodding, I held the bottle out in front of me. “Yeah. Do you want me to pour you a glass?”
He shook his head and took it from my hand. “Nope.”
I watched him slowly twist off the cap before he tilted the bottle to his lips and took a gulp. He swallowed hard and groaned before taking another drink even bigger than the first.
“Another ten or twelve like that and I might be able to handle this pain,” he said in a gravelly voice as he put the ice pack back against his face.
“I need to clean around your mouth. There’s blood there. I don’t want to hurt you, though.”
He looked at me and gave me a smile. “You couldn’t hurt me any more than I already am. Do your worst.”
Dabbing the washcloth against his skin, I cleaned the dried blood from where it had stained around his mouth and on his chin as he leaned back with his eyes closed. I wanted to ask him again who was responsible for hurting him like this, but I didn’t.
Instead, I simply cleaned him up and helped him tip the bottle toward his mouth when he wanted a drink. But after about ten minutes, I couldn’t keep silent anymore.
“Are you going to tell me what happened? Did you fight again like you told me you used to?”
He simply shook his head and took another gulp of whisky.
“Who could do this to you? No one can handle themselves like you, Ryder. What happened?”
I didn’t get an answer to those questions either, but he smiled and said, “One man didn’t do this.”
“More than one man jumped you? Is that what happened? Where? Where did this happen, Ryder?”
He let out a slow sigh and lifted his hand to cradle my cheek. “You know who did this, Serena.”
I couldn’t believe that. Shaking my head, I tried not to hear what he said. “No. Why? Why would he do this? You’re his favorite.”
Ryder pulled me to him and kissed me sweetly on the lips. “I told you I’d look back on that day I first kissed you and know I’d pay for it. He knows about us.”
I recoiled in horror that my father had him beaten because he cared for me. “Oh, Ryder! He did this because of me?”
“No, no. I didn’t mean that, Serena. He didn’t have those guys beat me up because we’re together. He had them do it because of what I did to Oliver.”
The more he explained, the more I didn’t understand. My father disliked Oliver enough to order him killed himself, so why would he punish Ryder for doing just that?
“My father as much as said he would have taken care of Oliver for what he did to me. What does it matter who did it or why?”
Ryder shook his head and smiled. “It matters because you asked me to do it, not him.”
“That’s crazy. I’m his daughter.”
I hung my head as the reality of what had happened sunk in, but Ryder gently lifted my chin so I had to look at him. “He knows about us, Serena. I think that was part of why he had me beaten.”
His swollen face looked so awful I nearly broke out in tears. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined he’d do this when he found out. I always thought he would find out, but I didn’t think he’d do anything like this to you. I just figured he’d send one of us away again and that would be it. Then we’d have to find a way to be together. I never meant to do anything to hurt you, Ryder.”
“Shhh. I don’t regret a thing. I’d gladly give my life to be with you, so a beating by two of your father’s thugs is nothing. I’ll be fine.”
He winced as he said the word fine, and I knew he was anything but. Bringing his fingers to my lips, I kissed them and pressed my cheek into his palm. “I never wanted you to suffer for being with me. You’re the only thing that makes life worth living most days. I would do anything to make sure you weren’t hurt because of me.”
“Serena, I’ve been beaten ten times worse when I used to fight. I’ll be okay. I just need to have some more whisky and close my eyes for a few minutes.”
He took another swig from the bottle and handed it to me. He looked exhausted, so I set the bottle on the coffee table and helped him lean back on the couch. Mumbling something about how much he loved me, he closed his eyes and fell silent before drifting off to sleep a minute later.
I watched as his chest barely moved as he breathed, his body protecting him from pain with every inhale and exhale. Never before had I seen him so beaten, yet still he wanted to protect me, to be with me no matter what cost to him.
My father’s actions would have consequences. If it was the last thing I did, I’d make him pay for hurting the man who had saved my life more times than I deserved.
I slipped away while the whisky gave Ryder some relief and let him sleep. Heading down to my father’s office, all I could think of was how much I hated him for what he’d done. All my life, he’d pushed around everyone I cared about. This time he’d gone too far.
One of his goons stood guard at the door, and as I marched toward him, I wondered if he was one of the men who had beaten Ryder. Staring him down, I pushed past him and walked into my father’s office before he could even try to stop me.
“I want to talk to you,” I announced as I stopped behind one of the chairs in front of his desk.
My father looked up from his laptop and cocked a single eyebrow, like my being there intrigued him for the moment. “Are you feeling better today, dear?”
“I would be if I didn’t know you had Ryder beaten half to death.”
Instead of saying anything in response, my father stood and walked over to the bar to make his usual drink. His back to me, I heard him slowly drop three ice cubes into his glass and then pour the bourbon and water over them. I knew this technique of his, though. I’d watched him do this very thing many times before when he wanted to control a situation.
But I wouldn’t let him control anything anymore. Not me and not Ryder.
“I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. You can draw out making that damn drink of yours all you want. I have no intention of allowing myself to become relaxed because you made me wait. Trust me, my anger is going to increase if you keep dragging your feet.”
He turned around and looked at me, that one eyebrow still cocked. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about today, Serena, but I can assure you that whatever it is, I’m n
ot doing anything other than getting myself a much needed drink. Would you like one?”
“I’d like to know why you would have your thugs attack your favorite, Dad. That’s what I’d like.”
Returning to his desk, he sat down and took a sip of his drink. “I haven’t attacked you at all, and since you’re my favorite, Serena, I can’t imagine what’s got you so upset.”
Rage built up inside me until I felt like I was going to explode. Me, his favorite? How ridiculous! Did he think I was stupid?
My eyes narrowed to angry slits as I glared at him. His grey hair, so perfectly slicked back, and his face so many people thought of as handsome now made him look like a real monster more than ever before.
“Please don’t insult my intelligence, Dad. I’ve never been your favorite. First, it was Janelle because you saw so much of yourself in her, and then it became Ryder once he arrived here. I’ve never been anything close to being the favorite in this house. So why don’t you explain to me why you had your favorite beaten?”
My mention of Ryder by name made his mouth tighten into a straight line. “My business requires many things you might not like, Serena. You should stay out of it.”
Suddenly, my anger exploded out of me. “You’re a coward! You had him beaten to show that you control him, but you’re a coward. That’s not control!”
My father bolted out of his chair and stared at me with eyes flashing his rage. “Ryder is mine and mine alone to command! Only I have the power to order a man’s death at his hands! Only me!”
I stepped back as the sound of his bellowing took me by surprise for a moment. I’d expected him to be furious when I stood up to him, but I hadn’t expected that level of anger at me or Ryder.
But I wasn’t about to back down.
“So that’s what this is?” I screamed. “A power play against your own daughter?”
“You had no right to order him to take care of Oliver!” he bellowed in return. “Ryder works for me.”
“I didn’t order him to do anything. He knew what Oliver did and didn’t want to see me hurt again. I told him how Oliver was acting when I returned home from the hospital, and I asked him to help me. You’re just angry that he’s with me, aren’t you?”
