Unbound Trilogy Boxset

by Coopmans, Kathy

  As the call disconnects, a video comes through. My fingers dig into my thighs as Lane picks up the phone and connects it to the laptop.

  Swear to all things holy, I blackout briefly when Ellie’s body comes into view. Her arms and legs are tied to a bed. There’s duct-tape covering her mouth. Hair matted and tangled. Her dress is gone, and her bare ass is hitched slightly in the air by a pillow.

  “Jesus Christ, someone go check on the women, keep them the hell out of here.” I don’t know who speaks or who gets up and leaves as I can’t take my eyes off of Ellie.

  She lifts her head slightly, fear, and desperation dance across her eyes. They latch onto mine as if she can see me.

  “Hold on baby, fuck, hold on, please.”

  I see something else in those watery eyes as I take a closer look.

  Belief.

  She’s holding onto it with all that she has.

  “It’s a shame I have to scar this beautiful skin. It’s even worse I can’t keep you as I wanted. If I take off the tape are you going to beg me not to record this and send it to Logan?” Ellie squirms as Shadow slides his hand up her leg. Her arms tug helplessly at the rope, and my heart catches fire when Shadow undoes his belt, and I hear it hiss before it lands across her ass.

  Her body arches, skin pulling taut and tight, and even though I can’t hear the scream over the tape, I feel it everywhere. The pain, the urgent cry for help.

  “I’m kidding, the tape stays. She’s a feisty one, Logan. Time changed my sweet little Ellie. The minute I turned on the camera, she tried telling you my friend’s name. It’s a shame too because I enjoy hearing her scream. She’ll be screaming soon though because by the time you’re done watching this, I’ll be fucking her raw.”

  Sickness churns in my gut when Shadow laughs and winks toward the camera.

  “Are you breaking yet, Logan? Does this make you regret everything you’ve done? Make you wish you didn’t kill Whitney and steal my goddamn money? You should have left Ellie alone.”

  Blocking my view, he draws a fist back, and the sound of him punching her in the face, the spraying of her blood has me closing my eyes, and a childlike wail opens my chest, bouncing around inside of me.

  Every part of me twists into a tight snake-like coil, desperate to strike out and kill. Bloodshed and insanity expand my muscles with the desire to smash in Shadow’s fucking skull.

  “I want to carve his heart out of his chest,” I sputter, those wishful words rolling over my tongue.

  The belt comes down again and again. Every strike buckles her frame. Blood splays everywhere and through it all, Ellie doesn’t lift her head again.

  Worthless, that’s what I am. Unable to protect the woman I love from her worst nightmare coming to life.

  Again.

  “Motherfucker, I can’t watch this, can’t listen to anymore.” I squeeze my fists tight around the arm of the chair until the wrath to pummel Shadow to death is all I can see.

  Chapter Seven

  Ellie

  I’ve come to believe that for a few short months, I had been living in a bubble, this fantasizing belief that time was what I had. When, in reality, time is as cruel as the men holding me captive.

  I wanted more time in this world.

  More time to love, laugh, swim, possibly get married, and become a mother. I wanted more time with Norah and Renita. I want time to get closer to Lexi. Watch her grow into a woman. I wanted time to see the real man behind Seth and stand by and watch him, and Lane fall in love.

  I wanted a life with Logan.

  One big happy family.

  I wanted to live in my childhood home. I wanted to forget.

  And for the life of me, which, the longer I lay here, doesn’t seem like long before my life is over. I can’t understand why wanting and needing those things don’t come to those who genuinely want them, why life has to be so cruel and punish people who don’t deserve it.

  Why good things that come to those who wait, can’t hold on to them forever.

  Misery.

  It has a distorted way of showing up out of the blue. It’s ugly, uncaring, and thoughtless. It doesn’t warn you that it can come in waves and knock you dead off your feet. It doesn’t inform that once you catch your breath, let down your guard and trust someone enough to fall in love that it’s going to pounce and plunge you down into the razor-sharp jaws of deep mourning and immense grief.

  Down, down, down into the darkened hole.

  I’m lost, and with each passing second, I’m coming to terms with not being found before Shadow kills me.

  I’m not okay with that.

  There’s going to be an enormous weight of guilt strapped to the shoulders to those I’ll leave behind. Those what-ifs, I should-haves, and how-could-haves eating away at them a little bit at a time.

  I know they’ll heal and carry on because that’s what misery allows you to do until the next time it drags you down.

  That’s not what I want for them. If I don’t find a way to get out of here, then that’s what they’ll get — a plate of cruelty and misery served by the hands of Shadow.

  Every fraction of every tiny beaten down cell in my body suddenly starts stirring to life. My mind might be a struggling broken mess, envisioning dreams coming true that were in my grasp and stripped away before I had the chance to hold on to them, but I’m not dead yet. Therefore, I’m not giving up.

  Through one barely open teary eye, I watch the sun fall behind the horizon, painting the sky shades of red and pink, and I thank God that this day is almost gone. It won’t be long until the stars will blink and the moon will hang. Maybe, just maybe, I could wish on one, and it would come true.

  I laugh, it comes out like a strangled cry because of how thirsty and tired I am.

  I fought Shadow off until my muscles felt like they wanted to snap. I screamed Logan’s name over and over into the video camera that at first, I didn’t know was there. But once I saw it, I knew Shadow was going to send a video of him raping me to Logan, and I would rather die than to subject him watching. So, I kicked and fought, and by doing so, it brought my limbs back to life. It wasn’t until I connected with Shadow’s balls and I ran for the door that I knew if he caught me I’d most likely die.

  How wrong I was and how I wish I weren’t.

  Shadow tied me to the bed, taped my mouth, forced me to look into the camera and beat me until blistering pain shot through me like lightning, catching fire to all my nerve endings and making me pass out. I don’t know what he did to me after that.

  Blankness so dense plants in my mind and tears burn behind the back of my eyes. I have no memory whatsoever of what happened after I lost consciousness. Did he rape me again? Did Cole? Did Shadow send Logan the video?

  Not knowing is about as much torture as knowing, at least that’s what I’m telling myself as I lay in a pool of my blood and urine.

  I tried many times to get up and use the bathroom and shower. As embarrassing as it is, I gave in and humiliated myself. Twice.

  “At least you were able to move to the edge of the bed where it’s somewhat dry.”

  My gaze flicks around the room, and with bated breath, I wait for Shadow to emerge, to finish me off, but when there’s nothing but the small whimpering sound of my voice telling me to run, it’s then I notice the bedroom door is open.

  Escaping is futile though when I can barely move a muscle. Welts scatter across my arms, some of my flesh is open with blood oozing out of the cuts. If this is what my arms look like, I’d imagine my backside looks like burnt flesh.

  It’s with the thought of dying by Shadow’s hand, of never seeing those I love when something close to grit and determination tugs on my heart. I don’t want to die and let Shadow live. He’ll do this to someone else if I don’t find a way to stop him.

  I need to find a way out of here before he or Cole come back. The only problem, I’m in too much pain to move.

  Gasping and nearly choking on a whimper, I let the tears fa
ll, and on instinct, I lift a hand to wipe them away. That’s when I realize I’m no longer bound to the bed like I was. There’s no tape over my mouth either, but my skin, it still itches. I cover my mouth when a shriek comes out.

  Survival kicks in.

  “Okay, Ellie, you can do this. All you need to do is think about those you love and run toward the ocean.” I might be bone dead exhausted and beaten, but I know I can out swim them if they try catching me.

  Inhaling a sharp breath when a lick of fire spreads across my butt cheeks, slowly, in the most minuscule of movement, I inch closer on my stomach to the edge of the bed. My butt screams in agony when I roll over coming in contact with the sheets.

  “Dear God.” I breathe in deep, only letting it out when dizziness hits. There’s no beginning, no end, no limit to the pain.

  I hurt everywhere.

  “I hope you bastards do chase me and you drown.”

  It feels like I’ve been burnt alive. Not that I’d know what that would feel like, but that’s how I describe it.

  I flinch and cry out when I swing my legs over the bed and stand. I don’t want to remember the torment, the torture, the way Shadow yelled that Logan brought this on himself. I want to hide and never be found. But this time there is no corner of my own for me to escape. Because all I picture is Logan and the faces of my family as they watched the wretchedness that bastard did to me.

  Feeling powerless in knowing they’ve most likely seen is the worst part of all of this.

  Taking a tentative step and then another, I hobble to the bathroom and lock the door, let out a hiss when the cold seat of the toilet meets my bottom. Before relieving myself, I spread my legs, feeling around my groin for signs of rape. There’s no swelling, no tenderness, nothing like the time before.

  Relief. It floods my veins. He didn’t rape me, I’m sure of it.

  I relieve myself, and as I wipe, I notice a couple of small clots of blood. I hold it together until after I flush.

  Then I drop to my knees. I cry, long and hard into my hands, giving way to the enormity of my grief. Emotions swirl as the hot tears streak down my cheeks and through my fingers. Each of them a blazing trail of agony as my shoulders shake, and the sobs wrack through my body.

  “Oh, God. I lost my baby, and it was because of Shadow. It’s all because of him.” I rock back and forth, pulling at my hair. “You spineless son of a bitch. You not only stole my innocence; you robbed my child of life. I hate you.”

  Placing my hand over my mouth, I let out a stored-up, stomach-turning scream. Sorrow speeds through me, destroying and shredding and slitting.

  Out of nowhere, an angry fire builds under my skin, and a deep emptiness fills my heart as the uninvited situation I’ve no idea how to get out of dries my tears in an instant.

  “I’m not going to let you drive me insane, Shadow. I won’t let you take me away from the man who showed me what unconditional love is.” I rub my temples to not only release the ache but also to force the wheels to start turning. To think of a way to get the hell out of this hellish nightmare.

  After what seems like an hour of my mind racing, I refuse to shed another tear until I’m back in Logan’s arms, and maybe not even then. I’ve been through worse, and I can handle this as long as he doesn’t touch me again. I lift my head and remove my battered body from the floor.

  Without hesitating, I limp back into the bedroom and rummage through the dresser drawers until I find a stack of t-shirts. Grabbing the first one, I slip it over my head, my skin itching like crazy. I refuse to scratch it. Taking several deep breaths, I push past the agony, make my way back into the bathroom and begin opening drawers on the vanity. “Come on; there has to be something I can use as a weapon,” I whisper as my cramping fingers scramble through men’s hair products, several toothbrushes, and other items.

  A laugh escapes when I open the lid of a black box. I quickly grab the wooden handle of a straight razor, close the lid and drawer and clutch the item to my chest.

  Nerves jumping, I click the button to open the blade, and a wave of excitement that I might get the hell out of here slides through me. I turn and bolt for the door only to be met by Shadow and Cole.

  “You’re free to leave if you can get past us. I’ll even give you a head start.” Shadow grins, his eyes drifting down to my hand. “I’ll swap you the razor for your dad’s gun.” He holds out his empty hand as if he expects me to comply.

  “Fuck you; I want you to die,” I yell. He’ll have to pry it from my cold, clammy dead fingers first. I won’t permit them to back me into a corner that’s not of my choosing. I won’t. I’d rather die first before I show fear ever again. Regardless if it’s trickling down my arms and legs, sending chills everywhere until I swear I hear my bones rattle. I will stand my ground.

  “Eventually I will, unlike you, it won’t be today. It’s a shame Cole didn’t get to fuck you before I kill you.” Shadow lifts his hand and points my father’s pistol in my direction. The higher his hand lifts, the angrier I become.

  “You make me sick. Do you know that? I never once liked you. Why would I? I mean, look at you. You have nothing; you are nothing. Maybe that’s why your mother decided to leave everything to your sister because she knew you were the biggest mistake she made.” My voice quivers with beckoning tears. If I’m going to die, I’m going out fighting and striking Shadow where it hurts the most.

  “Shut up, Ellie, or you’ll force me to kill you before I collect what’s mine.”

  “Nothing is yours. Everything belongs to Logan, including me. If you’ve asked Logan for money, it’s gone. All of your money is gone, Shadow. And your sister, she is dead. It won’t matter if you kill me, take me away or whatever your twisted imagination thinks will happen. I will never be yours. I will never beg you. You are a lonely man with this pathetic excuse of a partner as a friend. That is all you will ever be, an inadequate, and weak human who is nothing like Logan Mitchell.” I don’t have a clue what Logan did with the money. I don’t care to know either.

  Shadow’s breathing escalates, his smug smirk drops, and with that, I know I’ve pushed him to his limit. If I’d known the truth was all it took, I would have said it a long time ago.

  “It angers you to the brink that Logan has everything and you have nothing, doesn’t it, Shadow? He ruined you and took the only things away from your unstable mind you care about. Money, me, and your sister. Funny, I don’t think Whitney cared about you as much as you did her.” I shrug, not caring if she did or not.

  “You grew up to be a stupid, stupid woman. Your father was a stupid man, wasn’t he? And now he is dead, just like…” I close my eyes and wait for the bullet to hit me. After holding my breath until I can’t anymore, I open my eyes to a glint of pure malice staring back at me as Shadow’s hand shifts, and before Cole can blink, he shoots him in the neck. “Cole is, or will be in less than a minute.”

  I jump, the echo of gunfire ringing in my ears. Cole’s shocked eyes latch onto mine as he brings his hands up to his neck, slumps against the door, blood oozing between his fingers.

  “Run, Ellie,” he gurgles and stumbles before falling forward at my feet.

  “Try running, and I’ll shoot you. Cole served his purpose. I needed a place to bring you until I got what I wanted. Now let’s go. You’re going to do everything I say. Logan might have got rid of my money, but he has plenty, and once I get it, we are leaving this country. There’s been a change in plans, Ellie. That mouth of yours made me decide to keep you after all. I’ll show you just how pathetic I am by sharing you with every man who will pay me for a night with my whore.”

  Out of everything he said, the only thing sticking is the money. I’d rather live the rest of my life chained to Shadow then to let Logan give him a dime.

  “He won’t give it to you.” I lurch forward, hand flying up to drag the razor down his face. I slash and cut into his dirty flesh.

  “Fucking cunt,” he hisses, grabbing hold of my neck and squeezing until th
e razor falls from my hands and my vision blurs.

  “You have nothing, no means to go anywhere. You are desperate, and it reeks on you,” I gasp out. My lungs are expanding to full capacity.

  “I have, and I will. I’ve gotten away with so much already.”

  I bite my lip, swallowing my disgust when he slams me into the wall, rolls the barrel of the gun down my body, slips it under the shirt and presses it into my entrance. I flinch as he shoves it into me forcefully, but I don’t prize him with begging to stop. Instead, I lock myself away in my mind. I’m disappearing into the dark, never to open my eyes again. Never to see the faces again of those I love.

  “Shall I pull the trigger?”

  I bite my tongue. Squeeze my eyes shut out of fear that I will not only die by Shadow’s hand but tragically by one of my dad’s handguns.

  Shadow has succeeded in scaring the shit out of me.

  Agony.

  Heart-wrenching. Impossible to live with pain courses through me.

  “You want more?” Shadow shouts, slicing through my haze.

  My entire body starts to seize. All I want to do is die. I grind down hard on my teeth, my legs give out, and I crumble to the floor.

  I breathe in and out as best as I can, my fingers digging into the carpet to try to get away from him. It’s no use. I’m exhausted and weak.

  Shadow drops to his knees, flips me over and climbs on top of me. He presses his jean-clad erection into the crack of my ass.

  I buck trying to get him off me, screaming for help until my lungs burn.

  “Scream all you want; there’s no one around for miles to help you.”

  Panic, it hits me like a tidal wave, unleashing the promise to drown me.