Love & Hate Series Box Set 2 (3-4) - In Too Deep - Skimming the Surface

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  “Now, you’re finally where you always belonged. Let’s play then.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Something for nothing

  Tahlia

  Over the past few years I have thought about that moment when I’d see Rat again. I always imagined it differently—what I’d do, what I’d say—but never in all my imaginings did I think I’d wake up one day handcuffed to the bed, filled with fear that squeezes my lungs so tightly that I’m out of breath. It obviously got me nowhere, because now he not only has me completely at his mercy, but he also has Tequila.

  The rat went for the one person that I care about the most, a friend that I didn’t have in the past.

  I look around the room thinking about a way out. He is blocking the door, and there is only one window.

  He’s standing there with his arms folded over his chest leaning against the doorframe looking at me with that smug creepy smirk on his face. He knows how much fear he instills in me, and the slow paralysing terror rises inside me, like he wants me to remember all the good old days.

  “We both know that you only want me. You might as well let her go. She hasn’t done anything to you,” I say, feeling my stomach revolt as he touches Tequila’s arm. She looks absolutely petrified and pissed off, like she is ready to rip his face off. Josh shakes his head and pushes Tequila back to the floor. Then he takes a few steps towards me and my heart speeds up instantly. The courage that I have been holding on to so desperately is fading away, boxing up all my emotions helping me focus on the situation. I’m not the same person that he forced to do his bidding, that let him decide my fate on a daily basis when he kept me prisoner. Right now, I’m ready for anything, even to bite his flesh, just to stop him from touching me.

  “Ah, look at Rosie. She is all grown up ... thinking that she can defy me,” he says, zooming over my body with those greedy lawless eyes. This is his way of showing that he still has control over me. He wants me to beg him for mercy, but no matter how scared I am, I won’t give him the satisfaction. “Well, I know why you’re suddenly so brave. You think that our mutual friend, Micah, is on your side. Are you really that pathetic? He won’t come for your rescue, not this time when I have my hands on you.”

  A knot forms in my throat, making it hard to swallow. He knows about Micah, but how? Maybe he’s been watching me this entire time, following me in Braxton when Micah was around. Tequila keeps looking at me intensely, and then at the window. She has an idea, but it’s too risky, too dangerous when Josh is capable of anything right now. I need to get her out of here, even if that means I have to sacrifice myself in the process.

  “He was always a better man than you were. It was sad really the way you followed him around like a puppy. The way you wanted any toy he had, and now that he knows that you murdered Steph… I don’t fancy your chances when he gets his hands on you. You won’t get away with this, not this time around. He is coming for you, Josh, and you will be dead before you know it,” I shout, losing my temper and completely forgetting that this man has been the source of all my fear and pain, that this man beat me up so badly when I refused to be locked up, when I asked for food.

  Within a split second his hands are on my throat, and instant terror clouds my vision. I’m suffocating, losing oxygen faster than I anticipated. The pain in my head explodes, and my blood stops flowing through my veins. His face is inches away from mine, and those eyes are telling me that I have to beg for my life, to ask if he will allow me to carry on living and breathing. His stare is filled with darkness that quickly penetrates me, slipping through the hidden parts of my old self. He is squeezing hard. Tequila is tangling herself on the floor, trying to free her hands, screaming through the tape that is plastered over her lips.

  “You’re still a stupid fucking bitch and you are only good for sucking cock. Did you think that there was something between you and Micah? Did you really think that he could love you? After all, you’re just a worthless whore that has never been wanted by anyone in her entire life.”

  He is going to strangle me to death; the room starts spinning and my breath shortens. All I hear are Tequila’s muffled screams and rat’s heavy breathing. When I think this is over and I’m going to die, he pulls away. A moment later he slaps me hard and pain bursts along my face. I tell myself that I can still fight him, that he hasn’t killed me yet, so I still have a chance.

  I blink and shake my head, ignoring the dull pain all around my jaw and wrists. The bastard has me tied up around the bed, and unless I break my bones, I have no way of escaping.

  “I had no idea that Micah was the one that found you in that stinky hole. Someone betrayed me and I had to run like a dog, but I was going to come back for you. My dick needed to be satisfied and you always sucked it well for me. How about your friend Tequila? Does she like sucking cock?”

  “Fuck you, piece of shit. Leave her out of this. You are pathetic, needing to terrorise a woman for your sexual kicks. Is it because no women want you willingly? Do and say what you want, you don’t have any power over me anymore. Why don’t you try to show me your wormy, flaccid, disappointing dick, and I’ll bite it off for you!” I shout, not even knowing where this is coming from. Three years ago, I could barely choke out a word in his presence, and now I’m threatening him, knowing that he is going to kill me anyway.

  He squats down by Tequila and stares at me intensely for a long moment. She is moving away from him, but he grabs her neck and brings her face closer to his. Then he runs his tongue over her cheek with the most vile look on his face.

  “She tastes sweet and I bet if I dip my finger in her pussy it will be already wet for me,” he mutters and Tequila shuffles, shrieking, but the tape is blocking whatever sound she tries to make.

  “Maybe you ran away from me once, but the world has opened its arms to me. A small town like Braxton, who would have thought that I’d end up in a place like that, creating yet another empire? I needed a fresh start, so I stayed hidden for a while, away from people and the cops. I think you forgot that I always owned you, and I would always find you, no matter where you were.”

  “If you own me why didn’t you come for me yourself, you piece of shit? I heard about your stupid mistake. That arsehole you hired went to the wrong window and killed my roommate instead of me. God you must have been furious that your guy fucked up so much, that you didn’t get to me then,” I keep teasing him, wondering how much more it will take for him to lose his temper. If he releases me off the handcuffs, I’ll spit in his face. I have to do everything in my power to divert his attention from Tequila to me. She has gone through enough and she can’t experience his cruelty. This would break her forever and I won’t allow it.

  It looks like I’m doing a good job winding him up. The muscle thrums along his jaw. But the fear that is settled deep inside me is silencing my own voice, forcing me to do whatever he wants. There is slim chance that I would be able to pass him and get out the door. And he has people downstairs.

  “He did and he paid with his life for that mistake. Straight after that, I had a better idea. I thought that I could frame you for your roommate’s murder. This sounded like more fun than just getting rid of you. My dear friend Micah was sniffing around your used pussy, and he was getting too cozy being that big detective. He never changed, and I wanted to remind him that he should have never taken away what belongs to me, so instead I directed him into you.”

  “Please, you never came up with the idea on your own. Your monkey brain couldn’t handle that much information,“ I hiss. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The police have most of your guys in custody and they will get to you sooner or later. Micah knows about our past and he knows about your lies. It won’t be long before he either kills you or arrests you. I hope it’s the first option.”

  “Shut up, you whore, shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say, because this is the best bit that might shock you a little,” he shouts, and his face goes red. Three years ago I would have been urinating all over myself w
hen I heard him coming upstairs, but right now I see that he is already losing control. His eyes are bloodshot and only now I notice the marks from needles on his arms. Josh had smoked weed, but he’d never taken any heavy stuff. That was why all his guys always respected him. Now things are obviously different and he is most likely injecting heavy drugs, which means that everything is falling apart for him. “I was waiting for you to get to prison. That would have been so much easier to rape you there and then let someone else to finish the job. Micah was out of the picture. He was truly convinced that you were guilty. Everything was going with the plan until he helped you to escape. Of course there was that one incident with the nurse, but I let that one go. After all, I had Kiki.”

  I let him talk, let him get this over with, because I know this way I’m buying myself some time, but when he mentions Kiki my heart stops. I look at him baffled.

  “Kiki wasn’t supposed to escape. She was just at the right place at the right time,” I say, convinced that he is making it up as he goes along.

  “Oh, this is where you were wrong, Rosie. She was always the one that provided me with information about you. Yeah … don’t look so surprised. Kiki, oh Kiki, that name turns me on so much. She helped me steal you away that first time. You see, I couldn’t come for you myself, because I was wrapping up things in Braxton. I sent my best man to get to you, and he screwed it up.”

  Tequila widens her eyes and pales even more. I open my mouth, feeling like someone just cut me with a razor. The rat is full of shit. Kiki was saved randomly. This girl has been loyal to me and Micah from the very beginning.

  “Bullshit. You were just lucky. She couldn’t have helped you,” I say.

  He starts laughing out loud and that instantly makes me sick. He used to laugh like that after every time he raped me, and it strikes a painful memory. Nausea rolls through my stomach, overpowering my senses.

  “I have my ways and I reached out to her,” he says. “She had no choice. You see, I have her little sister, and this afternoon when Tequila sent her to the shop, someone else reminded her what she promised me a while ago.”

  I don’t want to believe any word that comes out of his mouth, but this makes sense. Kiki must have sold me out, led his guys right up to Tequila’s house to protect her sister. What choice did she have?

  “Oh, and let’s not forget your little stunt at the apartment. You see, all this time that I owned you, I thought that you were nothing but a whore. In the end you proved me different. Little Rosie tricked Tahir and ran. It was a dark time for me. I thought I lost you and would never see you again. All of sudden no one knew what happened to you. Micah didn’t have you and I really thought that this whole thing was over until…”

  “Until I led you straight back to me,” I finish for him. I foolishly made a choice to lead this sick bastard straight to me, because I thought I could take him down.

  “Oh yes, and what a surprise that was. Couple of days later I hear that you got yourself a job in Shotgun. I thought that it was too good to be true. I mean how could you be that stupid? Of course I could have gone back to my business, but my dick was itching. Nothing would have made me happier than finally getting my hands on you.” He sighs, scratching his arms. I keep watching the clock on the wall, thinking hard about my options. I need to get Tequila out of here, out of this room.

  “I was ready, but you were too cowardly to face me yourself,” I say, to strike him, but that stupid smile doesn’t disappear off his face.

  “Well, Tahir begged me to let him make it right, so I sent him to find you. That son of a bitch failed again and you slipped through my fingers. My big surprise was that Hunter was the one that helped you this time. He obviously must have had a thing for you too.” He laughs and I keep quiet, too afraid to say anything about Hunter. Josh doesn’t know that Hunter was the only person that never violated me in any way, that he almost betrayed him. “That idiot came out of nowhere and helped you. I made Tahir choke on his own cock for his mistake. He failed me twice, and you know that I’m not a patient man.”

  “Go to hell,” I mutter.

  “Don’t worry, I’m almost at the end,” he says. “So then after I was done with sorting things out in Braxton I came back to London. It was time to rise from the dead and take care of you, my dear. Hunter disappointed me. He’d always been so loyal. I was so very hurt when I found out that he joined your little coven. It was a hit below the belt, but I decided to wait for the right moment. Let you know that I left you be for some time,” he said. “Then I made some shitty excuse to get your boys out of the house.”

  “Yeah, that was simple,” I finish for him, not believing how badly he wanted to find me, that he never let go of the grudge that he held against me, the hatred that stayed with him until now.

  “Oh yes, darling, and now we are going to play. I need to remind you why you should have never run away from me in the first place. That’s why I’ll start with your friend here. Sweet, feisty Tequila.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Horns and that one last time

  Josh tears Tequila’s tape off her mouth and then takes the knife and frees her hands. I’m considering screaming at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would hear me. My heart is pounding loudly when Josh drags her across the room and then slaps her again. Tequila is a strong-minded woman, but in this situation she won’t be able to defend herself against a guy who is twice her size, a guy that is so sick and twisted that he wants to rape her in front of me. She knows that he is a monster.

  “Come on, Tequila. What are you waiting for? Get up and do a dance for me. My girl here needs to know that she was always my possession and you’re going to remind her of that.” He laughs, running his hand over her neck, then lips.

  “Try touching me, arsehole, and I’ll cut your dick with my bare teeth,” she spits, taking a step back. Josh slaps her over the head and then grabs her by her hair, dragging her up so her face is only inches away from his.

  “Fucking hurry up. My dick is hard and someone needs to suck it,” he growls, then forces her face down to his crotch.

  “Josh, you don’t have to do this,” I yell in desperation, as an icy blast of fear slides its way up my spine. Josh clenches his chunky fingers around her face, fighting with the zipper of his trousers. A moment passes, and Tequila gathers herself and starts hitting him with everything she has. He leans over the cabinet and all of a sudden he has a large knife in his hand. She stops struggling when he moves it to her neck. Terror explodes in my chest, numbing every limb in my body. I can’t let him do this.

  “Stop fighting with me. I want Rose to see how I fuck her best friend’s mouth. I’ll start cutting her skin off, piece by piece after I fuck her used pussy too,” he whispers staring straight into Tequila’s eyes. She is on her knees in front of him, shaking with fury and fear. My mind is like a dry sponge, empty and drained. I know that psycho. He means every word, and he is going to hurt her until I beg him to take me instead. When he wraps his hand around her neck and forces her to kiss him, that does it for me. I’m done. I can’t keep it together anymore.

  The new me is fighting with my old self not to give up, not to show any weakness, but there is only one way out of this situation. I have to convince him to take me instead of Tequila.

  “Strip or I will rip your clothes off piece by piece with my knife, slicing you up a bit as I go.” Tequila is shaking now, slowly lifting herself up, most likely ready to obey his orders. “

  “Oh grow up. You aren’t some master criminal. You’re a small-time junky who surrounds himself with smarter people,” I shout to get his attention back on me. “You want to fuck her to frighten me? Oh please. You useless idiot, I’m glad it’s not me. She is weak and easy. You think I’m going to beg you to take me instead? We both know that’s why you brought me here.”

  I take a breath and hope that Tequila knows I’m trying to help.

  “Okay, here goes. This is what you want—you want me to beg … Come on, Josh,
it’s like the good old days.” My tone is sarcastic as I plead, “Oh, Josh, no, please don’t hurt her. I’ll do whatever you want.” I swallow my residual humiliation and choking fear, hoping and praying that provoking him spares Tequila. She doesn’t deserve any of this, even if I have to experience the same nightmare all over again.

  “Tahlia, no … you can’t—”

  “Shut up or I will shut that trap for you,” Josh roars, silencing Tequila with his fist.

  He turns to me. “You think that you get to tell me what to do? I’ll take you, right after I’m done with her. Besides, I have already tasted your pussy, and it’s always more satisfying breaking a virgin for the very first time. The screams turn me on so much, oh and … the begging. Steph was the same. She screamed and fought me, but she knew that she couldn’t win. I felt so euphoric when I finally slit her throat.” He licks the knife, staring at me with those heavy, hooded eyes.

  I shift to my sexy voice. “I’m not the same scared little girl from the past anymore. Tequila is no one, and you know you want me. My body is different now, filled with beautiful tattoos and you know that I have a great arse,” I say, trying not to throw up at the same time.

  The look on his face as he considers what I’ve said churns my stomach as the truth of this situation hits me hard. Josh doesn’t want Tequila. He is only doing this out of spite. I see that mad twisted gleam that starts dancing in his eyes, that shifts into an open curiosity. He licks his lips, eyeing me up and down, calculating and measuring if I’m still worth it. Tequila doesn’t get it. She won’t be able to recover from the things that he’ll do to her if she stays in this room. Josh wants to triumph over me with his power. He is taking that obsession with me from a couple of years ago to the next level.