Darling Wildfire (Red Rabbit #2)

99

THERON

When Vetticus returned some time later, he came and stood in front of me. I’d been in and out of consciousness for hours. If he kept this up, I wouldn’t be in any shape to fight my way out.

“You always did bleed so pretty for me,”

he said hungrily. “And I will never forget the night you truly submitted to me. You know—the night you hurt your daughter.”

I glared at him with as much hate as I could muster. I spit blood onto the ground at his feet.

“You looked at me and that defiance was gone—snuffed out—”

He sighed wistfully. “It was what I should have been doing since the beginning but silly old me seems to enjoy getting burned. Plus, I love a good fight.”

He punched me in the gut and the air left me in a groan as I tried to double over but couldn’t. I swayed in the clutches of the chains as he punched me again, this time in the jaw. Vetticus walked around me, delivering hits as he went.

“You belong to me. I want to hear you say it.”

Another hit to the ribs.

“Who do you belong to?”

He said louder.

A hit to the face.

“Tell me, Kraven!”

When I stopped swinging, I lifted my head and leered at him, an unhinged laugh bubbling up. Vetticus’ lip curled as I continued to wheeze in amusement.

“I will–never belong–to you,”

I gasped out.

Vetticus’ lip curled in irritation and he walked back around behind me.

“I’ll beat it out of you then,”

Vetticus said.

The pain that lanced through me made my back bow. He landed blow after blow, the whip digging into my skin and flaying it open with each hit.

“Who do you belong to?”

He yelled after each stroke and I soon lost count, going in and out of consciousness. When he finally stopped, I didn’t realize he was back in front of me until his hand gripped my jaw and his crazed look swam into view.

“I don’t know why you insist on making this so difficult,”

he ground out between his clenched teeth. “I was going to save this for later, but I have one more surprise for you,”

he panted.

He motioned to the monitor and a dual screen came up. One side showed my men in cells and the other—I squinted at it, willing my vision to sharpen.

“Fuck you!” I rasped.

Kaelin was in a cell, hands cuffed in front of her. I was relieved to see she didn’t look like she’d been touched and the look on her face was calm and resolute. My hands balled into fists above me and the pain seemed a distant dull sensation as fury rolled through overpowering it.

“I thought you’d like that one,”

Vetticus said. “It’ll be a pleasure to get rid of her in front of you. Or maybe I’ll keep her as a pet—she did after all design the drones I love to use. Either way, I was right again…she does look good in a cage.”

This time when Vetticus left, he released the chain, and I fell to the ground.

The chain dropped heavily down around me as I landed in the pool of blood beneath me. I passed out for who knows how long. When I came to, I lay there and dug my fingers into the cut at my side where the blade of the scalpel had snapped off. I growled as pain lanced through me but I managed to pull it out and got to work picking the lock holding the chains around my wrists.

I pulled myself up using the table, toppling the monitor that still showed my men in their cells.

Good, I wasn’t too late. I needed to get them free before the games started.

The room spun dangerously. I hadn’t expected to be this fucked up. I thought Vetticus would just take his rage out sexually instead of physically but there wasn’t any way around it now. I stumbled my way to the door. I put my hand on the knob and took a few deep breaths as I gathered my strength, then I ripped the door open.

Two guards looked at me in surprise. I dropped them before they could alert anyone and yanked a comms unit off one to stick in my ear. Chatter assaulted me instantly.

“She fucked with the drones!”

Vetticus raged over comms. “Bring her to me!”

An array of emotions hit me. First pride, then worry, followed by anger. I told her not to leave the house. But was I surprised?

No. Not at all.

One of the guards was about my size and I pulled his shirt and pants off, putting them on, then relieved them of any guns and ammo. I stood up just in time to see another pair of guards round the corner. I shot the first one but the second one shouted into his comms unit before I took him down.

Despite the guard sounding the warning, I made it down to the cells without incident. They were located deep into the mountain under the house. I took down the man guarding the door and lifted the keys to the cells off him. On the other side of the door, I let my eyes adjust to the gloom and followed the muted voices.

“What the fuck?”

Knox exclaimed as I came into view. “North?”

“Hey boys,” I rasped.

Knox’s cell door swung open as I unlocked it and I moved to Graham’s.

“You look like shit,”

he said dryly.

My lips twitched in as much of a smile as I could muster. I clasped him on the shoulder as he walked out of his cell and quickly released Tex and Lachlan. Atlas was last and he was standing at the door of his cell, eyes haunted and empty.

“Atlas—”

“Let me out, North,”

he rasped.

His voice didn’t even sound like himself. The minute I unlocked the cell, he shoved past me and made a beeline down the hall.

“Atlas!” I called.

“Atlas, wait!”

Lachlan said.

“I’m going to kill him,”

he shouted and then he was gone.

“Fuck,”

I muttered.

“What’s the play, boss?”

Tex asked.

I turned to look at Graham. “He has Kaelin.”