Chapter 7

Stephanie

My eyes blinked rapidly as I stared at the brick wall.

No.

I knew it was a long shot, but the sinking feeling taking over me was unlike anything I had ever been prepared for. I had always believed if you were a good person and had good thoughts, things like this wouldn't happen to you. Life had not been kind to me already. My parents had been killed in a car crash by a drunk driver, which left my sister severely hospitalized and unable to walk until only recently. The cost of her treatment had crippled me, leaving me few options.

When I became Jake's secretary, I was so grateful for the job and money. I felt I could finally breathe, that I wasn't drowning in payments. It also meant I had a target on my back that could be easily exploited. Carter had cornered me on one coffee run, requesting information on Jake's cases where he could counter-argue in court and use this information against him. It was not my finest moment. I agreed—I had no other choice. After losing my parents, I wanted to do anything to protect my younger sister, and that meant getting her the best care money could buy. She had already watched my parents die. I didn't want her to stay bed-bound in some shitty hospital where she might never walk again.

Of course, all these meetings to give Carter his information became more and more dangerous. I was in over my head, and the money, although more than I had ever had, went in the blink of an eye to all the medical fees. Thousands of pounds I thought would last months, that it would be just a one-time thing so I could sort myself out, get on top of my increasing debt. But then my sister would get an infection and need emergency treatment, or my landlady had threatened to evict me if I didn't pay my arrears. So when Carter called asking for more information, I gave it without so much as a shred of guilt.

Until it came time for a case with another car crash—this time the driver had been high on drugs instead of alcohol, but the result was the same. I shouldn't have even been on the case. It was unethical. But no one knew my secret, only Carter. Jake had caught me red-handed trying to steal evidence, and well, somehow that was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Jake ended up being my knight in shining armor and swore he would protect me. He paid my sister's fees, and when he found where I lived, he moved me into his place. It was a whirlwind romance that makes me pinch myself that it's actually real. Of course, Carter was less than happy about that. Jake was his rival in everything, and me not only dating but marrying him was clearly a loss he couldn't take.

I had raised my concerns and Jake said he was dealing with it, taking Carter down once and for all. I had believed him, and then...

Carter's arms grabbed me, pulling me out of my memories as I realized where I was. My body pressed against his, and I could feel something dig into my back that I actually was praying for it to be a gun. Both his hands gripped me tight as his hot breath pressed against my ear. "I'm almost disappointed, love. You ought to do better than that." He kept one arm against both of mine, making it impossible to fight him off as the other skimmed my body like a lover's caress. The sheer, thin fabric did nothing against my frigid skin at stopping his body heat from leaving an angry hot trail in its wake.

Carter turned me around and pressed me back against the wall as I tried to breathe and not act like a deer in headlights that was about to be run over by a truck. That's how you got killed. The dark room came back into focus as my back hit the exposed brick, biting into my skin. Carter looked murderous, if not unsurprised by my attempt at running. In fact, I think he almost wished for it so he could have an excuse to touch me. I'd just played right into his hand.

It made me feel sick.

"I've had many women allow me to take them to dinner. You gave your word, Stephanie, and I never break mine. It's just dinner. You must be hungry, after all?" I saw the piles of food laid out on the table and the roaring fire. My stomach rumbled, but I was too scared to even think about eating. The fire, however, was the most tempting. What would be the harm if I just played along and had one dinner with him? Surely it would be over, right?

The words were on the tip of my tongue before I glanced back, seeing Carter's smirk. He knew what I was thinking, how close I was to giving in. But being here against my will in a dress no one could pay me to wear doused me with ice-cold water. If I said yes to dinner, Carter would take a mile. As much as he wanted me, Carter wanted something far more—revenge on Jake, and what better way than stealing his wife.

If I complied, Carter no doubt would convince any jury I was complicit, that we had made plans for him to arrest me so I could escape my cruel husband's clutches, that he kept me out of sight so that Jake wouldn't find me before we had finalized our plan. Besides any manhandling of me, I had no doubt he could argue away as consensual, that I enjoyed getting bruised and degraded. I saw it all.

"I'd rather starve," I gritted out as Carter's smirk deepened.

"I knew you would be like this, love. So feisty," he countered, sounding amused as if we were having an intimate date rather than him trapping me against the wall and denying me any of my rights or free will.

"Stop calling me love," I sounded far more confident than I felt, and yet I was too tired, hungry, and angry at that moment to care.

"Would you prefer something else... baby? No, I don't like that. Sweetheart is a little corny for me. My pet does have a nice ring to it." I snarled at the last one, making his eyes light up.

"Stephanie is fine," I pressed, but Carter shook his head.

"No, that won't do. It's far too formal. What about Mrs. Dickson? That has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He beamed, seeing the fight leave my body as I slumped back into the wall. No, he wouldn't, would he?

His mouth crashed on mine as his hands roamed my body with the grace of a wild bear. He was desperate and rough in ways that left me cold. He groped my breasts painfully hard as his hard dick hit my stomach. I cried out in pain as he thrust his tongue into my mouth. I could feel how much he was enjoying it. A single tear slipped down my cheek.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't pretend this is what I wanted, even if it might make my life easier in the long run. I wanted Jake. I wanted my home. I wanted our life together. If Carter wanted to have me, he would have to break me first. I wasn't going to make his plan easier for him and roll over like a dog. He groaned out in pleasure as he forced his tongue further into my mouth. The hairs on my neck stood up. Things were escalating quicker than I wanted them to.

He pulled back, letting me suck in air as he nipped at the skin on my neck. He mauled me, and I could picture the bruises forming, but it gave me a second to think. When he moved back to my lips, I took him by surprise by kissing him back. I deepened the kiss, sucking his lower lip into mine before nibbling on it softly. I felt him relax, a slight grin tugging from his lips. That was when I acted.

Blood spurted into my mouth the harder I bit down. I would bite his lip off if I needed to, to get him to let go. He jolted, and I kneed him in the dick as he crumbled, backing away from me. "Bitch," he howled as I raced to the other curtains, looking for another door. There wasn't one, but Carter had to make his way into his room somehow. Maybe it wasn't a door.

Carter grabbed my wrist and spun me around. His mouth was dripping with blood, his white teeth shaded pink, and he had a wild look in his eyes that showed just how unhinged he really was. "Clearly you didn't learn your lesson last night. We will try again. I'm a patient man, Mrs. Dickson." He gritted out the last part, making me cringe. "I will have you. One way or another." Words every girl wants to hear from her captor.

He dragged me back down the stairs, the creepy paintings haunting me as I went. "This one is my favorite." He nodded his head to one that belonged in a horror movie. I couldn't even make sense of it, but the feeling it evoked, the cold dread seeping into my skin as he tugged me down the hall back to the morgue he planned on keeping me in.

"Carter, wait—" He cut me off with a glare. I didn't want to go back into that cell—the cold, the fan, the blinding light, and being stripped naked once again. He pressed the buttons, the tray coming out as the metal slowly cranked along the drawer hinge. He ripped my dress off, leaving the scrap of fabric. "Get in," he ordered when it came to a stop beside us. I shook my head. There was nothing that would make me get back in there. Carter gritted his teeth, shoving me closer that I almost fell.

He walked across the room to one of the drawers and pulled something out. I shook my head again as he walked back over. "If you don't get in now, I'll make you wear this the entire time you are in there." His voice was quite calm, which made his threat all the more poignant. I looked at the item in his hands. It was underwear with two large dildos attached to it. In his other hand, he held a remote, which he clicked once as they vibrated at alternating speeds.

No.

No.

No.

I moved onto the metal shelf slowly, laying down on the cold slab. It bit into my skin. He pressed the off button as he grinned at me once I lay down. "Good. It seems you can be reasoned with after all. If I have to put you in here again, you will wear this. Understand?" I nodded, my body shaking with fear as he smiled. "See that camera in there? I'll be watching, and if I have to use this"—he shook his hand with the pants for emphasis—"I'll have all my men watch as well as send a video to your dear husband, sister, and friends. Understand?" It wasn't a question, and I already nodded before he pressed a button, the shelf roaring to life as it moved me back into my cell.

"Let's hope tomorrow goes better," he grinned before closing the door by my feet until darkness stole my vision. I couldn't breathe. My eyes burned with tears as I shivered, both from the cold and fear, finally being left alone.

Jake, where are you? I don't know how much longer I can do this.

I already felt Carter chipping away at my defenses. My eyes flickered shut just as the fan roared to life and the bright white light obliterated my ability to see.