26
The air was chilly yet damp at the same time. Bella found herself drifting in and out of consciousness. Her mind kept bringing her the most horrid images, mostly involving Edward. She could only imagine what Dwyer was doing to him. Her nightmares, not dreams, were of him lying in a pool of blood with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead or him lying on the floor with his guts oozing from his abdomen.
Bella knew letting Edward get too close would put him directly in Dwyer's sights. It was one of the main reasons she had resisted and pushed him away like she had. But there was an ease with him she longed for. It was selfish of her to let Edward love her, to let him touch her, and now she'd lose him forever.
She found herself praying to God to spare him . . . to let him save her before Dwyer could inflict his wrath. More than once, she imagined him throwing the door open to say he killed Phillip Dwyer or, hopefully, left him alive long enough for her alone to end his miserable existence.
It was futile, of course.
Once Dwyer got his hands on her, he would make sure they never found her until he wanted them to. He was too smart to leave loose ends. Every step he'd taken had been with purpose, determination, and fortitude, and that made him more than dangerous. That made him unstoppable.
Relentless . . .
Bella didn't know how much time had passed since Dwyer left. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, her throat parched from thrust, and her eyes sore from sobbing. She'd tried to force her hands and ankles from the ropes to the point that her skin burned from the friction. She'd just drifted off once again when she heard the all too familiar grinding from the opening of the door. Fear filled her, a feeling she chastised herself for allowing.
Dwyer hurried in, his white button-up spattered with dark, crimson blood. Tears once again flooded her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. He grabbed the front of his shirt, ripping it open, sending buttons flying before shrugging it down his arms and tossing it onto the floor.
"Took longer to find that boy than I planned. Sorry I left you alone so long, my love," he said, kneeling in front of her. "He put up a fight. I'll give him that much, but in the end, I made him pay for putting his hands on you."
Bella cried harder, shaking her head.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't believe me."
He slipped his phone out of his pocket. He opened his photos before turning the screen toward her. She clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see what he'd done to Edward, but when Dwyer pulled on her hair, her eyes snapped open. As if she hadn't been crying hard enough, her entire body convulsed by what she saw.
Thick rope had been wrapped around his neck, but he was lying on his back. His arms were bound behind him, his stomach and legs covered in dark red welts, some of which had blood seeping from them. His knees were swollen, bruised, and appeared to be broken. His eyes were swollen shut, his nose busted with blood pouring downward, and his mouth was open. But what really caught her attention was the word that had been carved across his chest.
Traitor.
"I knew better than to trust him," Dwyer said, causing her to shift her attention to him. "He was supposed to be my partner, but he took you for himself, didn't he, my love?"
When she just stared at him, he laughed. "Oh, you haven't put it together, have you? I thought you were smarter than that. Guess you aren't, huh?"
Dwyer stood and laid his phone on the workbench. "You weren't coming back, my love. No matter how many little whores I took, you weren't playing the game anymore. I needed someone who could draw you back in and force you to play again. Enter one Agent Edward Masen. He played his part well, don't you think? The young, naïve agent who needed the infamous Isabella Swan to teach him the way. God, he was eager — so willing to betray his team. Of course, they made it easy, didn't they? They treated him like scum, like shit, because he was the newest member of the team. It didn't take much before he was willing to join me."
Bella shook her head, refusing to believe that Edward and Dwyer were partners. Edward would never work with someone like him; he was one of the good guys.
Dwyer laughed. "Oh, you are a sweet, naïve little bitch. So easy to manipulate. All he had to do to get you to trust him was give you a sappy little story about how his father had been killed in the line of duty and how it drove him to want to be in the FBI." He knelt in front of her again. "His father is still alive, my love. Still working the job in good ole Austin, Texas."
Bella refused to believe him. Edward wouldn't have lied to her . . .
Would he?
He grinned. "He wanted to be here when I exposed him as the fraud he truly was, but after he touched you, I had to kill him. He knew better than to touch what's mine. And make no mistake, my love, you are mine."
She shook her head.
Dwyer tilted his head back and laughed before saying, "I think it's time we play a little, don't you?"
Fear flooded her system as he reached behind him and pulled a long hunting knife out of the back of his pants. His eyes stayed on hers as he dragged the blade between her breasts, down her stomach, across her left leg until he reached the ropes tied around her ankle. He cut through the rope, pressing his body against her leg so she couldn't kick him as he did the same to her other leg.
He moved behind her and freed her hands. Bella launched herself out of the chair, but as soon as she stood, she faceplanted onto the floor as pain shot up her legs. She tried once more to stand but fell onto her hands and knees as pain flooded her body. Rolling onto her butt, she looked down and saw her feet covered in blood.
Dwyer laughed as he knelt beside her, grabbing her left leg and lifting it onto his shoulder. She felt blood seeping down her calf as he shoved her pants up her leg. That's when she saw the cut to the back of her ankle, right across her Achilles tendon.
"Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it? I have to admit it's efficient, though."
Bella ripped the tape off her mouth. "I'm going to fucking kill you."
"You're going to try, my love, but I will break you down. Just like I did every one of my whores."
Dwyer threw her leg to the ground before he launched himself on top of her, spinning her onto her stomach. He grabbed her arms and yanked them over her head, slapping handcuffs around her wrists. She tried to pull away as he stood and dragged her across the floor. Bella attempted to get her knees under her, but he pulled her too fast. He wrapped his arm around her body, lifting her off the floor and hooking her hands over a large metal hook on the ceiling. She couldn't feel the floor with her toes, and when she wiggled and tried to pull herself off the hook, Dwyer laughed.
"God, you're feisty. Like that in my women."
"I will never be yours."
"Oh, my love, you already are. You just haven't accepted your fate yet."
Dwyer drifted his fingers down the front of her body, popping the button on her black slacks. He kept his eyes on hers as he shimmied them and her panties down her legs. He licked his lips as he tossed them aside, glancing at her nude body. She tried to lift her leg to kick him, but the weight on her wrists was excruciating.
Dwyer gripped her hips, his hands sliding around to her ass. He pressed his body against hers as he once again sucked on her nipple. She could feel his erection against her thigh, and she swallowed the bile that crept up her throat.
"I've longed to feel you like this. None of my girls came close to you, my love. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every fucking minute I spent with them. Their screams, their pleas for mercy spurred me on, but you were the one I wanted to hurt, to fuck like a whore. And now that I have you, I can't wait to break you down and make you beg me to end your life."
Bella clenched her jaw tight as he moved behind her. She couldn't look back to see what he was doing, which scared her. At least if she knew what he was planning she could prepare herself mentally.
A moment later, she felt his hand on her hip again just before he moved so he was standing in front of her. Though one hand was still on her waistline, he held a branding iron in the shape of PD and a blow torch in his other. He switched the torch from one hand to the other. Dwyer's eyes shifted to hers as he pulled the trigger, causing a bright blue flame to shoot from the tip of the torch.
"I'm a bit of a history nut, you know? Especially ancient Egypt. It's always fascinated me. One of the things I learned is that it wasn't unusual for them to brand their slaves. Sometimes, it was just to show ownership. Often, it was a method of punishment. I'd never used it on my girls until I took Lauren, but you wouldn't play the game, so I had to up the stakes." He started heating the branding iron, and Bella watched as the metal changed from gray to bright orange. "I didn't give her my mark, though. No, I saved that for you. When your daddy finds your body, my love, he's going to know you died being mine."
"I'll never be yours," she gritted out through clenched teeth.
The words had barely left her lips, though, when he dropped the torch, his hand grabbing her side as he pressed the iron directly in the middle of her stomach. Bella's screams echoed inside the bunker; the smell of her flesh burning had her gagging, and she, once again, tried to move, but he held her still.
"Goddamn, that's beautiful!" he roared, yanking it away.
Her body convulsed, and she continued to scream and cry as searing pain radiated through her.
"Hearing your reaction is music to my ears, my love," Dwyer groaned before he pressed his finger against her skin.
Bella cried, "Stop!"
"Oh, I'm just getting started," he snickered, dropping the iron and gripping her upper thighs. He pressed his chest against the front of her body, causing her to whimper.
Releasing her, he laughed before he disappeared from her view once more. She could hear him moving around, and a moment later, he came back with his arms full of bamboo sticks. He dropped them on the floor before picking up just one. Dwyer slapped it against his palm, the sound ringing loudly.
He shifted his eyes up to hers before he reared his arm back and struck her legs with the stick.
"Ah!" she screamed.
"Yes!" he cheered, hitting her again.
And again.
And again.
Over and over, he struck the front of her legs, from the tops of her thighs to above her ankles. Each strike was harder than the previous, or maybe it just felt that way to Bella. Her face was saturated with tears that dripped off her chin, onto her chest, and down her stomach. The brand on her skin stung as it mixed with the red welts. She could feel her body trembling, and just when she found herself on the verge of begging him to stop, the stick cracked in half.
Dwyer tossed it into the corner before selecting a second one. He moved behind her, and just as he had done with her legs, he began striking her back and butt. She lost count of how many times he hit her after the fiftieth. She hung limply, the cuffs digging into her wrists, and she felt them cutting into her, blood seeping down her arms.
When the second stick broke, he tossed it onto the floor but didn't pick up a new one. Instead, he stood back and stared at her.
"God, that's beautiful," he murmured.
Slipping his phone out, he began taking pictures of both sides of her body. When he was done, he placed it into his pocket and brought his hands up to her face.
"I'm going to let you rest now, my love. Besides, I still have your mother to play with."
"Don't hurt her," Bella whispered. "Please, don't hurt her."
Dwyer smiled. "Too late, my love."
Releasing her, he brushed her with his shoulder, causing her to swing backward. She cried out as the handcuffs dug deeper into her wrists.
The sound of his laughter trailed behind him as he once again left her alone in Hell.
Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Huge shout out to Sunflower Fran for being an amazing beta, even if I am killing her! See you next week!
