Hi all,

As promised, your second chapter for this week. Next week we will catch up with what the Barkleys have been doing while Millie has been missing. We're getting close to her being found, but we're not there just yet. I've decided to post two next week and another two the week after that, stopping on Chapter 22 which I feel is a good place to leave this story for an extended hiatus.

Warning - This is an intense chapter.

Chapter 18

"I said drop it." Cade repeated, in his usual tone of voice this time as he held his pistol drawn on her. "Go on." He stepped closer to her, lowering his voice to a growl. "I'm losing my patience, young lady."

Seeing Cade standing in front of her, Millie could have broken down in frustration and despair. No. She wouldn't, couldn't, give him that satisfaction. It dawned on her that it had been just too easy for her to get away, just a little too easy. And she, unknowingly, had marched right on into the trap he had masterfully crafted just for her. "You set me up, didn't you?" She hissed, her grip on the wooden handle of the kitchen knife tightening as he took another step towards her. "You knew I'd run as soon as I got a chance. This was just another one of your twisted little games."

"And you were dumb enough to fall for it." He motioned again for her to drop the knife with his pistol. He wouldn't put it past her doing something stupid out of desperation. "Drop the knife."

Millie glared at him. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'm going to have to shoot you. Dead or alive, you're coming back with me. It's your choice whether or not you're sitting in the saddle or slung over it." He said with a shrug. "Makes no difference to me."

"There's no way I'm coming back with you." She couldn't go back. She wouldn't go back. Her grip on the knife tightened, her knuckles turning white as she glared daggers at him. "You wouldn't shoot me."

A sadistic smile spread across his face. "That, my dear," he purred. "is where you are wrong."

It was like time stood still for Millie as the barrel of the pistol was aimed at her leg, the following shot echoing around the mountain ranges before she had a chance to register what was taking place. With it came intense pain like she'd never experienced before, radiating from her leg and washing over her. Sharp, excruciating pain that consumed her entire body and from it, she dropped to her knees.

Beside her, the knife clattered on the smooth rock it had fallen on, the young woman rendered weaponless as Cade loomed over her. "Y-you- you-" Blood was quickly covering her fingers as she clutched her leg tightly to try and stem the steady stream of blood coming from the wound. Her mind hazy with agony and fear, every nerve in her body screaming in protest at her, she looked up as evil incarnate crouched down in-front of her with a twisted smile playing on his lips.

He had shot her.

"Told you I would, my dear. You were the one who didn't believe me." Cade replied nonchalantly as he returned the pistol to its holster. "You don't get to escape, kitten. You-" He paused for a moment, grinning as the tears streamed down her face. "you belong to me."

Unable to do anything but clutch at her bleeding leg, her body trembled uncontrollably as Cade brushed her hair out of her face.

"Now you won't be running away from me anytime soon." He purred, tracing the tears running down her cheeks with his finger. She shivered beneath his touch and he chuckled menacingly. "Oh my dear, dear Missie. You never learn. You shouldn't have run. You only have yourself to blame."

Gritting her teeth, mustering up all the strength that her hate for this man gave her despite the pain in her leg, she glared at him. "Go... To hell." She hissed angrily and as he stroked her cheek again, she pushed him away with a bloodstained hand. "Get... Your filthy... Hands off me."

Cade just shook his head, smiling.

Her vision was starting to blur as she struggled to breath through the pain. "If you're gonna kill me for runnin'... Just do it." Death would be a welcome escape from this nightmare. If she was to die here, then so be it. As she looked him in the eyes, she hoped that he couldn't see fear. She couldn't let him have the satisfaction that she was afraid. "Get it over with." There was only one regret she would have in dying; never being able to thank the Barkleys for what they had done for her. She would die here, alone, on this mountain.

If they ever came for her, they would find themselves too late.

"Oh kitten…" Cade purred with measured, deliberate cadence, every word carefully chosen. "I'm not going to kill you, my dear. I told you before that there was something worse than dying. Having to live. By the time I'm finished with you, you will beg for death and it's a wish that'll I'll never grant you. No... You don't get off that easy." Reaching into the small leather satchel that was hanging on his side, he drew out some dressings and bandages that he'd brought along specifically for this purpose. "Let's take a look at that leg now..."

Millie could feel herself slipping and unable to sit up any longer, laid down. Dancing dangerously on the edges of consciousness, she desperately tried to stay away as Cade moved to inspect his handiwork. She had to stay awake. She had to. Steeling herself, she forced herself to pull herself together and breathing through the pain, the fog lifted from her just enough to notice the knife just off to the left of her. In one last desperate grab at survival, ever so carefully, she began to reach for it.

Moving her bloodied skirts aside, Cade examined the damage that the bullet had made. It was a clean through and through, a tidy entry hole through the front of her leg with a larger exit wound out the back. As luck would have it, it had missed he bone and he couldn't have made a better shot if he'd tried. As expected, it was bleeding profusely but it wasn't a wound that would prove to be fatal. "Tis just barely a scratch." He remarked, unconcerned. "You'll be happy to know you'll be just fine." Tearing her stockings to gain a better access to the wound, he began to pack it with gauze to stem the bleeding.

With Cade preoccupied to tending to her leg and not paying much attention to what she was doing, Millie slowly moved her hand her hand closer and closer to the nearby knife. If she could just grab it, if only she could just get hold of it, then maybe she would stand a chance. It wasn't the best weapon that she could have hoped for but it was all she had and she wasn't going back. Not without first fighting with everything she had.

Fighting the darkness threatening to overwhelm her, her fingers just barely brushed the handle and moving just a little further, the knife found its way into her grasp.

She'd managed to get hold of it.

The stem of blood slowly lessening, Cade saw something flash in the fading sunlight to the right of him. Bringing his arm up quickly he was able to deflect the girl's attempt to stab him with the kitchen knife. Grabbing hold of the wrist she held the knife in, he twisted it. "Ah, ah, ah." He reprimanded with a tone of amusement. She really just didn't know when to give up. Even while shot, she was managing to still putting up a fight. "Drop it."

Her expression one composed of anger, hatred and rage, Millie knew she had no choice but to comply.

As she loosened her grip on the handle, Cade took it from her hand. "Thank you, my dear." With the knife now in his possession he tossed it well out of her reach and returned to caring for her leg. She'd taken him by surprise going for him with the knife like that and it just confirmed to him his need to do something permanent like with her, and soon. He'd have to get that letter written up and sent off earlier than he'd anticipated. Having the girl around was starting to prove dangerous to his own health. Wadding up the gauze, he packed it firmly into the hole, an evil smirk crossing his lips as the girl cried out in pain. "You shouldn't have tried what you did." He deliberately dug his fingers deeper into the wound to inflict more pain upon her. "I was only trying to help you."

Speechless from pain, her vision going black and her hearing going along with it, Millie was loosing the battle to remain conscious. With this new injury, her ribs and her stomach were the last of her worries now. Cade was right, with this, she wouldn't be running anywhere anytime soon. Her leg felt like someone had poured molten metal through it and the only thing preventing her from succumbing to the darkness was her sheer determination. It was the last thing she had control over and she wouldn't let it go.

Stubbornly, she pulled herself back, forcing herself to breath through the pain.

She'd failed.

She was right back where she started.

Only this time, she had the distinct feeling, she was in for a hell of a lot more.

With the girls wound packed with gauze and bandaged tightly, it was time for them to move on. "Alright Missie," Cade exclaimed as he picked her up to carry her back to the horses. "let's go home."

The ride back to the ranch out of the mountains was a slow and dangerous one. Leading Missie's horse along, Cade guided his horse carefully over the treacherous terrain. Progress was slow given the fact it was night and the going rough but he knew this country well enough to know exactly where they were going. A couple miles west was a road that led back down to the lower country, the road joining up with another that would take them almost back to the ranch.

Though it was slow going now, as soon as they reached the road they'd be able to pick up the pace.

Tied to the saddle so that she didn't fall off, Millie was finding herself drifting in and out of reality as her horse obediently followed along behind Cade's. While she wasn't nearly unconscious now, she wished she could be. Her muscles screamed in protest at every stride the horse made, each little movement sending jolts of pain shooting through her body. Just how much more could she take?

The full moon rose higher in the sky, time slipping by. Cade glanced back at the girl every now and then to check on her but otherwise, gave her no second thought apart from what he was going to do with her now. She didn't deserve to be kept in the house, even given that she was wounded. Trying to go for him with the knife, that was unforgivable. No. He had a special place in mind for her.

A place where he didn't have to worry about her murdering him in his sleep.

It was early morning when they finally returned to the ranch, Millie being teased back to reality when the horse beneath her stopped. Blinking to clear her vision she was able to regain her bearings and realized they'd returned. Cade was in the process of dismounting, tying both of their horses up outside the barn before he turned his attention to her.

"Welcome home, my dear." He loosened the ropes that had kept her in the saddle, the girl sliding off into his arms. "I've got a special place all ready for you. I know you are going to love it."

Expecting him to take her back into the house, a shiver ran up her spine when she realized he wasn't carrying her to the ranch house; he was taking her to the shed out back behind the barn.

Feeling her shudder in his arms, Cade smirked. She remembered. She remembered the last time she'd run and he'd caught up with her. "Oh my dear kitten... You only have yourself to blame. I can't trust you not to run away now and well… Going for me with that knife, you're too dangerous to allow to be loose anymore. I do hope you understand."

Nudging the door open with his boot, Millie was carried into the shed and set down on the dirt floor against the back left corner. She had nothing left in her to fight with, her strength sapped from her. As he rose, a moment later she could hear the sound of chains and the only thing she was able to do was watch in despair as Cade fitted the irons around her wrists. A moment later, another was fastened around her neck. No... No no no... This can't be happening.

"Wild animals have to be chained." Cade informed her as he finished, ensuring that the irons were securely locked so there was no chance for her to escape. "Until I see fit to move you, here is where you'll stay." He paused then cupping his fingers beneath her chin, forced her to look up at him. "All you had to do was surrender, kitten. You could have avoided all this. What did fighting get you? Hmm?" He began to laugh, a low, menacing chuckle. "Pathetic, Missie. To think you could fight me. This is all you get."

He might have knocked her down but she wasn't defeated, not just yet. A fire still burned within in her, that fire flickering in her eyes as she looked up at him. "You may chain the lion..." She hissed angrily, pain evident in her tone. "But you will still hear it roar."

His laugh deepened. "Oh, oh, Missie, that is a good one-"

A sadistic grin of her own spreading across her face, she made a quick motion and latched down onto his hand with her teeth, biting it with everything she had.

His sentence was abruptly cut off as Cade howled in pain, her teeth breaking through his skin as he tried to take his hand back from her but she wouldn't let go. She had one hell of a grip on him him. Angrily he punched her in the face with his other hand in an attempt to make her loosen her grip but all it did was make her bite down harder. Their eyes met and she lifted her lips to snarl at him. He was breathing heavily, trying not to cry out in pain as her teeth dug into his flesh. Well, she would have to breathe soon enough and with that knowledge, Cade pinched her nostrils shut, knowing that she'd have to let go of his hand in order for her to be able to breathe.

Still maintaining her hold, her mouth was filling with the metallic taste of his blood as they continued to lock eyes. Millie was sending him a message loud and clear; she wasn't about to back down. As the need for oxygen grew, she knew she needed to let go. Sinking her teeth in a little deeper for good measure she finally let his hand go, spitting his blood back in his face.

Cade rose silently, clutching his hand.

He'd deal with her later.

Without uttering another word to her he left.

The door of the shed was secured with a chain and padlock.

Missie would never escape again.

He'd break her.

He'd break her if it was the last thing he did.

As Cade's footsteps faded away, Millie was finally able to breathe easier knowing she would be left alone for now. Her other eye was now throbbing from the earlier punch he'd thrown to try and get her to let go but it had been worth it to hear him howl.

However, her satisfaction at a small win was quickly vanquished upon the knowledge that things had rapidly accelerated from bad, to worse.

There was no telling what the morning was going to bring.

God... If you're out there, listening to me... She began to pray. Please... Help...

It was late morning by the time Cade woke and rose, going down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. After having taken care of his hand and the horses, there had only been a couple hours left before a new day dawned. He'd gone to bed, hoping to grab some sleep after having been up all hours of the night.

Missie.

That girl was proving to be nothing but a thorn in his side. Tormenting her no longer brought him the enjoyment it once had. It was no fun when they fought back. It was the fear that he craved, the knowledge that he terrified his victim that he thrived upon. Ever since Saturday morning, Missie was no longer scared of him. Her having tried to go at him with a knife the night before and then her actually having bitten him was a testament to that.

Waiting for the water to boil for his morning coffee, he took care of cleaning his hand again. She'd gotten him good, her teeth had punctured his hand deeply. Bandaging his hand once more he wondered how long it was going to take for him to receive a reply when he got that letter sent off. The sooner he could be rid of her permanently, the better.

For now though, he was going to make her suffer for what she'd done to him.

TW - Whipping of a minor.

The sound of the chain being messed with roused Millie from her restless slumbering, the young woman forcing herself to sit up as shivers ran up her spine. She wasn't aware of how much time had slipped by since Cade had chained her up in here, she'd been slipping in and out of reality most of the night but he was back and she got the distinct feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant encounter. The door opened a moment later, Millie blinking as the sunlight that flooded into the shed hurt her tender eyes.

Taking the keys for the girl's chains from off the hook beside the door, Cade smirked as he saw her cowering in the corner. "Good morning, my dear." He crooned, crouching down on the ground in front of her just out of her reach. "How are we feeling today?"

"Go to hell." Millie hissed angrily as she shot daggers at him. "Damn you to hell."

So she still hadn't learnt. He shook his head, a smile of amusement on his lips. '"ou know, you are making this so much harder than it needs to be. What happened to the Missie I knew?"

"She's dead. Your years of abuse and cruelty killed her." Came her dark reply, the young woman holding eye contact with him. "A person can only be subjected to so much before they've had enough."

"Is that a fact?"

Millie remained silent, the two of them at a standoff as she tried to read his face. "What is the point of all this?" She finally questioned. "What makes me so important to you? You say I am worth nothing to you yet you go to all this trouble to find me and bring me back. It can't just be because I'm your niece or some little victim for your mind games. It's more than that, isn't it?" She paused again. "Are you going to tell me what this all is really about?"

Cade rubbed his chin, thinking it over for a moment. "Oh well, guess there's no harm in you knowing. There's nothing you can do anyway." He turned back to her. "You see, my dearly departed father left his entire inheritance in trust... To you. An inheritance that should rightfully belong to me."

"So what?" She still didn't understand what this was all about. "This is revenge for your father leaving an inheritance to me? I couldn't care less about an inheritance. If you want it so badly, you can just have it."

"It's not quite that simple, my dear. It's tied up in trust, only able to start being accessed by you when you turn sixteen."

"And you need me alive to claim it."

"I have to say, your smarter than you look."

Millie just shook her head. "And then what? You'll kill me too just like you did Gramps and Mama? All for a few thousand dollars?"

"Oh, not quite a few thousand." He chuckled. "One million dollars."

One million...

No wonder he didn't want to let her get away.

"That's all you're worth to me." Cade continued. "One million dollars and a ticket to anywhere I want to go in the world. Nothing more, nothing less."

"After all these years…. I'm beginning to realize just how sick and twisted you really are."

"Oh, you've seen nothing yet, believe you me. I haven't forgotten what you did last night." He held up his bandaged hand just out of reach of her teeth. "I'm going to make you regret trying to stab me with that knife and biting me."

Millie's eyes flaming with anger, she spat in his face.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that." He replied calmly as he took a deep breath. "You're just making things so much worse for yourself."

"I doubt it."

Cade just shook his head. She really just didn't know when to give up, did she? "You haven't learnt yet, have you? There's no point in fighting. I always win."

"Like you won at the poker table Friday?" She pointed out innocently. "It was really something watching the master at work. You couldn't stand that cowboy being better than you-"

He slapped her across the face, hard. "SHUT UP!"

"Oh, hit a nerve there, did I?" Her cheek smarting, she smiled. "Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Cade leaned in low, just out of her reach. If the girl was still wanting to fight even after all this, well, it was going to make breaking her all the much more satisfying. "I am so going to enjoy wiping that smirk off your face."

"Best of luck with that."

Shaking his head again, he moved around to unlock the iron from around her neck. As his fingers brushed her skin, he felt her shiver beneath his touch and he chuckled. "Not so tough, are we?"

Millie glared at him.

The shackles from her wrists he removed next and when she was free, the girl fought. "Ah, ah, ah." He pinned her down flat on her back, holding both of her wrists above her head. "No. No fighting. You're just making it worse." Fighting fruitlessly for a moment longer, she stopped struggling and he smiled as he took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. "Smart girl." He told her, tightening them around her wrists. "Just remember, you brought this all onto yourself. You only have yourself to blame."

Rising, he motioned for her to stand. "Get up."

Swallowing, Millie wondered how on earth she was supposed to do that with the gigantic hole in her leg. While the pain had morphed into an aching that settled deep within her bones, she knew as soon as she tried to put any weight on it, that searing pain was going to return with a vengeance.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" His boot connected solidly with her stomach, leaving her gasping for air. "I said, get up!"

"J-just-just... a m-moment."

Standing back, Cade watched as the girl struggled to get to her feet. She placed both of her hands onto the ground on the side of her good leg, using the combination of that and her good leg to get herself standing. It was slow but after a moment, she stood, shaking, keeping all her weight firmly on her good leg.

"Move."

The world seemed to spin around her in a dizzying blur from the pain shooting up her leg as she took a step on it, quickly transferring her weight back to her good leg. Her body screamed in protest but looking at Cade, she knew she'd get no sympathy from him. Holding her head as high as she could, she limped towards him.

Seeing her struggle, he smirked. "How's the leg?"

"J-just… Just fine-fine and dandy."

Nearing him, he motioned for her to move over to the wall behind him. Before she could protest or fight, he'd grabbed her by the chain of her handcuffs, bringing her arms up over her head to secure the chain over the hook secured to the post in the middle of the wall. "Hang tight, my dear. I'll be right back."

Millie didn't have the strength to respond to him as she heard Cade stepping away from her. Suspended here by the handcuffs, her feet just able to touch the ground, it was taking everything she had left to remain standing. She had no choice but to stand. If her legs gave way, her shoulders and wrists would carry her weight. She had to stand, despite the pain.

The crack of a whip split the air behind her, making her jump violently at the sound.

Coiling the whip again, Cade walked up behind her. "You brought this all onto yourself." He purred close to her ear, the girl flinching as he traced the whip over her back. "You only have yourself to blame. You could have saved yourself all of this if you'd only given in." He paused for a moment, brushing the leather lash over her cheek. "But you made your choice."

Her eyes locked with his. He'd told her fear was what he enjoyed. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry or beg. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her afraid. "Go to hell."

Smirking, Cade stepped back and uncoiled the whip.

Bracing herself, Millie closed her eyes and bit into her lip.

The lash cracked close to her ear, not making contact with her yet but she knew it would soon enough. It was just to scare her, to torment her before the real whipping began but she couldn't help flinching at the sound. The whip cracked again, this time just barely grazing her shoulder and she knew the next one was inevitable.

Pain exploded between her shoulders like wildfire as the lash tore through cloth and flesh. It took her breath away, her eyes pooling with tears as her lip began to bleed. No. She wouldn't cry out. She couldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Not so mouthy now, are we?" Cade sneered, bringing the whip down once again.

The crack of leather against her skin echoed followed after with soft sobs and her heavy breathing. With every brutal strike, the lash tore through both her clothes and her skin, blood beginning to pool and well in each laceration. There were only seconds reprieve in between lashes, leaving barely enough time for her to catch her breath before her back exploded once more in searing white hot pain.

"With every lash, I will give you a rule to follow, and you will repeat after me. Understood?" Cade questioned, pausing for a moment. When no response was given him by the girl save for her heavy breathing, he stepped closer and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. "Understood?"

Unable to find her voice amongst the sea of pain, she could only manage a weak nod.

"Good."

Stepping back, another lash landed on the girl's back with a harsh crack. "You will not show me any attitude."

Millie could hardly think, could hardly keep herself standing let alone be expected to repeat these sick rules that Cade was implementing for her. The pain was dazing her, her body screaming at her as she was rewarded with another lash when he deemed she was taking too long to reply. "I-I will… I-I will not…" Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, making it almost impossible for her to get the words out. "Will not… Show attitude."

"You will speak only when spoken to unless it's absolutely necessary."

The next rule was punctuated by another lash, the girl barely able to repeat after him.

"You will never, ever, try to run away again."

As another lash drew blood from her already shredded back, Millie was dancing between the worlds of reality and blissful oblivion, barely able to hear him. Her fingers were growing numb as the cuffs dug deeper into her already raw and bleeding wrists, having to take on more and more of the weight her legs could no longer support.

Receiving no reply, Cade stepped back up to her and dug his fingers into one of the deeper lacerations. "Wake yourself up." He hissed, the girl's back arching and she cried out as he dug them in deeper. "I'm not finished with you yet."

"I-I will… N-not try-try to run a-away." Millie stuttered, her words slurring together with sobs and pain.

"No, you won't, will you kitten?" He wiped his bloody fingers across her cheek. "You'll never leave this place again."

As he stepped away from her, the girl broke down in more sobs as the lash again was brought down across her back. Another rule was spoken to her, backed up by the accompanied bolt of pain radiating across her spine. Again she repeated and again Cade gave another, everything blurring together. How much more of this could she take?

Another agonizing lash hit across her back, Millie having lost count of them long ago.

Her legs decided they couldn't take this anymore and crumpled beneath her, her yelp of pain one of surprise as she hung by her wrists. All her weight was held by the handcuffs, assaulting her with a new kind of pain.

"Get up."

Hearing Cade's instruction in her ear through the haze, Millie obediently struggled to get her good leg beneath her again.

When the girl was standing once more, Cade continued.

At last no more rules came with the repeated lashes, Millie unable to recall what she had agreed to so far. In order to get herself through the pain, her mind drew her back to happier memories of times past. Thanksgiving with the Barkley family, their snowball fight at Christmas, Nick gifting her Miracle; those memories provided her with comfort as her flogging continued. Saving Audra's mare and foal, winning the Stockton Sweepstakes with Tomahawk, Nick teaching her how to dance. Dancing with Jack.

Jack.

She hadn't even thought of him until now.

By now, he had to know of her disappearance.

That dance they had shared had been one of the happiest moments of her life and a little smile came to her lips as the pain faded away.

She'd hold onto that moment.

Her eyes closed, her head slumping forward against the wall as the much anticipated oblivion of unconsciousness welcomed her.

Watching as the girl's body sagged, Cade lowered his arm and coiled up his whip. Walking back up to her, he grabbed hold of her hair and pulled back, her head lolling limply in his hold. Seeing that she was unconscious, he tossed the whip aside and reached up to the cuffs, loosening one side. As her wrist came free, the girl slumped to the ground, lying motionless in the dirt.

Cade crouched down beside her, that sadistic smile on his lips as he brushed the hair back from her face. "Wasn't worth it, was it?" He questioned the unconscious young woman. "I told you I always win."

Picking up her limp, bleeding body, he carried her back over to the corner and shackled her once more. She barely moved as he closed the iron around her throat, all the fight having drained out of her as she returned to semi-consciousness. She looked up at him with glazed, pain filled eyes, defeated. As he brushed her bruised cheek with the back of his hand, her entire body shivered beneath his fingers. "You aren't going to fight me again, are you?"

"N-no. No sir."

Her reply was barely a whisper but he heard it and chuckled. "It's such a shame that it took this for you to break. You could have saved yourself all this pain if you hadn't given me all this trouble but I'll admit, I preferred it this way. We aren't going to have any more problems, are we?"

Tears starting to slip down her cheeks again, she shook her head.

"There there. Don't cry." Cade crooned as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. "I have to admire you, really. You weren't an easy one to crack."

Sobs wracked her body, Millie turning away from him as far as she could.

A sadistic smile came to his lips.

He'd broken her at last.

Missie lay in the dirt like the pathetic, sad little thing that she was.

There wasn't the tiniest amount of fight left in her.

Patting her shoulder, the girl flinching again at his touch, he stood to leave. "We'll, guess I'll leave you to think things over, my dear. Think it over well now, you wouldn't want to go through this again, would you?" She shook her head ever so slightly again and he chuckled. "Enjoy."

He left, closing the door behind him and the chain was threaded through, Cade padlocking it again. As his footsteps faded from hearing, Millie found just enough strength to mutter the last word.

"I hate you."