"If there was, we won't know until the examiner goes through what's left. Everything, and anyone inside, is only charred remains now."
He pulled away and stomped off. Would Stella burn down her own home? I didn't think she would be dumb enough to go back there because she’d know I would find her here. Part of me hoped she came here knowing I would come for her. My phone rang and I pulled it out, walking away from the scene.
"Tony?" I said once it was to my ear. "You find her?"
"Not yet. We went to her friend's house. The one from the club."
"Liddy?" I asked.
"Yeah, but she's gone too," he said.
"She could be in class or something. Wait her out," I told him, getting back in my car.
"Doubt it," he said. "The place is a mess like she left in a hurry. She's gone and I don't think she will be coming back."
"Fuck," I growled and hung up the phone.
I punched the steering wheel in frustration. Stella probably thought I would go for her friend if she ran. She was smart like her brother. She had better hope she was smarter than me because if I found her, she would wish she had died with her parents that night. Starting the car, I sped away from what was left of her home.
Stella had been a very busy girl this morning. She must have crawled out of my bed as soon as I had passed out. I wondered if she had meant to wear me out on purpose. Was she riding me, bringing out every ounce of pleasure and coming all over my dick just so I would let down my guard? I didn't want to believe that. She would have needed to be planning this for a very long time.
I pulled into the driveway of the lake house feeling numb. I couldn't believe I was that dumb to fall for her and her innocent act. Last night, I thought we shared something different without the ropes and the pain. Stella had just been using me.
I would find her. And when I did, I would pull every last scream out of her until she couldn't make another sound. I would make her nightmares seem like a fairytale compared to what I would do to her.
XXVII
Stella
My swollen eyes fluttered open, but all I could see was darkness. I was cold and wet, and everything hurt. I could smell the familiar scent of blood, and I could taste it in my mouth. I licked my dry and bloodied lips. My head throbbed and my throat hurt.
I had no idea where I was. My arms and legs failed me when I tried to pull myself up off the damp floor. I couldn't see or hear anything as my mind tried to piece together my memory. Last I remembered, I was on the deck looking over the lake. I felt so calm and relaxed, I should have known it would end.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I remembered being pulled from behind. A hand went over my mouth and something stung my nose as I smelled it. Then everything went black. I woke up somewhere unfamiliar for the second time in a few months. This time, I could feel death looming close. I wouldn't find a tainted hero in this damp hell.
Fighting to push myself up, I noticed the familiar pain on my wrists. Pulling them up to my face, I didn't see the rope I had eventually come to trust. It was chains. The weight of the metal pulled them back down, and I finally let myself cry. I felt too dried out to cry, but the tears flowed anyway. The tears stung as they slipped over the open cuts on my face.
Where the hell was I and how did I get here? Did Atlas change his mind and decide to kill me anyway? This wasn't his basement though. It was cold and damp where ever I was. I could hear water dripping somewhere in the distance. My chains clanking together echoed in the darkness. I could hear my own stuttered breathing mixing with my pounding heartbeat.
Once again, I was trapped and facing a monster. Since I had seen my parents shot, I didn't think I had ever actually lived. The moment that gunshot sounded, I became a victim who needed to hide from the enemies my brother left behind because I was a witness. Atlas found me, and I used to think that was for the best, but now I knew I was wrong. I was right where I should have ended up all those months ago.
Heavy footsteps pounded toward me and I trembled, inching back into a corner. They came closer, stopping near me. I couldn't see anything but I could hear his heavy breathing. The footsteps came closer and I was yanked to my feet.
"Please," I cried. "Please let me go."
A low and throaty laugh answered and I was pulled roughly toward him.
"Shut the fuck up or I'll bury you," he snarled.
I waited on shaky legs as he held my wrist together and pulled my chains from the wall. He spun me away from him, and I felt the heavy fabric go over my eyes before being pushed forward. I stumbled on my bare feet on the rough, stone floor. I cried quietly as I climbed the stairs into the unknown.
It was warmer when I was pushed to the floor. The air was humid and nothing like the cool, crisp air at the lake house. Every forced step I took, the sinking feeling grew in my stomach. I was ready to throw up by the time we came to a stop. Whatever was going to happen, I just wanted it to happen soon. I had been fighting too long and I was exhausted.
"This her?" someone asked.
"This is the one," the guy pushing me around answered.
"Hot little thing," the other guy said, causing a shiver to crawl across my skin. "Do we get a taste?"
A finger trailed down my arm and across my stomach. I was still in Atlas's shirt which meant I wasn't very decent, but at least I wasn't naked.
"Fuck no," the other guy said, pulling me back roughly. "The boss said don't touch. He has plans for this one."
"Shit. I don't want to know what those are."
Neither did I. My mind was spinning, wondering who the boss could be. I just knew in my bones it wasn't Atlas. I was far away from Atlas and his lake house. I doubted I was even near Chicago anymore.
"Hose her down and take her up."
With that, I was shoved forward into another man's hands. He took my chains and pushed me down to the floor.
"Crawl," he growled down to me.
I held myself up on my hands and knees, unwilling to move.
"Move bitch." Then a heavy boot kicked me in the back, forcing me to move.
My knees hurt on the hard surface and the metal cuffs cut into the soft skin of my wrists. I almost hoped they would cut me and I could bleed out. That would be a better fate than the one I was crawling to, I was sure.
"Stand," he ordered while pulling my chains.
I listened as they were hooked somewhere and his heavy footsteps led away from me. I started to run, but was pulled back by the chains. Screams ripped from my throat when a cold burst of water hit me. I was actually being hosed off like an animal. Water filled my open mouth, and I choked until the water finally shut off. I was left freezing and shivering.
Other footsteps sounded and I knew we weren't alone. I could feel the eyes on me. I could only imagined what I looked like, soaked and dressed only in a large, white shirt. My skin was crawling as I waited for what would happen next.
"Is she hurt?" a deep voice asked.
"Not severely. Some bruising and scrapes. She will heal fine," another voice answered.
"I told you not to hurt her."
"She was bruised before we got her here."