He growls savagely against my ear, driving his brow into the side of my head.
“You will get yourself fucking killed, Swan!”
When I remain silent, he snickers against my ear.
“That's what you want, isn't it?”
When I remain mute, he clicks his tongue several times before continuing.
“Oh, no. You are not going to die for a very, very long time. You will have my children; you will be my wife and you will fuckingsuffer for the rest of your days in my clutches, because that’s fate, BABY!”
My teeth grind with disgust and annoyance, and just as I am about to say something, he brutally grabs my hair and forces my face down on the shattered glass. I attempt to free myself as I observe him calmly take a piece of the broken mirror from the desk.
“No, Maddox, don’t!”
My scream has no effect on him as he digs the sharp edge into the nape of my neck, slicing across my skin while I wail in anguish, every part of me quivering. I do my utmost to wriggle away from his iron grip, the pain severe as he cuts through my flesh until he eventually pauses and drops the now blood-covered shard of mirror. I gasp for air, my eyes flooding with tears, as I feel my warm blood trickle down the front of my neck and drip onto the surface beneath me.
He grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking me upright with brutal force until our eyes meet in the shattered reflection in front of us.
“You're going to fucking watch what I do to you this time, Swan; that is your fucking punishment.”
He pauses and yells furiously when we hear a knock on the door behind us, causing my body to become tense.
“WHAT?!”
I take deep breaths as he keeps my hair pulled back, and one of his men enters.
“We have to go, boss. Like now.”
He snarls at him and raises his beastly voice.
“Get the fuck out, stupid cunt; I say when it's time to go!”
The man walks away, closing the door behind him and Maddox frighteningly dips his head, his lips brushing across my earlobe.
“I'm going to fuck you, teach you a fucking lesson by making that little pussy come for me, because I know you hate that, and then I'm taking you someplace else to continue torturing you until you’re an obedient fucking whore for your fiancé.”
My brow creases in perplexity, and while he frees himself, all I can think about is whether he is relocating me because someone might be fighting for me. When he unexpectedly forces himself inside me, I bite back a scream, the pain horrific, but he simply tears my hair from my scalp, causing me even more distress, and despite the fact that my wet eyes are forced open, staring directly at his expressionless face, I attempt to blur out everything he is doing to me.
Reign steps into Arlo's office first, and I close the door behind us, noticing Arlo standing from his chair calmly, his dark eyes shifting between us both, and Reign is the first to speak.
“Any news?”
It has been an entire week since Charley was taken, and as time passes, it feels like you’re losing hope. I honestly thought we would have her by now, but it appears that this is a challenging task even for someone like Arlo, which fucking stuns me. Yeah, sure, Maddox may have connections, but not to Arlo's abilities, but it just goes to show, anything is possible in this world.
“He did have her at one of his properties in New Jersey, but he has moved her twice already since he found out I was involved, as predicted. One of his housekeepers snitched to an insider; she saw Swan and she is—
When he stops going any further, I squeeze my eyes shut and turn away with a frustrated growl, rubbing my palms over my face, infuriated, my gut twisting, since Arlo does not even need to say it. Maddox is fucking hurting her already; I just don't want to know about it because it makes me feel fucking sick and so fucking angry.
“You don't need to know the fucking details.”
After Arlo says that Reign responds, his voice is laced with aggravation, which is precisely how I am feeling.
“Do you know where the fuck she is?”
Arlo suddenly receives a call just as he is ready to respond, and while glancing down at his phone on his desk, he raises one tattooed finger.
He answers the phone and sets it on his ear.