Run (11 page)

He pulled her closer to him, holding her body against his. She beat at his chest and kicked his legs to little affect. “Your pain may have subsided but the serum doesn’t actually heal you, it just masks the pain. When it wears off, you’ll be worse for the wear so I suggest you settle down before you do yourself more harm than good.”

“Fuck you! He’s taking her!” She brought her foot down on his.

Dare grunted. His patience was at an end. He released her, stooped down, and tossed her over his shoulder.

She wiggled frantically but he brought his palm down on her ass with a loud smack. “Be still.” He gave her another slap on the rear. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m in charge, Aya Smith. You belong to me. You will not eat, sleep, or fucking move unless you have my say so. I own you. And don’t ever forget it or else there will be consequences.”

She went limp.

The hunt was over, but the games were just beginning.

For the first time since she’d entered that stupid Run, Aya didn’t feel like fighting.  She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep and then wake from the nightmare she was currently in. She refused to cry. Not with that asshole sitting a couple feet away from her. Aya held herself rigid, squeezing herself against the door of Dare’s luxury vehicle.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem inclined to speak because she wasn’t interested in carrying on a conversation with him. Instead, he was scrolling through his holopad and making what she assumed were business calls.

She rested her head against the tinted window of the car door. The entire day had been surreal. Even after Macy had explained how things really worked with The Run, Aya had still nurtured a kernel of hope that there was some chance she could evade capture and last the entire weekend. She should have known that this evil son of a bitch would make that impossible.

After he had literally assaulted her ass and made his claim of owner, he sent a message through the communicator in his watch. Dare  carried her at least a couple miles through the forest before he was met with a cart driven by one of the guards she’d spotted earlier. Once they were back at the mansion, she was suddenly surrounded by two female servants who led her to a room where she was thrust into a shower and told to clean herself. She didn’t resist, grateful to wash away the sweat, blood, and grime that covered her body. Aya had stayed in the shower until one of the servants returned and turned off the soothing spray of the water, the one pleasure of the day.

After she was given a robe to wear, a man who had identified himself as Dare’s personal physician had given her a thorough examination. Thankfully there were no broken bones, but he administered a drug that would accelerate the healing for all the bruised parts of her body as well as another dose of the painkilling serum.

When the physician was gone, Aya was offered a tray of food which she declined. She couldn’t eat a bite even if she wanted to. Aya must have remained in the room for another hour before the servants showed up to let her know that Mr. O’Shaughnessy was ready to leave.

Still sporting the robe she’d been given, she now sat in the car, staring out the window but not really looking at anything in particular. From what she could tell, they were heading to a part of town that people in her class rarely set foot in unless they were there to work. It was the type of place where one didn’t have to constantly look over their shoulder from fear of getting robbed, raped, or just assaulted. There were plenty of enforcers who took care of this section. Most of the Elite were able to afford their own security teams. She was sure Dare had his own as well.

Her thoughts drifted to poor Macy who had been dragged away by that sadistic creep. It was her fault. She should have insisted they split up so Macy had a fighting chance to make it through the weekend. And then there was her uncle. How was he faring in prison? Was he eating enough and was he being given his heart medication, or was he worrying himself to death over her. There was no chance of him being given a fair trial, whenever the courts decided to try him. There was a different set of rules for the classes. The Elites were rarely charged with any crimes and when they were, they mainly received slaps on the wrists while so called Dregs, like her, paid the ultimate price, a lot of times if not with their life, hard unpaid labor until the person’s body could no longer handle it. There was a small subset of people considered the merchant class who were able to live comfortably, however the Elites viewed every one beneath them as Dregs. Though she’d spent that one hellish night in jail herself, Aya recognized it could have been a lot worse.

Aya was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice that the vehicle had stopped. Since she had been leaning against the door, when it was pulled open, Aya nearly fell out of the vehicle. She was anchored by a pair of strong hands preventing the tumble. “Steady.” She looked up to see a driver in a black suit.

“Out,” Dare ordered.

Reluctantly she slid out the car, taking the hand the driver offered to her.

The driver gave her a friendly smile. “Name’s Ben. If you need anything, ma’am, you let me know.” He didn’t appear that much older than her twenty-two years. He actually reminded Aya of her friend, Mac, right down to the easy timber of his voice. She found herself squeezing his hand trying to hold on to something that seemed familiar.

She returned his smile. “Thank you.”

Once she was out, she took a moment to take in her surroundings. The large circular driveway was something she’d once seen in a movie with a large fountain with a cascading geyser of crystal water, centered in the middle. There were several expensive looking vehicles lined along the cobbled walkway. The manicured lawns which seemed to stretch for a few square miles were bright green and decorated with marble statues. And then, there was the white mansion which was more like a castle with its large pillars and wrap-around balcony. In any other circumstances, Aya might have been impressed with her surroundings, but this grand estate served as a reminder of how people like Dare O’Shaughnessy had so much while there were other people who scraped by to survive. Not to mention, it was also men like him who were at the helm of keeping people oppressed.

“You wanna let go of her hand?” Dare stared pointedly at the handclasp between Aya and the driver.

Aya hadn’t realized she was still holding on to Ben’s hand.

Ben practically tossed her hand away as if he’d been burned. “My apologies, Mr. O’Shaughnessy. I meant no disrespect. It won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.” Dare gripped Aya’s arm and practically dragged her along with him as he strode across the steps that led to an ornate double glass door. Aya had to almost run in order for her shorter legs to match his long strides.

“You didn’t have to chastise him like that. He was only helping me.”

Dare didn’t respond as he continued to pull her along with him inside the house. She didn’t get a chance to take in her surroundings before she was dragged toward two spiral staircases, one set on either side of the large hallway.

She dug her heels in, refusing to make this easy for him. Aya attempted to pull her arm out of the vise he held her in. “Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

Dare turned around and glared at her with narrowed eyes and flared nostrils. With an impatient grunt, he gripped her by the waist and lifted her off her feet. He then tucked her beneath his arms as if she weighed nothing before resuming his assent up the marble stairs.

Aya kicked and wiggled attempting to break free of his grasp, but the harder she fought, the tighter the grip around her waist became until she could barely breathe. He hauled her up the stairs and along the hallway passing several doors before he pushed through a pair of French doors, she hoped didn’t lead to his bedroom. Her wish, however, wasn’t granted because that’s exactly where she ended up.

Without warning Dare released her, causing Aya to fall to her knees. She had fortunately not been too far from the floor, otherwise the drop could have hurt. It was still shocking nonetheless.

She attempted to scramble to her feet but he barked, “Stay on the goddamn floor!” His green eyes flashed fire.

Her anger roused, Aya continued to pick herself up off the floor. But he pushed her back down. “I said stay there.”

“Fuck you!” She hated this man for all the pain he’d caused. Now that he finally had what he’d wanted all along, she would make sure he’d wished he’d set his sights on someone who gave a damn that the great Dare O’Shaughnessy had paid her any attention. He’d taken just about everything from her: the only family she’d ever known, her home, and their business. But, he couldn’t take away her will to fight and she would fight every chance she got.

Aya made it to her knees this time when he gripped her by the shoulders and held her in place. She slapped at his hands and tried to wiggle out of his hold.

She tilted back her head to glare at him. “Let me go. You’ve got me here but it doesn’t mean I have to like it or that I have to do what you want. I didn’t ask to be here, nor did I ask to participate in that stupid degrading game. You may see me as nothing but a Dreg who’s supposed to obey your every command and the snap of your fingers but I would rather be at the mercy of that rat-faced pervert than to be here with you.”

To her surprise, he released her and she immediately scrambled to her feet but her victory was short-lived. The smirk that curved his full lips sent a shiver through her body. There was something sinister in that smile. Unable to stop herself, Aya trembled, taking a step back. There were any number of things he could do to her and there was nothing she could do about it, but she silently reminded herself not to show fear. She raised her chin in defiance.

“You know, Aya, one of the things I noticed about you was your fire. I greatly admire that trait. It pleases me to know that I won’t get bored with you as quickly as I have my other playthings. But every time you raise your stubborn little chin, it makes me want to put you in your place.”

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists at her sides in the face of his arrogance. Aya badly wanted to remove the smug grin curving his lips with violence but knew in doing so she’d make things worse for herself. “And what place is that?”

“On your knees.”

“Never,” she said through gritted teeth.

She tensed as he walked toward her, but thankfully, he went around her and sat on the edge of the humongous four poster bed. He began to unlace his boots. “But that’s where you’re wrong, doll, you will do exactly what I say when I say and that goes for everything, eat, sleep, speak, and if I want you to get down on your knees to suck my dick, that’s exactly what you’re going to do, until you get lockjaw if that’s what I want. And you know why? Because you care about that old man.”

She thought there was nothing left that he could do to her but the mention of Uncle Arthur was enough to keep her frozen to the spot. “What have you done to my uncle?” she asked in a near whisper, almost scared to learn the answer.

He shrugged. “I haven’t done anything he hasn’t done to himself. He was the one who came to my office uninvited and assaulted me. There are laws against that, as I’m sure you know, but then again, you’ve had your own brush with law enforcement before haven’t you? Arrested for disturbing the peace and making terroristic threats, wasn’t it? You’re quite lucky your uncle cared enough to put down an impressive sum of money to bail you out. I imagine it was probably all of his life savings considering his bar was barely making a profit each month, what with you guys giving away so many of your meals for free for people who probably make a living begging and depending on others to take care of them.”

Aya refused to allow him to make her feel guilty for helping out the people in her neighborhood who were in need. Most of the food they gave out were things they hadn’t sold in a day, but occasionally they did give out more food than they sold. They were repaid in other ways far more valuable than money. “So you’ve done your research. What’s your point? What does this have to do with my uncle?”

“My point is, Aya, that your uncle has demonstrated noticeable devotion to you. But, will you do the same for him?”

“Of course, I would. I love him.”

“Then this arrangement will be mutually beneficial to us both. You do as I say and I’ll make sure your uncle’s stay in prison is as comfortable as possible. If you’re a good girl, I might even see to it that his trial is sped up and that he’s provided legal counsel to get him out faster. I expect by then I’ll be tired of you anyway.”

Aya ignored the insult in his words. She already knew he viewed her as a toy he’d been denied. And like with all spoiled children, once he had that toy, he would soon discard her once he grew bored. She was sure that was how men like Dare O’Shaughnessy operated. He’d already destroyed two lives, hers and Uncle Arthur’s, to get what he wanted. And now that she was within his grasp, he still wanted to make her as miserable as possible for denying him in the first place. She hated him from the depths of her soul. Aya balled her fists at her sides, so angry she was unable to speak. If she had a weapon handy, she’d kill him.

Even though she loathed continuing this conversation, her concern for her uncle outweighed the strong contempt she held for this man. “When you say comfortable, what do you mean?”