The One Adored (The One Trilogy Book 3) (39 page)

“Toilet, please.” I whisper.

“Now that wasn’t so hard was it. Soon, you’ll learn how to please me.” He nods, leading me to a small lavatory at the rear of the property. A strong smell of bleach hits me as we near and I have to refrain from retching.
 

“Pull your panties down - I know you’re good at that - just pretend I’m that flash bastard Silver, doing the asking and sit - don’t fucking close the door.”
 

I swallow my distaste - he wanted to watch me take a pee?
He was mad!

I find a spot on the wall where I can zone him out and empty my bladder, before wiping and standing, with a ‘satisfied’ look on my face when I eyes with him. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. My resolve was back in place and I see his sly smile wash over me as he likes that my sass has returned. Fucking weirdo!

 
I make to head back into the lounge but he pulls painfully on my bicep, his fingers biting into my skin. “Hey? Where the hell do you think you’re off to?”
 

“Just back to…”

“Ssssshhh….no speaking. I make the rules remember - you will go back when I tell you to.” He drags me into a room just off the corridor, and clicking on a light I see we are in the main bedroom. My heart plummets into my stomach. That sass that has just returned reducing fast.
 

You gotta find it, babe and zone out, if you can get away, do everything you can to escape from him, kick him, fight to the death but if he has weapons - you may have to deal with the fact that you’re about to raped - my inner thoughts help me to focus, dealing with the possible terror rather than ignoring it and having it come out of the blue. I was a glass half full kind of girl and this man was not going to change that, even now!

A quick reccy of my surroundings shows me there is a small bedside table, a double bed, dressing table, mirror with a crack - maybe I could get a piece from that? There’s a window recessed into the thick old cottage walls…but it has bars across it.
Seriously?
He has really been planning this for sometime…
 

“Finally, you are in my abode.” His audible sigh is sickening. “First things first, hands out.”

“Why?”
 

“Are you daring to ask questions?”

I shake my head and put my hands out, wrists together. They are immediately bound in rope, and tied in a knot. I test the them for their strength, and grimace as friction burns shoot through my tender skin. Shit! I was ten times worse off now. This was nothing like when Seb had restrained me for pleasure. I’d felt in control - I’d trusted him implicitly.

“That’s better - not ideal but reduces the risk of you getting away, easily. You won’t get away, I was a Scouts Leader. Now, tell me how much you want to be here, Lucia.”

I swallow. “I want to be here, Leo.”

“Oh come on, I’m hardly getting the vibe that you meant that! NOW TRY AGAIN! This time like you mean it!” he yells, snarling before he grabs me by my hair and throws me in the direction of the bed. I wince in pain. Keep talking, the more you talk, the longer your clothes will be on.

“The cottage is lovely, Leo, is it yours?”

His blue eyes study me and he moves to sit beside me. “It is. It could be ours.” He lifts his hand to my jaw and I try not to flinch. “Such a sexy mouth…” His fingers wipe the remainder of my lipstick harshly across my face, drawing it up over my cheek and I pull back at the sensation. It hurt! “You don’t need all this shit, on your face - your beautiful enough - all it does it attract the attention of men - men like Silver! When you’re my wife tomorrow, you won’t need to wear make-up ever again!” He leans in and kisses me hard on my mouth and I breath quickly through my nose, my mouth still, my body rigid. His lips felt so cold, and wrong - they weren’t Sebs!
 

A tear slides down my cheek but I remain still, his hand grounding me, gripped around the back of neck. “It’s like kissing a fucking corpse!” He grinds through his teeth, breaking free.
 

“I’m sorry, Leo.” Keep him calm.

“You better start putting some effort into it, Lucia - I don’t care really if I’m honest - you and I will be fucking tonight no matter what, but it will go a lot better for you, if you go with it - let yourself go. It will hurt a lot less. You need to be able to walk up that aisle, after all, tomorrow!” His laugh is pure evil.

My chest hurts, so tight with stress as dizziness washes over me - I feel so nauseous.
 

“I don’t want to use the knife as an incentive, but I will.” He shrugs complacently. “Now, as you and I haven’t done this before, I’ll be respectful tonight, I’m not a monster after all.” He reaches a finger to trail a path from my cheek down my face, and across my collarbone, dropping to my breast. Freezing at his touch, the thought of his hands on my body, where Seb’s should be, only Seb’s,
 
I begin to shake. Every instinct in me wants to kick him in the balls and run.
 

“Please, don’t do this, Leo. I can’t be with you.” I can’t do this, no matter how hard I want to keep him sweet, he’ll have to force himself upon me, because I detest the man.

“Stop begging, you silly bitch - still hankering after Silver’s prick? He’s not coming - he doesn;t know where you are you stupid cow!” He moves to climb across me, straddling me on the bed, pinning me down on the mattress and I turn my head away from him, determined not to make this easy for him.
 

Don’t look at him, Lu, don’t give him the satisfaction? He might say he likes to take his women roughly but he says he loves you, has planned this forever - he’ll want you to enjoy this - so don’t look at him!

“Look at me, Lucia!” he fury in his eyes in menacing, the knife is back, and I remain still, but I turn my head away again, despite him beginning to lift my top, his clammy head stroking up my abdomen.
 

“Bitch! Look at me! God, you’ve got pretty tits! I know you did, after seeing you on camera but I’m going to have some fun with these.”

My eyes go blank, as I zone myself out; a curled piece of wallpaper in the corner of the room is something for me to focus upon, as this disgusting monster mauls me, his words forgotten. In my mind, all I can see is Sebastian, my love.
 

          
*******

I see the cottage in the dark, running towards it at breakneck speed, I get to the door. The copter had dropped Nathan and about half a mile away as I couldn’t risk the chance of alerting him to our arrival. Finding this place, in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black had been interesting but with blind determination on my side and my love for Lucia I’d located it quickly.

There are lights in inside and I can hear voices but they may be coming from the television. Carefully I lean back into the shadows against the stone wall, and peer into the nearest window. The open plan lounge is empty, but I scanning the room manically I see one of her Louboutin shoes that I’d given her. Relief floods me.
 

She was here. She’s fucking here!
 

I look up to the inky sky, beginning to lighten as dawn makes her appearance and silently hope that I’ve got there soon enough.

I don’t waste another second, and on two counts, charge the wooden front door with my shoulder, pain slicing through my bone instantaneously but I don’t give a shit, I’m in and one step closer to finding my woman. Looking around, there’s no sign of Lu, or anyone. I’m a quiet as possible but they must have heard the break-in?

I wander deeper into the cottage, down the corridor, gently opening doors, as I go. Then I hear the muffled noises and they are coming from the door right in front of me. I can hear, Lu and she doesn’t sound good. Then I hear his words and rage consumes me.

“Get your fucking hands off her or I swear to God you’ll regret it.”

“Ah, Silver I wondered when or if you’d show up on your bloody white charger. Didn’t think you were bright enough to figure out where I’d cocooned us but hey ho, you’re here now. You’re just in time to watch me shove my cock in your fiancée and hear her scream my name in pleasure… and you can do fuck all about it. I couldn’t have arranged it better.”

A wave of revulsion filters over me and I bite my lip so hard my mouth fills with metallic blood. “Like fuck you will…”

“Easy man…” Leo’s wrist deftly flicks the knife that he holds at Lu’s throat. “You wouldn’t want me to scar this pretty face, would you? Then no one would want her.” He grins wide.

I concentrate on Lu, her wrists were tied with rope, but with him on top of her, I could hardly capture her face. I could see her eyes clearly hough, wild and horrified lime greens, enhanced with tear stained make-up making them even more vibrant in her ashen complexion, and I will her to focus on me and
me
alone. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m here now.”

“Shut the fuck up. You’re not in charge here!
I
am the one in control, the one who is going to be here for Lucia, not you. She is
mine
now, don’t you get it?” Leo snarls nastily, moving off Lu, but remaining on the bed, his hand at her neck.

The guy had a screw loose and that meant I had to play this very very carefully.
Where were the fucking police?

“Ok, Leo. I’m just trying to calm, Lu, you’re scaring the fuck out of her.”

Lu raises her brows at me, recognising my attempts to pacify Leo, and stalling tactics.
“Can you loosen your hold on my neck Leo? I can’t breathe. Please?” Her voice melts my heart as I’m frozen, unable to grab this maniac and pummel him to a pulp for abusing my woman. I can’t risk him hurting Lu further, no matter how much I want to pounce.

“Only because you asked me so sweetly, BABY! Sit up, come to the edge of the bed and I’ll sit behind you.” His sly chuckle is aimed at me as he pronounces the last words, pulling Lu into the position he required and I tighten my fights at his man-handling of her. “You’d be no fun to me unconscious, would you. I need you to know exactly what’s happening to you, so you can remember the moment that
we
made love for the first time, forever.”

I swallow with repulsion, my hands clenching at my sides in tight fists ready to splatter him all over the room.
He would never have my woman!

“What’s wrong Silver? Don’t like the sound of that?” He laughs again, manically before licking a slow trail from Lu’s chin to her brow, retaining eye contact at all times.

Fucking hell!
 

“Get your fucking hands off her!” I roar into the room.

The knife glints, reflecting the malice in this madman’s eyes. “I won’t warn you again Silver - back off! You have no choice but to do as I say. You have to watch. You need to be punished. Now you’ll feel what I felt.”

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“Don’t fucking lie to me! You know what you did! You took everything from me!” His roar makes Lu jump and I put my hands out to calm him down, worried the knife will harm her. “OK, OK, just put the knife down, Leo and we can talk about it.” I rack my brain, trying to remember the pieces of information that Enzo and Dawn had informed me of earlier tonight. “Maybe I can get you some help? You seem to have been living a lie for some time now, it must have been hard.”

“Don’t pretend to know me - you don’t know the first thing about me.”

“I do know you, Leo. Leo Peterson, manager of Osten Bank, moved into the area a year ago, divorced.”

“Everyone fucking knows that - you could find that on google!”

I continue gently. All this talking is stopping him touching Lu and giving the Police a chance to reach us. “True - I also know that you were previously an Accountant, which was why you could help Lu out through work, and…you went by the name Leonard Peters.”

I watch him carefully, looking for any glimmer of fear in his eyes. I relax as he narrows them slightly. I was getting to him finally, breaking through that twisted exterior.

“Clever boy. What do you want a gold medal? Nah, more like Silver” He hisses. “You’re coming second tonight. You know my previous name, so what? People change their names all the time, makes no odds.”

“I did some research after I spent a night with your ex-wife.”
 

His smile disappears instantly.

Lucia frowns, flicking her eyes to mine in question.
 

“Yeah, Dawn Walters, or should I say Dawn Peters, had a lot to say about you.” I glance back to Lu who looks dumbfounded as realisation kicks in.

“How did you find her?” Leo growls. “I’ve searched for a year.”

“Fate. She told me all about this place.”

“Fucking slag - always did have a trap on her! You’ll not be like that will you, sweetheart. You’ll never leave me.” He kisses Lu’s cheek and she struggles to pull away.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Dawn, Leo. Truly.”

“You’re sorry? Sorry? You fucking flashy bastard - you think you can go around
 
shagging any woman you want and there’ll be no consequences don’t you? Did you really think you’d get away with it forever? That there’d never be a jealous lover, Silver? Someone from your past wanting their revenge? Well I was more than a jealous lover - I was her husband! I had rights.”

Lu gasps and I nod at her. “It’s fine, baby. It was a one-night stand a long time ago. I didn’t even know Dawn was married. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Would it have mattered? She was mine and you took her from me. Once she’d had a taste of you she didn’t want me anymore!” Leo bellows into the room.

“Perhaps if you hadn’t beaten her black and blue on a regular basis she wouldn’t have looked elsewhere for a night of passion with a stranger.” I mutter cautiously.

“You sanctimonious arsehole. She needed to be controlled - she knew her boundaries. You came along, gave her ideas of grandeur and all of a sudden she wanted to leave me.” Leo drops his hold on the knife lowering it to below Lu’s breast, but takes a handful of her hair and pulls down hard, causing her to yelp.
Jesus!
“Stop fidgeting, bitch, or you’ll pay!”