Savage Cinderella

Chapter 37-Never Alone

Chapter 37

Never Alone

Brinn snapped her eyes abruptly open as she pulled away from the grubby hand that slapped her face. In comparison to the burning ache that throbbed in her shoulder, the slaps didn’t hurt. But the fear that came with the contact brought her to full awareness.

"Ahh, good, you’re awake. I wouldn't want you to sleep through our reunion." Roy Stockman sat back in the wooden chair he'd dragged close to the bed. He lit a cigarette and drew in a deep breath. He stared down his nose at her as he released a cloud into her face.

Brinn shuddered and choked in visceral response. Her throat was parched. Pain and shock ripped through her body like a tidal wave of daggers but her body registered the smoke in vivid recall. Her eyes darted around the room trying to make sense of the scene and get her bearings. Even small movements sent sharp shooting pains down her arm. It was then that she noticed her wrists and ankles were tied to the metal posts of the same bed frame that she'd tied Justin to months before.

It was clear that any amount of struggle would do more harm than good. Her knife was no longer strapped to her side and the complete vulnerability that swept through her brought another shudder. Brinn closed her eyes and forced the breath into her lungs, desperately calling on the Angel of the Forest for help. She had survived here—lived here. She would not die here. It took every ounce of her strength to keep her panic at bay.

"Still stubborn and willful, I see." Stockman watched her guardedly, a look of disdain in his eyes, his thin lips drawn up in a sardonic smirk as he released another curl of smoke.

Brinn returned the glare, imagining that her eyes had the power to burn holes in his flesh. With her anger pushing her fear into submission, Brinn scowled at the hollow-cheeked man. His features had grown harder than she remembered, as if the coldness in his heart were turning his outsides to ice or stone. "Why are you doing this? Haven't you taken enough from me? Why can’t you just let me go and leave me alone?” she cried.

Dark eyes pierced her heart. A menacing smile rose on the man’s face. “You know the rules. Til death do us part, Darlin’.”

“You beat me and then left me to die!" Tears stung her cheeks. The pain in her shoulder and ache in her heart made her dizzy and nauseous. Consciousness drifted away. She hated him for what he’d done to her, but shame flooded her soul when she realized how much it hurt that he’d just thrown her away. He’d broken her, beaten her, and discarded her like she was nothing more than trash.

For better or worse, he had provided for her as a child. She’d been completely dependent on him for food, clothes, shelter and even the books that had saved her sanity. Only half aware of his presence, she shuddered at the mix of raw disgust, anger and pain that coursed through her. How could he have done what he did? She shook her head to clear the hazy confusion. It hadn’t been about her. He had taken her away from everyone who loved her and manipulated her for his own purpose—treated her like an animal—a pet. The venom in his voice drew her back to full awareness.

"But you didn't die, did you? You were supposed to die. Instead, you ran away." His voice took on the familiar chill of the soulless man who had abducted her as a child. Terrifying memories and painful emotions crashed in on her all at once. Brinn choked back the urge to vomit. Overwhelmed by the rush of fear and grief that filled her, and the smoke that clung in the air, she turned her mind inward and tried to disappear.