Red Leather (Book 2)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

 

Time was almost running out. Nathan had to be found before sunset.

"Stay still," Eli ordered, and yet he lathered the antiseptic on my cuts so liberally that I had to flinch away.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

The corner of his lip twitched. "It's just a little pain, baby. I've put you through so much worse."

And least that part was true. But the fury inside me was beginning to bubble up to the surface, and the citizens of Brazil would not be able to escape it. It had been stupid, so, so stupid, to let Nathan get away the way he did. Now I no longer wanted to play nice. He had driven out the part of me that I have kept hidden for so goddamned long.

This was the last straw. Nathan would fall in love with me whether he liked it or not.

I may have been naïve in thinking that he would do it naturally, but he was also naïve in believing that he could run away without a glitch. The band on his wrist would lead us to him, and by then I would have come up with a punishment.

He had broken my nose.

He had broken my nose.

The blood had crusted over the worst of my injuries, and Eli was doing his best to clean it off. The busker had been shocked to the core about the guitar incident, and had offered his services as much as he could. I was given antiseptic, painkillers and a bowl of coconut milk stew called mocueqa. It continually surprised me how trusting strangers could be. Especially towards pretty little blondes.

The bridge of my nose throbbed and ached. No longer was it straight and perfect – a little bump sat straight in the middle, setting my nose askew. The entire area itself was bruised, giving me an awful purple hue. It would take weeks to heal with proper medical treatment, but months without. I was more than furious. I was murderous.

He had ruined my face. And I would ruin his.

That would teach him not to disobey me again. If our love was ever going to work, he needed to learn that I was not to be messed with. He would obey me, answer to me, cherish me, and spoil me just as much as Daddy had. He would give me everything he had – his money, his thoughts, his secrets, his soul. He would wholly belong to me, and only me. That was love. That was what Daddy had showered me with, and I expected no less.

And if I had any chance of avoiding Aurora's wrath, I would have Nathan back before noon.

"Stop," I demanded, swatting Eli's hand away. I grimaced as the antiseptic soaked into my cuts and bruises, making my skin feel raw and exposed. "We need to find him. Now."

"If it gets infected-"

"If he gets recognised, we'll have an even bigger problem." The temperature had risen, causing my shirt to stick to my body. Just as my skin felt raw, but insides felt raw too – I was burning with anger and violence, unable to get a grip on my emotions. Nathan showed today that he obviously had no hesitations when it came to injuring me. Fine. He wanted to play that game.

And I would gladly comply. Let's see how loudly I could make him scream.

Eli and I jumped straight into our borrowed car, turning on his phone to find the tracker. Nathan's wristband came with a tracking chip device inside, making it ridiculously easy for us to drive across the narrowing Salvador streets and locate our little escapee.

But as it turns out, Nathan had gotten farther than I thought.

The flashing red dot had made it past the streets, and was quickly gaining towards the highway. The highway was long, and would eventually lead to the capital city. Nathan would probably seek refuge there. That made me anxious. The roads here were foreign to me, and I had no idea just what kind of people lurked between busy freeways. Surely the police would be patrolling the roads? And if so, would they grow suspicious of the running American man with no shoes? Even worse, would they recognise the running American with no shoes?