Claiming Rosa (Book 2) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

Chapter 7

Rosa

To think I was starting to like him. Like is a strong word, stand him is more fitting. I have to get home. When he told me I had to stay here so he could protect me, I thought it was a joke. After realizing it wasn’t a sort of desperation seethed inside me. I was picturing my room and wanted to be there so badly that I could feel the fluffy blanket in my hands. Then it happened. I was able to fade. At least that’s what I call it. With enough effort, I knew I could materialize home. I spent hours trying to make it happen again, only to result in extreme fatigue. After that, I woke up to a grown man’s temper tantrum. Fuck my life!
The worst part? I have no one to vent to. I got used to having a friend these last couple of months and my only friend was taken away by a crazy egotistical douche that I can’t escape for the life of me. Groaning and punching the pillow, I drop my face into it. I’m officially depressed!
“Ready to take me up on that offer?”
Jumping two feet off the bed, I spin, falling flat on my ass. After righting myself I come face to face with Dayzues. I don’t know whether to jump for joy or yell for Wrath. Since my second thought makes me cringe, I just sit there muted and stare at him. A black silk modern shirt is stretched over his lean muscles, along with tight leather pants. I’ve always found leather on a man ridiculous, but he makes the ensemble look delicious. Dayzues grins down at me, offering his hand. I push it away, getting up on my own.
“You’re the reason I can’t go home!” I accuse. He smiles, showing teeth; I shiver at the evil gleam in his eyes.
“On the contrary, I’m his excuse to keep you. He’s claiming you with no right the same way he claimed this kingdom. He blames me for killing our father, you know? But he was the last one to touch the cup which held the wine that poisoned him.”
Studying the man leaning against the wall. I know from experience that fae feel pain when they lie. I look for any sign but see nothing.
“Why should I believe you?” I ask. Dayzues steps forward, invading my space, and puts his finger to my cheek. I knock his hand away with a hard smack.
“You shouldn’t. Me and Wrath are rivals and we would say or do anything to hurt on another. Also, fae may not be able to lie, but we’re masters at twisting the truth.”
Ha! so he admits it, or not. I’m so confused. If this is reverse psychology or something of the sort said to make me trust him, it’s working. He’s been more honest and open in our two minutes together than Wraths two days. I begin to wonder who’s actually telling me the truth and what my best decision would be. If Lore was here, she would have an answer. Why didn’t I bring the subject up when I had the chance? Wrath never told me about their feud, hell he didn’t even tell me Dayzues was his brother. There’s another thing I have Lore to thank for. I get a dangerous vibe from Dayzues, and it’s different from what I feel with Wrath. I can’t put my finger on it.
“This is my last offer. I can’t come back for you after today. You either come now or stay here to rot. With him!”
He sneers the last word and places his hand out, palm up. My heart races as I stare at the choice I’m faced with. Do I listen to my gut or my head? Has my ggt really ever gotten me anywhere? Thinking over the events of my life, I admit it’s always been bleak, but maybe it’s what kept me alive. I grab his hand last minute and hope I’ve made the right choice as my stomach rolls with the leap of faith… I wait for the other shoe to drop. When nothing happens, I release a long, heavy breath.
The first thing I notice in his home is a flat-screen. That’s not all. There’s a pool table too. In fact, everything is modern; rugs, sofa, paintings. He even has power!
“How did you manage this?”
He looks around,
“I have my ways. I use a generator for power and I’ve managed to smuggle in a few demons who work construction on your plane before Wrath made the exception. Shush, don’t tell my brother.”
I narrow my eyes, retaking his measure. It’s so odd, why live here and not on earth? I get Wrath, who is set in his ways, but Dayzues is the complete opposite.
“Could I interest you in a drink?”
I focus on the question and shake my head from side to side, getting back to the matter at hand.
“No, thank you. If we could get on with removing this cuff ASAP so I can go home, I would greatly appreciate it.”
There, Pleasant but firm. He tilts his head, looking me over like I’m a tasty treat. His perusal makes me uncomfortable. I guess they do have a few things in common.
“What’s the rush?”
Now I’m getting agitated. I cross my arms.
“The rush is, I want to go home. I don’t want to be here, on this plane.”
He begins to circle me; I turn with him, never giving him my back. It’s something I picked up on over the years. He doesn’t speak until we’ve done a full circle.
“I’m going to level with you, sweetling. You can’t go back home.”
My jaw drops to the floor.
“What do you mean by that? So you lied? You're not going to help me?”
His smile makes me kick back my head as if he’s slapped me. In a way, he has.
“I can and will remove the cuff, but I will be replacing it with something else. You sweetling are a means to an end. My brother cares deeply for you and that makes you perfect leverage.”
I reach out without thinking to slap him, but he catches my wrist and uses it to spin me into his body. His grip is firm and unyielding.
“Let me go! You're hurting me!”
The way he has my wrist twisted is about to pull my arm out of its socket. I hiss at the pain. Dayzues eases up just enough to take the edge off. His free hand slides down from my neck to cup my breasts. My words catch on a lump in my throat as I struggle to break free. Dayzues counteracts my struggles, bending my wrist back again.
“Tell me, did he lay with you or has my brother remained the same chivalrous idiot he’s always been?”
I give up the useless struggle and wait for an opportunity. All this guy thinks about is sex. He needs to get some, and not from me.
“Get your hands off of me!”
Dayzues spins me back toward his face. I’m starting to get dizzy with how much spinning I’m doing. It’s got me feeling like a rag doll. His face is in mine, his hand on my chin. The other holding my wrists as he stares at my pursed lips. He mumbles something, and the cuff falls from my arm. I gasp as it drops to the ground.
“You lied! You said taking the cuff off was a long and complex process. You didn’t even feel pain!”
The surprise in my voice is embarrassing as he laughs at my expense.
“And you lapped it up like a good little kitten.”
He lets go of my chin to reach into his shirt pocket. The moment he does, I know what’s coming; I don’t even have to look. The cool metal closes around my arm. At that moment, I promise myself to always listen to my gut. The mind can be tricked.
He pushes me away to fill a glass with whiskey, not even bothering with false pretenses.
“So what now?” I ask not wasting any time feeling sorry for myself. That smirk! I could kill him for the smug look alone. To think I was attracted to him. Of course, he wasn’t interested in helping me out of the kindness of his heart or because he liked me. I’m rough around the edges and plain in looks, but brains I have falling out of my ears, or had. I’m ashamed this prick duped me. He offers me a drink and I take it, slamming the empty glass down glaring at him. He still hasn’t answered my question by taking his time. My guess is he’s trying to build suspense. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Wraths brother, it’s that he has a dramatic flare and he doesn’t do anything without a reason. I shoot back two more glasses to his three. When he attempts to fill mine, again I place my hand over the short glass and talk through my grinding teeth.
“Answer the question. You at least owe me that.”
He laughs, the sound vibrating off the walls, eerily.
“Now, I torture you a bit and use you to make a deal with my brother.”
His subtlety sends chills racing down my spine.
“What do you mean, torture?”
His tone is condescending
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing you won’t enjoy and if not, you will learn to. My brother knows my tastes. I don’t want to disappoint him.”
He says this with a shrug, like it’s no big deal as I break out into a cold sweat. My fingers are numb from clenching my fists and my heart is racing. Big mistake, colossal. Sure, Wrath was rude and demanding, maybe even a little hostile, but he wasn’t cold and dead inside. Dayzues is psychotic, like real serial killer type shit. Images of waterboarding, dissection and suffocation flash through my head as he stands there studying me.
“Well, I have things to do. I’ll be seeing you later in my room. That’s where you will be staying. Oh, and Rosa do try to escape. Catching you would be fun. A little four play for tonight.”
See? twisted! What the fuck is his deal? Heck, ya! I’m going to try to escape. Who wouldn’t? But I’m going to pretend I’m not. That’s my plan. If I survive a couple of days and pretend to be on his side, it might make him ease up, allowing my escape. That’s my only option at the moment. I try to keep my emotions at bay, remembering the cuff. It’s funny I didn’t feel any effect like I did with Wraths.
“What does the cuff do?”
He looks at the cuff, then my eyes, smiling his creepy way.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Great, another unanswered question. I can’t believe I didn’t see through his farce. I don’t sit idle but I don’t try to escape like he thinks I will. Instead, I explore gathering the layout and searching for allies. I find one thing odd. After a few hours around the ins and outs of the keep, I notice I have yet to see one pixie. Not a one. They were everywhere at Wraths. What I’d give to see Lore right now. I bet she would know how to get out of this mess. So far, all I’ve seen is fae and not many. For such an important person, he doesn’t have many members on his team. If he treats them like he does me, I can understand why.
I enter a room that’s full of trees. It’s humid and dark. Thick fog covers the area two feet off the ground, all the way to the top of the structure. I get closer to an edge to find the room is constructed of glass. Wiping away the condensation, I see the dim glow from outside is the only source of light. How odd, what on earth would he use this room for. A loud squawk breaks the silence. I duck as a shadow covers my head. What the fuck? When I look up, I see an eagle perched on a tree looking down at me. I’m not a bird person but it doesn’t take one to sense this things anger at my presence. It spreads its wings; I ready to swipe at it or run, I’m not sure which. It closes them back up, letting out a louder squawk. I take my chance and head straight until I find a wall and follow it, searching for an exit. Tree branches snap and I double my efforts, picking up the pace. One glance at that thing’s claws has me convinced I don’t want to tussle with it. A clicking noise stops me in my tracks. Slowing my breathing down, I close my eyes and focus on the noise. Its wings flap a good distance from me, and a rustle of clothing is much closer. I’m not alone! I gulp. Fear overrides my common sense, and I run in the opposite direction, probably toward the big ass bird. The wind is knocked from my lungs and I fall flat on my ass in the dirt. I think I hit a tree. Warm hands grab my shoulders lifting me up, nope not a tree. I squint in the darkness and fog. Dayzues!
“Get me out of here!”
He places his finger to his lips.
“Shush, settle. Don’t make any sudden movements.”
That’s when I notice the eagle hovering on his shoulder, wings flapping. Dayzues coos to the bird, placing his hand between the evil thing’s shoulder blades. I watch as he grabs its feet and hoists the bird into the air. He places his hand between my shoulder blades, the same spot as the dang bird pushing me forward. I’m too scared to be offended by the meaning behind it. When I see light I know I’m close to the exit and I speed up breaking the contact to my back. As soon as I exit the glass room, I release a pent up breath panting from the adrenaline rush I’m suffering from. Dayzues isn’t far behind. He shuts the door tightly. I don’t wait for him to turn around before expressing my anger.
“What the fuck was that?”
He shrugs, making me want to punch him.
“Don’t be obtuse, I know they have eagles where you're from.”
I scoff,
“Yeah, in the wild, not as pets! That thing could have killed me. You should have a sign or something!”
He circles me again; I hate when he does it. I swear it’s just to unnerve me.
“I’m sorry I’m not used to nosy females in my home. It’s my mistake. I should have tied you to something or contained you somewhere.”
I snap my mouth shut, at a loss for words. I don’t know what to address first. The insult, sexist remark, or the threat. I go for the threat first.
“try to restrain me, that will be your biggest mistake.”
His lip curls up, and he begins in a condescending tone.
“Big words for such a little fae, don’t you think.”
His tilted head and narrowed eyes make me feel coerced. I know he’s taking my measure. I back up a step and he takes one forward. I do it again and so does he. We’re back to this. How often is he going to test me? Screw it! I step forward and he doesn’t move. Three more steps and I’m in his face. His eyes light at my closeness, waiting for my reaction. He’s excited, I can tell by the way his mouth parts and his eyes widen as if beckoning, daring me to make a move. My fists clench and he looks down at me, smiling from ear to ear.
“Go ahead, do it!”
A growl of frustration escapes me. I can’t take him and he knows it. It’s no contest, so why push me? He judges the moment I give up, and his grin drops as he places his thumb to my bottom lip. I’m momentarily stunned, transfixed by his penetrating gaze.
“So innocent… so sweet.”
I shake myself out of the stupor, trying to push at his hand, but it’s a few seconds too late. He locks me in with his opposite arm, pushing me back until I hit the stool.
“Stop… let me go.”
My plea is weak, I think. I hope it’s because I already know he won’t and not for some other stupid reason I can’t even think about right now.
“Say you’ll fuck me, agree to stay in my bed and I’ll let you do as you please.”
What, he can’t be serious? The words must be written in my expression, because he tips his chin up with a vindictive smirk.
“You’ll be there soon enough. Stop with the games and concede here and now. If you do, you will be rewarded. If you don’t. Well, I may not be as nice. As you can see, the women are scarce around here.”
He is fucking serious! I open my mouth and suck his thumb with a breathy moan. His eyes hood and his smirk drops. The moment he lets go, I throw my weight into my elbow and connect with his lip as hard as I can. His head kicks back with the hit and blood instantly wells from the split.
“I will never, ever be with you that way. Do you seriously think after lying to me, slapping your house arrest bracelet on me and using me as a bargaining chip, I’m going to jump your bones.”
He grabs me by my throat; I flinch, waiting for his grip to tighten. When he doesn’t instantly apply pressure, my eyes pop open. He’s wiping his lip, still wearing that cocky grin.
“There’s the fire I’ve been looking for, your more like me then you know.”
He presses a fleeting but crushing kiss to my lips and pushes off the wall, leaving the room. I slump back on the stool, spitting out the taste of his blood from my mouth.