Black Rose [Book 3]

Chapter 1

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Two Months Later

I sat on the dirty tile of my small room, my ankles and wrists chained to the ground to prevent me from escaping again.

"Hello, Scarlett. Did you miss me?" Cade asks, his red streaks in his dark hair falling over his forehead as he crouches down in front of me and grabbing my chin forcefully in his hand. "I missed you."

"That's not my name." I pull my chin from his grip, the chains around my wrists clanging together as I wrapped them around my knees.

"It is now. You belong to me. I bought you. Your name is whatever I choose." He answers, a finger tapping against my knee as he bites his lip. "You know, this would be so much more fun if you just stopped fighting me."

"Get away from me." I say, my voice coarse from the lack of water.

His obsidian eyes stare into mine—dark and terrifying. "Your little team won't find you here. They've been trying for two months, and they're still chasing their tails."

"They'll find me." I insist, my thumb and forefinger twisting the ring on my left hand—now all crusted with dirt and my own blood.

"No, no," he tuts and reaches behind him, taking out a Glock 18 and tapping the cool metal against my cheek. "Your brother's gone. Your best friends are chasing the wrong leads. Your husband is too busy taking care of your sweet children."

I slam my knee up into Cade's jaw, hearing the breaking and shattering of his teeth, blood spraying on my face.

"Keep my kids' names out of your mouth before I rip out your tongue." I hiss.

He spits out his shattered one front tooth and three bottom teeth. "I wouldn't be in a position to threaten me, Scarlett."

"I'll do whatever I damn please if you so much as think of my children again." I spit back.

Cade smirks and wipes blood on his lips, holding his thumb out to me, now coated in his blood. "Be a good girl. You know what will happen if you disobey."

I end up like the girls held here weeks ago. They came and went within days, the screams of torture and begging still ringing in my ears. The only way to survive was to obey him.

His eyebrows shoot up and his other hand taps the head of the gun against my temple. "Scarlett.." he says in a singsong voice.

I look at the blood dripping from his thumb, then at him, my eyes remaining on him as he pressed the pad of his thumb against my lips, forcing them open and licking the blood off his skin.

"Mm," he places a kiss on my dirty and ratty hair. "Good girl." He takes his thumb out of my mouth and licks it, and leans close to me. "That's why you're my favorite." He says, standing up and walking out of the room, the door locking behind him.

I let my legs fall onto the floor and lean my head back against the dried, blood-splattered wall, my eyes closing.

My mind going back to the last time I was with my family. Remembering how Spencer kissed me when I got home from Rossi's. How our 10-year old kids were running around, shooting each other with Nerf guns and laughing.

Then the case.

Rossi and JJ were down in the basement of the unsub's house, releasing the kids from their cages; I went into the barn with Spencer to see if there were any more we had missed. And then something hard clocked me over the head.

I allowed myself to drift off thinking of happy memories for once in two long months. Jerking awake as the door slams, the man grabbing onto my ankles and unlocking my chains, keeping the ones around my wrists.

"Stay quiet. If you don't, it'll be worse for you." Cade orders as the sound of his belt hits the floor, his hands dragging down my dirt-stained and badly ripped jeans.

I close my eyes and steady my breathing as I feel his fingers graze the inside of my thigh, my jeans laying discarded on the dirty floor next to his.

"Hmm." He hums in thought as his finger traces up and down my leg. "Let's see how obedient you are tonight."

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My legs were sore all the next day. My body unwilling to do anything but lay on the thin mattress he had placed in the least dirty corner of the room.

My name is Vanessa Reid. I will not break. My team will find me, and we will put this scumbag in jail for the rest of his pathetic life. We will make sure this never happens to another woman again. I scream in my head, over and over again until I believe it.

"Oh, sweetheart." Cade walks into the room, his hand wrapped tightly around the blonde hair of a girl no older than 20, her bright green eyes bloodshot and terrified. "I got you a new roommate." He shoves her into the room and slams the door once he leaves, the locks clicking into place.

I sit up quickly and stand, my legs protesting as I walk closer to the terrified girl, her clothes in tatters—her white tank top shredded and bloodied, her blue jeans scuffed up.

"Wh-who are you?" The girl asks, backing up against a wall. "Where are we?! What does that man want from us??"

I hold up my hands and slowly kneel on the ground. "I'm Vanessa. I won't hurt you. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl lowers herself onto her knees as well, staring at me. "I know you. You—you were that FBI woman on the news a few months back."

I nod once. "Yeah.."

"Oh." She sighs softly. "...I'm Lily. Lily Cortez."

"Vanessa Reid." I answer.

Lily looks around the room, then me. "You're a profiler, right? What does the man want with us?"

I look at Lily. "Either one of two things: money, or an outfit for his anger.."

"W—like, he'll kill us??" Lily asks in a panic.

"No, no," I shake my head. "No. I won't let him hurt you. You hear me? He won't touch you."

"But...what if he tries?" She whimpers.

I look up at the camera in the corner of the room, then at the younger girl in front of me. "Obey,"