Avowed (The Manipulation Trilogy Book 3) (20 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

December 24
th
2014

Ella

“I’m sorry,” I cry out. Absolute terror fills me, tensing my entire body. “I love you.”

Blood pounds behind my ears, a static noise drowning out my incoherent words. Tears stream down my face making it difficult to see the road in front of me, and my hands shake against the steering wheel as I grip it with all my might.

“Ella!” Damon shouts. I can hear his fear and it fills me with dread. He’s always so in control, and to not hear that control in his voice now rockets my nerves. I need him to tell me what to do. I don’t want to die. I don’t want my baby to die, I want her to live.

I look in my rearview mirror and see Simon’s eyes. Whimpers spill past my lips as his car speeds up, gaining speed on mine. I squeeze my eyes shut when I know he’s going to hit me. The bump jolts me forward, making my seatbelt tighten around my stomach. The sound of the two cars colliding rips a scream from me.

“Ella,” Damon calls frantically. “I need you to listen to me beauty. You need to listen to my voice baby.” Hearing his now controlled voice calms me a fraction, and my focus turns to him.

“I’m listening.” I say with a hitch in my throat. “Oh god Damon, I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, listen to me baby. I need you to tell me exactly where you are, and I need you to calm down. You need to clear your head and think. I’m coming for you, baby. I’ll always come for you Ella.”

His words are filled with trepidation but I can hear his control. I can almost feel it wrap around me. I’ve never felt safer than when I am in Damon’s arms, and his control right now is like being wrapped in him.

“I’m... fuck. I don’t know. I can’t think,” I say panicked. I look around to try to see where I am when I recognise the street. “I’m a mile away from your mums. I’m heading straight for it coming in from Faith’s studio. He’s gaining speed Damon. He’s not going to let me go,” I cry, terrified. 

Simon’s car pushes me forward again and I lose my grip of my phone. I slam into the door, my seatbelt tightening further. The knock is enough to disorient me and I lose control of the car, jerking to the right, straight down into a ditch.

The car rocks and slams as it slides down the embankment, my body bouncing with the jolts. Each hit makes pain explode inside, whimpers fall past my lips, and I mumble my love for Damon over and over again. My head makes contact with the door, or dash, I’m not really sure, but the pain is instant.

A loud crunch pulls my eyes to the mirror and I watch in horror as Simon’s car follows mine off road but at a faster speed, only coming to a stop when he slams head first into a tree five feet away from me.

It all happens in slow motion, a split second in time, but it feels like a lifetime. My car comes to a stop, the airbag finally bursting out, pressing against me. I struggle against it for a second, turning my face to the side so I can breathe.

Adrenalin surges through me, as blood roars behind my ears. Shakes wrack my body, vibrating my bones. My teeth chatter and I struggle to catch my breath. I allow the silence to steady me, to calm my panicked breathing down.

The sound of a car braking behind me draws my attention, but I can’t move to see. Relief fills me when I realise someone is here to help. Twigs snapping, as the person draws closer to me makes my eyes close. I’m going to be okay. 

Female muttering makes me tense. I know that voice, and it makes my blood run cold. My hand blindly reaches out to try and locate my fallen phone, praying it’s still connected to Damon. The only reason I’d be hearing that specific voice is if she’s had something to do with all this.

“Fucking thick men. Can’t do any-fucking-thing right.” Leona swears as she reaches my door. She tugs it open, and the metal grating against metal pierces my ear drums, making me whimper. “Ahhh, and she lives. Such a shame.” Leona pauses and I can’t see her but I can feel her gaze burning into me.

“I should have fucking known if he was in love with you that there wasn’t something quite right about him, and he wouldn’t be able to do the fucking job right. You’re all not quite right in the head,” she grits out. Her hand grips my hair tugging my head towards her.

Her eyes are wild, her blonde hair a mess. I’ve never seen Leona look anything but polished, but at this minute she is a state. Makeup is smeared under her red rimmed eyes. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days and her clothes are creased.

“I didn’t realise you were Lydia’s sister. She was fun to play with,” she says with a smirk. My heart pounds and my blood boils. This bitch played with my sister and she’s been playing with me. I fucking hate this woman seeing me so vulnerable.

The adrenalin coursing through my veins is slowly dissipating, making me more aware of the pain in my body. My head is throbbing, sticky warm blood is seeping from my hair down my face, but it’s the pain in my leg making me want to pass out. It feels twisted, and the pressure makes me want to be sick.

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it. You look just like the twisted cunt,” Leona snarls. “It wasn’t until your very dead ex lover told me that and it all fit together. Well I’m going to get my wish again, only this time I’ll make sure the job is done right.”

As Leona begins trying to pull me from the car I scream out in pain. My leg is trapped, pain slicing up my leg with each tug.

“Get the fuck out!” Leona screams.

“I can’t,” I cry. Hot tears mix with the blood on my face and a metallic taste fills my mouth as I pant through the pain. “My leg is stuck Leona.”

Grabbing fistfuls of my hair she pulls and pulls. My scream hurts my own ears. I wriggle about trying to free myself, sagging in relief when my leg becomes dislodged.

The pain is overwhelming as she drags me up the embankment by my hair and my vision begins to fog. I’m vaguely aware of being pushed into the back of a car before darkness takes over.

****

I wake on the hard, damp ground in some sort of barn. Shadows surround me, making me aware of evening approaching. A sharp pain cramping my stomach pierces me, like I’m being squeezed in a vice. I grunt and pant through the pain before my surroundings properly register.

Calmness settles within me, I’m not sure where the strength comes from, but I know I need to be as brave as ever right now. If I want to get my baby out of this mess then I need a clear head. Looking around I see the barn is empty, except for a few tools and some scattered hay. Leona is nowhere in sight but I know she won’t be far away.

My arms are tied behind my back, my feet bound together. I struggle, checking my bindings and I’m relieved to find them tight but loose enough to squeeze out of. I twist and turn my hands and wrists, loosening the rope.

Hearing a car door shut I freeze, holding my breath. The crunch of gravel makes me shiver.  This is bad.
Really, really bad.
Leona has been showing her crazy to me but I didn’t think it would come to this. I didn’t realise how badly she wanted me out of the way.

She’s unhinged.

I close my eyes, praying for Damon to walk through that barn door but I know it’s not. I know now I need to fight for my life, and the life of my daughter.

I squint when the last of the sun light streams in, temporarily blinding me when the door is pulled open. Leona’s frame comes into view before she shuts the door behind her, a gun clutched in her hand. A whimper escapes my lips when another pain cuts through my middle.

Panic tries to consume me but I refuse to let it. Being in labour in this situation is the worst thing that can happen and it could mean something is terribly wrong. It’s still too early for our daughter to come into the world. She has another month before she’s fully developed and that thought makes me want to fight more than I’ve ever fought before.

“Awake I see.” Leona says in a sweet voice. “I did start to worry there. I almost thought I wouldn’t get to have fun with you before your time came.” She lets out a maniacal laugh, sending goosebumps across my flesh. “I did offer you an out Ella but you chose not to listen. Now you’ve left me with no choice.” Her voice is calm and that freaks me out more than the gun she is clutching.

Mother’s instinct seems to kick in but not in a good way. I should want to beg for my life, for my daughter’s life. I should be crying and praying. What I’m really feeling is rage. Pure fury coils in the pit of my stomach, building to near explosion. This fucking bitch wants to hurt my baby. She wants to take away her life before it’s even begun.

I can’t let that happen.

I
won’t
let that happen.

“You really think he’ll want you if you do this?” I ask with a malice filled laugh. “Damon never wanted you Leona. He will
never
want you.” I know adding fuel to the fire isn’t going to help me but the words are pouring out of me. “You won’t get away with this and then what will happen? You’ll end up with nothing, only you’ll be locked away too.”

“He will love me,” she screams. I can see the wheels in her head turning and I know she knows Damon will never want her. She paces the barn, not keeping her eyes on me. “We were going to be a family once.”

“That wasn’t Damon’s baby though, and even if he would have been with you it would have been for another man’s baby, not for you,” I say, mockingly. The more she’s thinking, the more her attention isn’t on me. I struggle and tug, finally freeing my wrists.

“Damon would have given me his baby if it wouldn’t have been for your cunt of a sister. She messed his fucking head up, made him feel worthless. But I knew how to make him feel better. He knew I accepted his monsters.”

“He doesn’t have monsters, he had you. You were the only monster in his life,” I snap. She drilled that into Damon’s mind and made him believe he’s a bad person but I know he’s not. I pant through another contraction. The adrenalin coursing through me at the threat of harm to my baby helps me deal with the pain. 

“You think you know the man you married?” she laughs. “He has demons that you wouldn’t be able to fucking handle. He needs me, someone who knows him, not a whore like you.”

Leona storms towards me and pulls up me into a seated position by my hair.
Exactly what I needed
. I wail in pain as I put pressure on my right leg, and I know I’ve done some considerable damage in the accident.  I keep my hands secure round my back, hiding the fact that they are unbound. When I settle back on my heels my hands move to work on freeing my leg bindings.

I remain silent, not wanting to wind her up more and take a hit. Leona isn’t satisfied with my silence though. She slaps me and shrieks in my face. I want to cover my ears from the sound, but instead recoil back from her, trying to distance myself.

“Nothing to say now bitch?” I shake my head no, and she smirks. “I didn’t think so. It’s best if you just keep your filthy fucking mouth shut.”

Leona’s hand colliding with my cheek again knocks me sideways, but I manage to find my upright position again quickly. I get to work loosening the rope around my ankles as Leona begins pacing the ground again. I need to keep her distracted and I know the perfect way to do this.

“What did you mean when you said you played with my sister?” I know I won’t want to hear what she has to say, but I
need
to know. Lydia was my sister and my reason for Damon being in my life now. Leona’s words could help finally put Lydia to rest.

“Lydia?” she questions with a laugh. I don’t answer her. Instead I just keep my eyes trained on her, waiting her out. “We might as well have story time. It’s not like she’ll ever be seeing outside these doors again,” she mused aloud. Her words were spoken as if she was speaking to someone else in the room with us and that sends a shiver running up my spine.

She’s twisted.

Really fucked in the head.

“I worked so fucking hard to get my Damon away from Abbi. That bitch never deserved him and when I told my mum about my need for Damon she helped me set everything up. It was really quite easy. My mum became friends with Flora, making my dad and George become fast friends. That gave me the in with Damon. Creating some bullshit argument was easy, just a few words in Abigail’s ear and she was putty in my fucking hands.” I can’t hold in my gasp at her words. Leona played a much bigger part in breaking Damon and Abbi up that I anticipated.

“Getting her wasted enough to pass out was another story altogether, but with some help from a male friend it wasn’t too much of a problem. He also helped position her and posed in the photos. That was all it took. Showing Damon evidence was enough to get Abbi out of the picture and it worked. She was gone and I was there for him to turn to.”

Her words make me want to be sick but I watch her with a nonchalant expression, not letting her see how deeply her words cut me. Not for me, but for Damon and Abigail.

They never stood a chance when Leona set her sights on Damon.

“But it didn’t work out for you, did it?” I ask, smugly. Leona’s hate filled gaze pierces into me, but I don’t back down. I can see her close to losing it again. “He didn’t want you.”   

“You shut your fucking mouth. You know nothing,” she spits. “Damon just needed time to sort himself out but I was prepared to wait. Then all of a sudden he was okay, back to being himself, but closed off. I knew it would take time to get him into the right frame of mind to open him up for love again but I was patient.” She stops speaking as she stares off into space. “Something happened. Something else destroyed him and I couldn’t get him to see me. He was lost.”