[Forbidden book 02] Forbidden Rapture (4 page)

Her baby sister was face down on the bed, the back of her

shirt ripped in strips from the beating. She didn’t move or make a

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Forbidden Rapture: Tales of the Forbidden, Book 2, Jaden Sinclair

sound. Samara put the bowls down on the floor and touched the

back of Malaya’s head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think he would hurt you for this,” she

whispered.

Makayla turned her head to face Samara. “Don’t be sorry. You

shouldn’t have to take pictures like that.”

Samara smiled, leaned in, and kissed Makayla on the cheek.

“Let me get you cleaned up, and then we both need to eat

something.”

Makayla didn’t make a sound as Samara cleaned and put

ointment on every open wound. Her body was covered in purple

bruises, which she knew must hurt like hell. She wished she could

take her pain away. They ate, and then Samara cleaned up,

making extra sure there wasn’t a mess anywhere in the house.

Sleep didn’t happen for her that evening. This time, she was

worried about what was going to happen to her and Makayla and

what this mystery guy wanted from her. There were girls going

missing and her father was pretty much keeping her under house

arrest, not because he cared for her safety, but because she was

his source of income. Her life was fucked! There was no way out;

at least none that she could see now. If she left, then all that rage

and anger would fall on Makayla, and she wasn’t strong enough to

handle the abuse.

Around five in the morning she went to work in the kitchen.

She had three loafs of bread made and a large plate of food

waiting for her father by the time he came out of the bedroom.

As always, he looked grumpy, like he would snap any second.

Makayla also came out with her books for school. While Ryland

ate, Samara slipped a thick sandwich to Makayla and some toast

for breakfast, and then hurried her out the front door. She went

back to their room, made up the bed they shared, and picked up

all the clothes, taking them to the laundry. Ryland wanted his

house immaculate at all times.

When she came back from starting the laundry, it was time to

clean the kitchen back up. Not one word was said between them.

And like always, she kept herself busy by doing the same thing

over and over again. She dusted, vacuumed, cleaned windows,

stopped to fix
him
lunch, and then started something for dinner.

When Makayla came home, it was time to help with homework,

serve dinner, and pray that he didn’t start up again with the

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Forbidden Rapture: Tales of the Forbidden, Book 2, Jaden Sinclair

pictures or the beatings.

After dinner, he left the house and Samara gave a big sigh of

relief. By nine, everything was as clean as she could get it so she

headed to bed with the hopes that tomorrow would be a better

day.

* * * *

As usual, the man who paid Ryland Tabor a lot of money to

see his oldest daughter, sat in a dark corner, drinking. And like

usual, the man gave Ryland the creeps.

“But you said—”

“I know what I said,” he cut Ryland off. “And I had my reasons

for it. A good girl doesn’t pose like that, and I really needed to

know if she was a good girl or not.”

Relief flooded Ryland.

“I have very special plans for Samara. And as long as you

keep her safe and well protected, then you’ll benefit from those

plans and so will your other daughter. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Now go home and protect your daughter, Samara, real

well. I would hate for her virginal status to be questioned or lost. It

means a great deal to me to have it intact for our special meeting.”

Again, Ryland got the chills. This man scared the hell out of

him, but he was also paying a lot of money to get whatever it was

he wanted out of Samara. So as long as he was paying, Ryland

would give him anything he wanted, even his own flesh and blood.

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“Samara Tabor, huh? I’m not familiar with that name.” Devon

shook his head, slumping back in the chair at the table.

Kera cleaned off the table after dinner and was in the kitchen

grabbing two beers and a soda from the fridge. She handed the

beers off to Dane and Devon before sitting down to join them.

“I’ve heard of the name,” she said. When Dane looked at her,

she only shrugged her shoulders. “I mean the name Tabor. My

father used to drink with the guy all the time. Think he had a

business or something. Lost a lot of money and never got over it.

His wife left him for it.”

“Why you so interested?” Devon asked.

Dane bit the inside of his mouth, thinking hard about how

much to tell. Hell, half of that answer he didn’t even know himself.

Why was he so interested? Good question.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know, I just am.”

“Uh-huh,” Devon tipped his beer up to his lips, his eyes fixed

on Dane. It made him very uncomfortable.

“You know, I didn’t know the man had two daughters,” Kera

added. “Only knew of one. Makayla I think the name was.”

“Yeah, I heard he keeps Samara pretty much locked up,”

Dane said.

“You want her.” It was a statement that Dane didn’t want

Devon to make. “I can see it in those baby blues of yours.”

“What if I do?” Dane met him in the eye.

“Okay, please tell me you’re not going to have her dragged up

to the damn Compound?” Kera said loathingly.

“Oh he is,” Devon answered. “It’s in those eyes of his.”

Kera leaned over the table and slapped Dane on the arm.

“How could you even think about doing something so stupid?”

“I have to say, man, I never thought I’d see the day when

you’d want to go up there for a woman.” Devon took a drink from

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Forbidden Rapture: Tales of the Forbidden, Book 2, Jaden Sinclair

his beer, shaking his head. “You do know what happens, right? I

mean the outcome of it all.”

“Yes. I know what happens,” Dane remarked through his

teeth. “I’ve been thinking about it all day.” Again, Kera slapped

him, and this time Dane stood up, slamming his beer bottle on the

table. “Look, I don’t like the circumstance any more than you do,

Kera, but it’s the only way.”

“Bullshit!” she snapped.

“Her father keeps her locked up. What else am I supposed to

do?”

“He has a point, Kera,” Devon added. “If the father is adamant

about keeping her under his thumb, the only way Dane can get to

her is by having the Compound apprehend her.”

“That’s a crock of shit and you both know it!” she yelled. “What

the hell happens if the two of you don’t match up? You two

dipshits ever think of that?” They just looked at each other, which

seemed to bring Kera’s temper to a boil. “Thought so. Well, let me

tell you. She’ll stay in that hell-hole for good, either becoming a

whore or a slave. So I guess you just fucked her life up either

way.”

“Kera,” Devon groaned her name when she stormed out of the

room.

“Didn’t mean to get you into trouble,” Dane said.

“Kera is very touchy when it comes to the Compound. Think

she’s still pissed over her father selling her to it.”

“You can’t blame her there.”

“Nope,” Devon shook his head. “So what’s the big plan then?”

“Not sure,” Dane sighed, sitting back down. “A fall celebration

is coming up, and not too many attend that. I was thinking I could

have her summoned for that.”

“You really think she’s the one?”

Dane thought hard about it. From the first moment he saw

her, all he could think about was her. He wanted to touch her, kiss

her, feel her body wrapped around his own. It was strange in a

way, but he was quickly starting to understand how Devon felt the

first time he saw Kera.

“Yeah, she’s the one.”

“Then you better move fast,” Devon groaned, standing up.

“Fall party is going on right now.”

* * * *

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“Please don’t send me away!” Makayla cried and pleaded with

Ryland as her things were being packed up.

Samara stood off to the side, watching. There wasn’t a damn

thing she could say or do and it was killing her. Ryland shipping

Makayla off to a boarding school was mind blowing. First off, she

didn’t know where the hell he got the money for it, since they

seemed to struggle each night for food. And second, there was

always a reason for his every action. Right now, she didn’t

understand either of them.

The people from the boarding school came and began

packing her up. Not a word was said, except for the school

affiliates introducing themselves and revealing their reason for

being there. It shocked both Samara and Makayla.

Samara knew better than to question her father. If she did, it

would be another slap, or lock up in the closet, and she wanted to

stay on his “good” side. She didn’t need him to suspect a thing, or

the cage he had her in now would only get smaller.

Makayla ran over to Samara, hugging her tightly. “Please

don’t let him send me away. I’ll never get to see you again.”

Samara closed her eyes, hugging her sister back, “Yes, you

will. I’ll write to you as soon as you’re settled.” She got close to

her ear, whispering low enough for only Makayla to hear, “This is

the best thing that could happen. Now, he can’t hurt or touch you.”

“But I don’t want to leave you.”

Samara took hold of her face, moving her head to look up at

her. “You’ll never lose me. I’ll always be there for you.”

“It’s time to go,” one of the women from the school said.

Samara hugged Makayla once more, tightly, kissed the top of

her head, and let her go. She held back the tears while watching

her sister leave with the women. She hated to see her go, but

knew deep down it was best. Whatever plans Ryland had for her,

Makayla didn’t need to be here to see it.

“Fix my dinner,” Ryland demanded the second the door

closed.

Hanging her head, Samara turned and went to the kitchen.

There wasn’t much left and she was going to have to let him

know, which meant, another fight was about to happen. For some

unknown reason, Ryland Tabor thought the little food he brought

home should be enough to feed the three of them without any

problems.

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She served the food, and waited for the right time to let him

know that they were once more out of groceries. Her heart was

still broken over Makayla being shipped out and tonight, she didn’t

give a damn if she ate or not. She also didn’t care if he beat and

locked her up. The only thing she did know was that now that her

sister was gone she was definitely going to put a stop to the

mystery dates. That shit was over.

She was cleaning up when someone knocked on the door.

Being so late, her gut dropped with the thought that she was being

summoned for another showing. Samara stopped what she was

doing to watch her father walk to the front door. He jerked it open,

apparently not expecting anyone after all.

Two large men in black suits stood together at the door. They

were large enough to take up the whole frame and the sight of

them made Samara’s heart once more drop. She knew who these

men were, without a doubt.

“What the hell do you want?” Ryland demanded.

“Ryland Tabor?” one asked.

“Yeah?”

“Father of Samara and Makayla Tabor?”

“That’s right,” Ryland snarled. “What the hell you want?”

“We are here to escort Samara Tabor to the Compound.”

They both walked into the house, or more like pushed their

way in. The one that spoke to her father handed him a paper,

while the other one came up to her, taking hold of her arm.

“Now wait just one fucking minute!” Ryland huffed, opening

the paper and reading it quickly. “You can’t come into my home

and take my daughter.”

“Under section forty-five, with the accordance of the laws of

Treece, a request for your daughter has been made. If you refuse

to comply, then you will be fined and other punishments may be

inflicted.”

He stood there, open mouthed, as Samara was taken from

the house. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Someone

made a request for her at the Compound. That someone had to

have money and power. That was the only way something like this

could happen. But one question hung in the air, as she walked to

the car parked on the side of the road. Who?

A driver waited for them in the black car. He got out, opened

the back door and Samara got in with one of the men on either

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side of her. She was speechless. Not a word or question came to

mind as they took off, heading for the heart of town.

The four story building came into view. It was breathtaking,