Too Much to Lose (31 page)

I close my eyes to Hunter’s
pain.

“Let her go and you can do what
you want with me. You can be on your way. No one will follow you if you just
let her go, I swear.”

“Shut up or I’ll start breaking
your fingers.”

“Oh God,” I whimper.

“You’ll be hunted like an
animal. They’ll kill you in a far worse way than you could imagine. We’re like
brothers, see. Hurt me and you hurt them. Hurt Jess and you’ll be in more
trouble than you know. Being in jail will seem like a cakewalk compared to what
they’ll do to you. Let her go.”

I hear a crack and a muffled
groan of pain. Hunter falls quiet and tears burn my closed lids. There’s a rustle
and when I open my eyes, Hunter is gagged with a strip of red cloth.

“There,” Lucas declares and
goes to lock the door. “Let’s get on with this shall we?”

I tug at the ropes and wince.
My wrists are beginning to burn and my shoulders ache. I glance around the
studio flat as Lucas sets up a camera. Every move he makes echoes in the empty
space. Clearly he’s been planning this for a while. The bed is made up ready
for whatever he intends and he flicks on a studio light that illuminates the
already bright white walls. I swallow and look at the door. I can make it there
I think but I can’t open it without my hands. And where would that leave
Hunter?

“Try anything and I’ll cut
you,” he hisses while he adjusts the camera legs. “It won’t show but it will
hurt.” He smirks. “Don’t want to mar you before your big performance.”

My teeth knock together as
chills spread through my body. I draw my chin up and pray he can’t see my fear
even though I feel like fainting. Lucas was always the kind of guy who enjoyed
preying on vulnerable people. I refuse to let him see how scared I really am.

“So what are you planning to
do? Shoot a film with me and what? Sell it? Put it online? You’ll just be
handing the police all the evidence I need to get you convicted of rape.”

He wipes his hands over his
jeans and steps over to me, a glint of malice in his eyes. “I offered you so
much. You could have been famous. I gave you a job when no one else would.”

“You ruined my life,” I spit.

“I didn’t make you do anything
you didn’t want to do.” He folds his arms across his chest and looms over me.

“I had no idea what I was getting
into. You make me sick. You prey on vulnerable girls. You ruin their lives for
profit. And what do they get? Abuse, diseases and humiliation.”

“You could have been one of the
best, baby.” He curls his hands around my upper arms and hauls me to my feet.
“If you’d have just played it nicely and done as I’d asked, you could have
reached the top and started earning big bucks.”

“If I’d have slept with you,
you mean.”

“None of the other girls ever
objected.” Lucas’s upper lip curls. “You probably would have enjoyed it, whore.
But you’ll never know now. I’m afraid you won’t find much of this enjoyable.”

“The girls never objected
because they didn’t want to lose their jobs. They were poor enough with the
wages you paid. And I doubt very much anyone has ever enjoyed fucking you!”

He twists me suddenly, making
me lose my footing, and throws me back onto the bed. A muffled sound of protest
comes from Hunter. My head snaps back, hurting my neck and I release a yelp as
I bounce against the mattress. More scuffling sounds and Lucas whirls around to
snatch a knife from his bag of tricks in the corner. “Try anything,” he warns,
“and I’ll cut her.”

I can’t see Hunter from where I
am, but it sounds like he relents and stops whatever he was doing. Despair flows
over me but I’m glad I won’t have to hear Lucas break any more of his fingers.

Knife in hand, glinting in the
bright light, Lucas stands over me. “It’s all about paying your dues, something
you’d never understand. You think all the big porn stars didn’t have to work to
get to where they are? You’re just a spoilt brat. You always were. And I’m
going to teach you a lesson.” He climbs onto the bed and crawls across me,
pinning me with his weight. I can barely suppress a shudder of revulsion as his
breath washes over my face and I feel the hard length of his erection bumping
my hip. “You were the only one,” he whispers. “The only one stupid enough to
say no. You had everything. The looks, the body, the big innocent eyes. The
camera loved you. But you had to fuck it all up.”

“I was glad to be out of there.
In fact—” I force a laugh “—I’m glad you demanded I sleep with you. It gave me
the incentive to get out of that life.”

“You fucked everything up for
me too, you little bitch.” Spit sprays across my face, forcing bile into my
throat. “I couldn’t focus after that. The studio never cared who I slept with
before but suddenly I wasn’t allowed to fuck the girls. Said I was too rough. I
was forcing them. I’d get the studio in trouble. You ruined everything.” His
hands come to the neckline of my top and his gaze drops as he pulls the
material away. “Now,” he hisses, “I’m going to ruin you.”

Panic surges through me, the
unwelcome hands tugging at my top make me breathless and light-headed. “You’re
going to ruin yourself,” I whisper. “You’ll go to jail.”

“I won’t.” His lips twist and
he yanks my top. The rip echoes through the room and I release a panicked cry.
In spite of my squirming, he has no troubles holding me down with his weight.
“I’m going to be long gone and your video will only ever be seen by one person.
After this, I’ll be rich enough to live wherever I want.”

Ice coldness fills my veins and
I still. “What do you mean?”

“Someone is willing to pay a
vast amount for a video of you for their private collection.”

“Why?”

Lucas lifts a shoulder and sets
to work pulling the torn cotton from me. “Rich men feed on power. What’s more
powerful than having control over someone’s life?”

“My life?”

“Yes, whore. Your life.” He slides
off me and drops my torn top to the floor. “You, baby, are going to be a
superstar. You’re going to feature in your very own snuff film.”

“S-nuff...as in…?”

The wash of calmness in his
expression and the hint of excitement in his eyes makes me wretch.

“Today you’re going to be
fucked. And then I’m going to slit your throat.”

More grunts of frustration and Lucas
spins around to slam Hunter to the ground with a back hand. “I’ll cut you both!
I’d cut you now if I didn’t want you to watch as I ruin her,” he screams.

Coming back to the bed, he
unsnaps my jeans with one hand. I writhe and fight him but he brings that knife
to the waistband of my trousers and I freeze, the touch of metal against my
skin forcing a trickle of sweat down my chest. With practiced movements, he
slices open my jeans, cutting and tearing at them until they’re nothing but
scraps and can be ripped away with ease.

In only my panties and bra, goose-bumps
prick my skin but whether I’m cold or terrified, I’m not sure. Tremors wrack
me. When he kills me, what will it be like? Will it hurt? Is it quick? Absurdly
I keep thinking what a mess it will make against the white bedding. But I guess
that’s why he chose it.

“Why try to kill me if you
wanted to do this?” I ask, not really caring but praying for some kind of
delay.

“I was trying to kill
him
,”
he replies through a clenched jaw as he thrusts a finger toward Hunter. “You
weren’t meant to be on the bike. He kept getting in the way.”

He puts the knife aside and
stands to turn on the camera. I stare at it, silently entreating. No one is
watching but someone will eventually. Some rich person who cares nothing for
people. Maybe I can make them see I’m more than just a nameless woman.

“You ready, baby?” Lucas taunts.

“Fuck you,” I spit.

I roll when Lucas climbs onto
the bed. He drags me back but I do it again. Then I thrash and kick with my
bound legs. I catch him in his erection and he curses and backhands me. Stars
break out in my vision but I won’t give up easily. Not when Hunter’s life is at
stake too.

“Keep still,” Lucas hisses.

“Never.” I thrust out my feet
as he tries to pin me and catch his stomach.

“Do you want him to do die?” Lucas’s
face is wild, his short hair in disarray, his dark eyes bloodshot and wide.

“Do you want me to cooperate?”
I cry.

“You’re in no position to
negotiate.”

“Let him go and I’ll play nice.
You can fuck me. I’ll pretend to enjoy it if you want. Just let him go.”

Hunter’s cry sounds like a no.
I twist my head, see the anguish in his face and silently plead with him not to
do anything stupid. He presses his back against the wall and struggles to his
feet. Lucas goes for his gun.

“Don’t!” I scream.

A crash sounds. The door
splinters. I wait for Hunter to fall but he doesn’t. No blood stains his chest.
There’s another crack and the locked door judders. Someone is kicking it down.

It’s enough. I struggle off the
bed and fall to the floor with a smack. Pain shatters through me. Lucas spins
and from my position on the floor, I see Hunter lunge, the rope tearing away. Blood
drips from his wrists where he must have been working them free. The rifle
bangs and plaster from the ceiling rains down on them both, covering them in a
snow-like coating. Hunter smashes his head into Lucas’s face and the man
staggers. Another blow to the stomach from Hunter and Lucas collapses to the floor.

The door bursts fully open and
Mitch and Connor storm in. Mitch’s eyes widen when he spots me. In one stride,
he’s at my side and pulling me to my feet.

“Help him!” I cry.

Mitch shakes his head and wraps
an arm around my shuddering half-naked form. “Looks like Hunter has everything
in hand.”

I glance over and see Lucas
curled in a ball. Hunter kicks him and tears the fabric from his mouth. “Touch
my woman,” he spits. “You sick fuck.” Another kick and Lucas cries out. “I’ll
fucking kill you.”

Connor strides over and grabs
the abandoned rifle before tugging on Hunter’s arm. “He’s not worth jail time.
You’ve got a woman who needs you, remember?”

Hunter glances at me, swears
and delivers one last kick to Lucas’s side. The man goes limp. Panting and
hobbling slightly, Hunter takes me into his arms and clamps me to him. “It’s
over now, princess.”

Hunter

After a long day of sitting in
a car, watching a potential cheater, I’m grateful to be home. It’s easy to
become jaded watching people like that but Jess will draw me out of my bad
mood. Stepping in through the door, I shut it and inhale deeply. Can’t get sick
of that new apartment smell, especially when it’s mingled with the scent of
Jess’s coconut shampoo. She must have just showered.

Unable to resist a grin as I
drop my car keys on the kitchen side, I draw in another deep breath. Strange.
Smells like… motor oil? Voices reach me from the balcony and I curl a fist.

Connor.

Eyes narrow, I stalk out onto
the balcony. Connor and Jess stand side by side looking out over the city.

“Well, isn’t this cosy…” I
drawl.

Jess whips around and grins.
Connor shakes his head. “Nice to see you too, Hunter.”

I come up to Jess’s side and
put an arm around her shoulder, hold her close to my side. “What brings you
over, Connor?”

“Just checking the new place
out. Nice.”

“That’s it?” I raise a brow.

“Pretty much.” He glances at
his watch. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see myself out.”

Scowling, I watch Connor leave
before turning back to Jess. “What was that all about?”

She shrugs and turns to stare
out at the view. With the sun slowly dropping, the tall buildings are cast in
an orange glow, silhouetting them against the sky.

I wrap my arms around her
waist, loving how she sinks into me with a sigh. “Might not be a penthouse, but
we do have an awesome view.” I draw back slightly to drop my gaze between us
and eye her leather clad legs. I’ve not seen her in leather for a while and I
must admit, it’s a damned nice view too.

Jess tilts her head back
against me. “No regrets?”

She’s talking about selling
Mam’s house. It was hard, letting go of what she’d worked so hard for but Jess
reminded me that there’s more to life than work and Mam wouldn’t have wanted me
struggling to make the payments. I’d locked myself in the past and it was time
to let it go. I suspect my mother would have been thrilled to know I’d finally
settled with a gorgeous girl.

“None.” I skim a kiss over her
neck and feel her shudder. “You?”

She laughs. “As if.”

“I think Connor has a crush on
you,” I mutter.

Another laugh. Why is that so
funny?

“Hardly. Connor and Mitch have
taken it upon themselves to play big brothers ever since you charged them with
protecting me.”