Unorthodox Therapy (49 page)

“You'd better start feeling sorry for yourself, whore.” He was out of breath and the bloodied cane slipped out of his fingers. He reached out and grabbed me by the hair so I'd look him in the eyes in my half awake state of mind. “The weekend is long enough. I'll break you into the docile slave you were born to be. Once we get to the office on Monday, you'll look forward to your life as my slave pig. No one can save you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Thomas

It was a little after midnight when I reached the storage unit area. It took two sedatives to stop my hands from shaking and nearly two hours on the road. All that time, as I was waiting for the traffic jam to move forward, my mind was filled with horrific images of Seth. It wouldn't help me get my shit together but I couldn't suppress it. The optimistic part of me hoped I'd overreacted and Lina had gone home to Mission Bay after leaving the restaurant, but Seth never did things without an agenda. For all the years we’d worked together I hadn't ever seen him do something nice for a woman... or for anyone. Once, the bastard had slammed a glass door straight in the face of the person walking behind him.

I couldn't see a reason why he would accompany Lina anywhere unless he had received a serious concussion.

The logical course of action would have been to go to Lina's apartment and make sure she was safe, but it would have wasted too much precious time.

The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me I didn't have much time wouldn't let go of me. The car wheel was sticky with sweat as I made my way to Seth's hideout. I hoped it wasn't a red herring or an error in our reasoning. Allie was flawless in her work but even she could make mistakes.

The sedatives started to kick in – that, or I'd hit the breaking point of my ability to worry. Lina's safety was the most important thing now and freaking out would do us both a huge disservice. Gory images of her torn and badly beaten body kept flooding my imagination.

It would soon be nothing but a bad dream.

The storage area was far from the populated part of the city. There wasn't much around save for warehouses. It took me ten minutes to find it and park my car in an inconspicuous spot. I looked around but couldn't spot any security or a guard to keep an eye on the units. Not a living soul, as a matter of fact. These cells would be the perfect place to drag a victim and do as you pleased.

No one would hear the screams.

I got out of the car and rubbed my sweaty palms together. The freezing night air hit me in the lungs and chilled me to the bone even with my warmest leather jacket on. The thick fog was gathering around me and the steam coming from my mouth added to the eerie ambiance. The blocks of units stood lonely against the austere landscape. It was difficult to shake off the feeling I was entering a graveyard.

I locked the door and grabbed a crowbar from the trunk. Maybe neither Lina nor Seth were there but it would be suicide to go unarmed. I had grown physically stronger over the years but not enough to beat the hell out of such a large man. Anger was a powerful stimulus, though, and my insides were simmering with wrath at the thought of what he might do to Lina.

If he hurt her, I’d kill him. It should have scared me more to know I was capable of such brutal violence.

“Or you're getting ahead of yourself,” I murmured quietly as I moved in the direction of the storage units. Even if there was no one there, I'd have to check it for clues. The idea of breaking through doors using my car tools was over the top, but good preparation didn’t hurt.

The freezing winter wind gathered pieces of sand and threw them in small gusts around me. My glasses protected me from the debris but I needed to hurry. There was no reason to stay quiet. Still, I didn't want Seth to have any advantage if he heard me coming. The place looked deserted, and judging by the construction of the cells, their walls were too thin. It was crazy but I was sure he'd hear the sound of my running feet across the crumbling asphalt

I fished my phone out so I could check the unit number Allie had texted me. A blood-curdling scream pierced through the still night air just as the screen on my phone flashed in the sinister darkness. All the blood drained from my face and my pulse raced like crazy. I speed-dialed Allie, shoved the device in my pocket and rushed in the direction the desperate cry was coming from. It was easy to orientate, for the woman screamed as if her skin was being ripped off. The terrain was straightforward so after about a minute of fast running, I reached the unit the yells were coming from. White, sickening light was streaming from under the door.

It was amazing what I was capable of under extreme duress. There was no time for hesitation, fear or doubt. All that mattered was that Lina was inside and she was being hurt. In that instant, I acted almost beyond myself, without a thought. The crowbar slid into a perfect spot against the lock and I snapped it without any effort. In hindsight, I'd never usually have succeeded in making such a clean break even if I’d been practicing for months. Beginner's luck or just that of a desperate man.

When the door rolled up, the scene inside the unit made me throw a fit in rage. Lina was sitting on a chair, bound with cuffs that had left raw, red marks on her skin. She was naked and Seth was hovering over her with a bloodied cane. He had raised harsh stripes and deep welts across her chest and belly. There were horrible marks on her thighs as well.

She blinked a few times before uttering “Thomas?” then burst into a violent coughing fit.

Seth was unfazed by my unexpected appearance. His eyes were bloodshot, and in other circumstances they'd have scared me to death, especially with the thick cane he held in hand. In that moment, all I wanted was to shove the crowbar down his throat.

“What the hell did you do to her, you creep?” My fingers clutched the metal so hard it left marks on my palm. As tempting as it was to assault him, Seth was way too close to Lina and the cane in his hand made me nervous. She'd been through enough already. I couldn’t risk her life.

“Well, look at our unexpected party guest, Saint Thomas himself.” He grinned at me and casually placed the tip of the cane beneath Lina's chin, forcing her to look up. “Here is your lover, whore. He can't stay away from the smell of your used cunt.” The insanity in his eyes didn't decrease the wrath shattering my patience. “You're not as stupid as I thought if you found us here. Who would have ever thought you had more than two brain cells, boy?”

Years ago, even such a half compliment coming from my aggressive senior would have made me beam with pride. Right then, I'd gladly have told him where to shove his flattery.

“Shut up, Seth.” My loud voice clearly startled him. For a moment, he stared as if he didn't recognize me. “Shut the fuck up before I kick in your teeth and choke you on your own guts, you fucking freak.” I raised the crowbar and took one more decisive step towards him.

“Oh, kitten's got claws.” He tried to sound dismissive but it was easy to detect the nervous tone beneath his bravado.

“You always were a bullying asshole, but I never thought you'd stoop so low as to beat a defenseless person. Look what you fucking did to her!” My yell echoed through the room and Lina trembled. Seeing her in such a pathetic state made me hurt on the inside but I couldn't afford to show her tenderness in that moment. “Let her go right now.”

“Or what, Tommy?” Seth raised the cane from Lina's neck and pointed it at me. “How about you get off your high horse? What makes you think you're any better?” It was my turn to blink in surprise at his hit below the belt. “Those pictures of our beloved little whore were so damned precious. My favorite is the one with the cane stripes on her fat ass and back. Pretty sloppy job on tying her hands. You could improve your bondage technique, but I'm impressed, kid.”

How fast could I hit his throat with the curved end of the crowbar? Would he die quickly or in slow, painful quivers while the blood leaked out of his ripped neck?

Even in her feverish state, Lina must have felt my dangerous mood.

“Thomas, please don't. Don't ruin your life,” she said in a low, agonizing tone, trying her best to speak louder.

“Keep your nasty trap shut, whore. I'm having a man to man conversation with your Master. Well, he hasn't quite earned that title yet but there's always time.”

“Call her whore just one more time and it will be the last word you ever say.” My calm, mild-mannered self was retreating to the back of my mind. I was worried I’d slip back into the violent behavior from that horrible night in the dungeon. It was difficult to find the balance of control. What if it happened again, even if my wrath wasn't aimed at Lina? “I don't owe explanations to a sick pig like you. What Lina and I shared has nothing to do with the crap you're pulling here. You and I have nothing in common. Now let my pet go before I get really angry.”

Seth was amused by my serious tone in spite of the unease in his eyes.

“My pet. My, isn't that cute? How you play around with the big kids and you think you're something special, acting like a Master.”

I swung the crowbar in his direction. For such a large man, Seth had amazing reflexes and he quickly grabbed the improvised weapon. He tried to rip it from my hand but he underestimated my strength. I moved forward, placing my entire weight forwards, clutching the metal with both hands.

“How disappointing, Thomas.” Seth tutted as if he was having fun. “You love seeing the whore in pain. Don't deny it. So why not go all the way and fucking own her? She gave you all the power and you didn't use it to destroy her?”

“That isn't how domination works, but I wouldn't expect a creep like you to understand.” I pushed forward and used his moment of distraction to get control of the crowbar, but my attempt to hit him was in vain. He swiftly avoided the contact. Seth wasn't serious about the fight, which increased my frustration to a blinding hot point.

“Oh, yeah? You think you're something special, that you’ve got control and her submission? All the bitch does is top you from the bottom. You could have had her on a leash at your feet, kissing your boots. Fuck it, you could have taken all her property by now. You could own the company. You're nothing but a pussy, Thomas.”

“You're wasting your breath, Seth,” I hissed, and before he realized it, I’d hit him across the jaw with the crowbar. Seth staggered on his feet and nearly fell back. He reached out for the table to keep his balance and pressed his free hand to his jaw. The look of utter disbelief stretched across his features was quickly replaced with fury.

“You fucking little bastard. I'd have given you a share of the profits, but now I'll just beat your ass and make you a bitch like her.” Seth lurched towards me with an extended fist. I didn't even tremble and landed another blow on his right cheek.

“You talk too much,” I said matter-of-factly and egged him on further as he tried to assault me again. My hit must have been harder than I thought. Seth tripped on his next attempt to sock my jaw. I used his moment of clumsiness to move a step closer. This time, I hit him straight on the nose with a closed fist. Blood squirted from his nostrils and he glared at me in rage, still pretty unbalanced.

I was smug at my quick succession of hits and concentrated on the next blow instead of defending myself. Seth used my moment of weakness against me. In the next instant, an explosion of pain burst across my right cheek. His fist had the force of a sledgehammer against my unprotected flesh. For a moment, I saw white light with the intense pain shooting through the bone.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the concentrated expression on Lina's face. Seth had completely forgotten about his bound victim and that cost him. The asshole was just about to hit me again. This time, he'd probably have taken me down. That was when he let out a yell of toe curling pain and threw his head back. I hadn't realized what had happened until Lina's chair fell down on the ground with a loud thud. She must have raised her ankle with utmost effort and had shoved the sharp heel of her shoe into his exposed calf. Lina lost her balance and her scream of pain echoed through the storage unit.

Seth turned to her with an expression of utmost fury. “You fucking whore,” he yelled, and slammed his foot into her ribs. She howled at the pain in her ankle and the series of blows to her unprotected torso. It was Seth's lowest point and biggest mistake. He put me out of sight in order to punish her. His rage made him blind and deaf to everything around him. He didn't even flinch as I dropped the crowbar and grabbed the bloodied cane instead. All it took was one hit to the back of his neck to make him collapse to the ground.

He was lying in obvious pain and I was terribly close to ending his pathetic existence. One look at Lina, hearing her cries of agony, was enough to send me over the edge. My mind was dizzy with wrath and the need to hurt him in the worst way possible. The heavy metal crowbar found itself back in my hands and I imagined how it would feel to smash his nasty skull, how his blood and pieces of smashed brain would smear the floor. The rush of violence hit me in the head just as badly as Seth’s fist earlier. My hands were shaking with need and thirst for revenge.

That moment, Lina whimpered pitifully and raised her hands in the cuffs. Her spiked heel was soaked in Seth's blood, and her body was peppered with welts and nasty crimson stripes.

What the fuck was I doing?

I let the crowbar fall to the ground with a clatter and moved a step closer to him. He was clutching his neck and made an attempt to get up, but my boot on his chest stopped the movement.