Page 71 of Merciless Angel
I glanced toward Blaze in the front seat. Feeling my stare, he met my gaze through the rearview mirror.
“Don’t expect me to save you.” His tone was sharp and clipped. “I thought we had something, Clover. I thought we were getting somewhere. I guess I’m a damn fool to believe I was anything you wanted. You should know us well enough by now to know that we can’t let a betrayal like this slide.”
“You were though,” I heard myself say. “Something I wanted. That’s why I had to leave. You guys were getting too close. It scared me. I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Please, don’t do this.”
Daire stroked a hand over my hair. He leaned in to smell me before softly kissing the side of my neck. “Save the begging for when you’re tied up getting your ass whipped until it’s raw.”
A whimper lodged in my throat. I’d feared this moment since the night I set them up. I’d known it would come, and I’d done it anyway.
The text alert on my phone went off, muffled by my bag. Daire nodded for me to get it out.
“It’s probably Raina. Tell her to stay away.”
He watched intently as I opened her text. It was a panicked message demanding to know if I was okay. I typed back a reply saying that I was fine and that she needed to leave me with the Angels for now. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
“Good girl.” Cash nodded his approval. “It’s really best for everyone this way.”
Raina sent several more texts insisting that she do something to help me. I told her that I’d be okay, and I would call soon. I didn’t truly believe the Angels would kill me. However, I knew that if the Gods or anyone else came after me, someone would get hurt. I didn’t want that. I’d brought this situation on myself. I’d see it through.
My apprehension grew when we arrived at the Angel house. The three of them surrounded me as they ushered me inside. I went along willingly. It wasn’t as if I could fight them off or outrun them. No, that would only make things worse. This had gone far enough.
“I’ve got to admit,” Blaze said as he pushed me through the front door. “I’d hoped you would put up more of a fight.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” I shrugged, relieved to no longer be living in fear or having to watch over my shoulder. “I guess I don’t have much fight left in me.”
Cash snickered. “We’ll see about that.”
They pushed me along to the basement door and down the stairs. That’s when instinct kicked in, making me resist. I jerked to a stop halfway down the stairs, unable to make my feet take another step.
That didn’t stop Cash from picking me up and carrying me the rest of the way. “I’ve been itching to get my hands on you. This is going to be fun.”
“Don’t chain me up,” I begged. “Anything but that. Please.”
While Cash held me in place, Blaze and Daire stripped off my clothes. Even though I knew it was useless, I struggled to make it harder for them. My mind raced with terrifying thoughts of what they had planned for me.
Blaze’s hands glided over my body. His fingers hooked in the waistband of my underwear as he violently ripped the fabric. “I’ve missed you, Rainbow. We are going to have such a good time together.”
He leaned in to kiss my thigh, his hand tightly gripping my knee. Slowly, his hand crept up my leg to brush my pubic hair. A tremble rolled through me, making my body quake. Something told me that my punishment would include a lot more than gentle touches and murmurs of endearment.
My suspicions were confirmed when Daire grabbed my wrist and snapped one of the shackles hanging from the ceiling around it. Cash did the same to the other.
“Come on, guys. There has to be another way to handle this. I think a lot of the problem is poor communication. Let’s talk about it.” My voice rose on a startled yelp as Blaze spanked my ass. Hard.
“There will be time for talking later,” he said. “When you’re too sore and bruised to do anything else.”
Daire disappeared for a minute, returning with a round black device in one hand. It took a moment for my brain to process what I was seeing. He held it up with a maniacal grin.
“Congratulations, Clover. You won’t be going anywhere without us knowing your every move.” He grabbed my left ankle and locked the tracking device into place.
It wasn’t that heavy despite being thick and chunky. I gaped down at the device. “Wow, guys. That’s…messed up.”
“Just be thankful that it’s not inside you. We consulted with the Sinners about our options. Technology doesn’t have a great internal tracker for humans yet. Well, maybe the government does. So you get to wear this instead.” Cash seemed far too satisfied about placing a tracker on me.
It wasn’t as shocking as it might have been if my best friend wasn’t wearing one around her neck. Raina had been collared by the Gods when they’d first targeted her. Although she wouldn’t admit it, I think she’d grown to like it. I stared at the ugly black ankle bracelet. It could be worse. At least it was something I could hide.
“You don’t seem that upset,” Blaze observed. “I’ve gotta say, I’m a little disappointed in your lack of reaction.”
I shrugged, or at least I tried to. It wasn’t really possible with my arms stretched above my head. “Yeah, that sucks for you. I mean, it’s not really that surprising. You’ve been threatening to do it for a while now.”