Page 51 of Inked Hearts
I nod and pray like hell that I didn't just lie to him.
Chapter 23
Dakota
"Sometimes the most shocking and scary things in life are not the monsters we fear lurking in the dark, but the realization of our own capacity to face them. It's the moment we understand that what terrifies us also reveals our strength, our courage, and our unwavering will to overcome." - Unknown
Ican feel the heat of my own blood, sticky and warm, as it trails down my skin. The room is dimly lit, shadows dancing on the walls as Rodrigo continues to swing between unaltered rage and soft manic pleas. His behavior is erratic, bordering on fucking manic. He’s been this way for a few hours…I think. I can’t really tell how long I have been sitting here in this chair.
He wants me to give in. To give myself to him willingly. It's what he has been droning on and on for hours. He wants my submission.
And every single time I deny him, he ends up using one of those torture instruments on me. Never enough to cause me blackout levels of pain, but enough to have my heart racing and mind beckoning me to give up.
But I'm not done yet. Not by a long shot.
Pain pulses through me with every beat of my heart. His fist connects again, the force of the blow sending a new wave of agony rippling through my head. He keeps doing the same song and dance. He switches from forceful punches to my face or stomach and then slow torturous blades slicing me open.
“Can't you see I don't want to do this?” He begs as that rage he was just in fades into that of a psychotic stalker. His transition from unbridled rage to a twisted form of begging only serves to remind me of his instability.
I can feel his frustration mounting, the air crackling with it, but I hold firm. I grit my teeth and stare straight forward, refusing to acknowledge him. I don't care anymore. He can continue to rant and rave and I won't give in. That's the last gift that I plan on giving to myself…the knowledge that I never once gave up on myself. That even through the pain and the agony…I never gave up on myself.
“Do you want me to take you by force? Is that it?” He asks with glee like the idea has his blood pumping. I can't help myself, I glance down and disgust fills me when I see the outline of his hard dick in his suit pants.
The idea of raping me turns him on. I should know that, considering my history with this man. But it doesn't stop me from being so fucking repulsed.
“Touch me and I’ll fucking kill you,” I seethe, forcing every ounce of venom I have into my tone.
As he raises his hand for another strike, his fist connects with my stomach causing bile to rush out of my mouth. My vomit spews onto the cement floor and I groan at the dull aching pain that is radiating through my abdomen. Rodrigo just laughs, like my pain is the very thing he was hoping for. Like he can’t fucking decide if he wants my pain or my surrender.
I flinch when he comes closer, raising his hand and pushing my hair behind my ear in an almost tender way. “Don’t worry,little traitor,” he murmurs, his hot sticky breath fanning my face, “As soon as we get our son, we can disappear and be a happy family.”
Something inside of me…snaps. My vision goes red and adrenaline floods me.
He fucking knows.
He knows aboutmyson.
The only reason I am here is to protect him. To make sure that his existence remains a secret from the sick fuck that is standing in front of me. The only reason I willingly walked into this fucking vipers den is because I knew that I was keeping my son safe.
In my head, I was going to die at his hand and then he would move on. He wouldn't look any further because he would have accomplished his goal. If I was in his grip then he would have no reason to continue to haunt my son's life. I was tradingmyselffor my son's future happiness.
But now…now I want to make sure he feels pain by my hand. Now I know that I can’t sit by and take it anymore. He threatened the thing I love most in this world and I won’t fucking let that happen.
He’s so close to me that it takes hardly any effort to lunge my body forward and sink my teeth into the fleshly side of his neck. Coppery warm blood fills my mouth at the same time that his scream fills my ears. My adrenaline has me breaking free of the flimsy ties holding my hands and I reach out and push his body away, keeping my teeth clamped tight.
He stumbles back and my teeth drag through flesh and tendons, ripping away a part of him that he needs to live. He stays standing, staring at me in shock. I don't even hesitate as I lunge towards the torture table. My hands find a broken piece of metal, its jagged edge catching the faint light. With all the strength I can muster, I lash out, the metal biting into flesh.There is a tension and a pulling feeling, like running the blade through rubber and not human flesh.
He lets out gurgling choking noises as his body tumbles to the ground. He stares up at me with wide eyes as a dark stain spreads across his shirt and across the ground beneath him from where I just slit his throat. I stand above him, the smile on my face near psychotic as I watch the life drain from him. I can feel the blood coating my teeth and lips but my smile doesn't waver as I watch him. Each passing second fills me with fucking victory as he pants out gurgling beathes.
For a moment, there's silence, a heavy, suffocating quiet that feels like the calm before a storm. I stand there, panting, the metal slipping from my fingers with a clatter that echoes in the small space.
I've done it. I've fought back and defended myself against the unthinkable. I didn't need anyone to save me. I didn't need to give in and allow him to win because at the end of the day…I slayed the monster in my story. I got to taste hs blood while he died on the floor at my fucking feet.
But the victory is short-lived. The room begins to spin, a dizzying, disorienting sensation that signals my body's nearing its limit. I stumble, trying to reach for something, anything, to steady myself. The darkness at the edges of my vision creeps inward, relentless and unforgiving.
As I collapse, the cold floor rushing up to meet me, a sense of peace oddly settles over me. It's done. He won't hurt me—or anyone else I love—ever again.
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