By His Side

Chapter 7

When I come to I can't tell what pisses me off more, the fact that I'm chained in multiple rounds to a very uncomfortable, straight-backed wooden chair that does nothing to help the serious back pain I've developed from sitting here for heaven knows how long or the fact that Carter think's I'm weak enough to be held down by chains. 

The heavy chains clink as I stand from the seat, ready to slam the brittle chair on the concrete ground but I pause short of doing so, remembering my condition. Will the impact make the condition worse? Screaming in frustration once I sit back down, I begin to look for another way out of this predicament.

"What's this?" A mocking voice chuckles above me causing me to look up to realise that I'm in a warehouse. "Ms Ootori having difficulties escaping? This is new."

The familiar lean figure, blond hair and blue eyes stands above me with a grin on his lips as he looks down on me from the railings above. If the man himself came to torture me I must be one hell of a guest.

"Why don't you get one of those useless men to come and unchain me," I mock right back, glaring at him. "I'll show you a good fight."

Wagging his finger in my face like he did the night I ran away with Eugene, I grit my teeth as he lets out a deep bellied laugh which sends my nerve endings into high alert. I follow him with my eyes as he makes his way down from the suspended walkway, his expensive shoes clicking ominously on the metal.

"In your condition, I think it's best I keep you where you are, darling," He tells me, looming over me like a dark cloud before it storms. "As of yesterday, I have more reasons to keep you by my side, Alastora. One is the vermin growing in your womb, two is your connection to Alexander Holt and three is your skill as an assassin. It's a wonder how you didn't miscarry in Taiwan, you need to be careful dear."

A chill runs down my spine at his words, he knows. Of course, he knows, I chide myself. He probably had men tail me after Sister Alberta's orphanage so even having a guard by my side did nothing more than help his trackers keep their sights on me.

"Touch my child again, I will skin you alive and dump your skinless body into a tank of box jellyfish," I threaten him, standing up. "This time I mean it, Carter." 

Shaking his head at me, the bends at the waist to be on eye level with me which gives me the chance to spit in his face to which he just chuckles as he takes a handkerchief from his back pocket to wipe it off tutting admonishingly at me.

"Little ladies shouldn't spit in their host's face," He chides me in a childish voice. "Especially since your host is being so hospitable."

The wide grin on his face disappears suddenly making fear course through my veins, the emotionlessness in his eyes has me wanting to turn tail and run. Why I signed a contract with this deranged man with undulating emotions is beyond me. Even in the name of saving trafficked women and children, I should have seen that he can't be trusted even with a contract.

"Let's teach you a little lesson shall we, Alastora?" He chuckles, nodding to someone behind me and before I can tell him to stick his grin up his butt a cold bucket of iced water is dumped on me.

Shards of ice slip into my clothes, chilling my body and making my teeth chatter as I struggle against the chains which hold larger ice blocks to my body. Carter's booming laughter at my weak attempt to warm myself has me seething.

"Alexander is going to kill you," I hiss at him, catching him mid-laugh. "He's going to find me."

Grinning from ear to ear, Carter leans down above me, his blue eyes gazing into my brown ones, ignoring my threat he smiles, "I'd like to introduce you to someone. Does the name Lilian Lane ring a bell to you, Alastora?"

Alexander's ex-wife? I hold my breath in anticipation for the gorgeous defamed model to walk into my line of sight but the woman who appears before me looks nothing like the woman I googled earlier into my relationship with Alexander. Dressed in a cropped long-sleeved soft jacket and a pair of matching joggers with Nike shoes, her mid-back long hair which was once light brown is now midnight black and as if that didn't change her appearance enough her dark eye shadowed eyes in smokey grey with large cat-eye wings enhance the bloodthirst in her eyes.

You'd think that her change of appearance and the appearance of bloodthirst in her eyes is what shocks me but when she wraps her arms around Carter Logans's neck to plant a wet kiss on his lips, I'd say my jaw hit my lap. What the hell is going on?

When the make-out session goes on longer than comfortable for me, I clear my throat to get their attention which works. Lilian detaches herself from Carter's lips, giggling like a lovesick teenager before turning to me and dragging her hand right across my cheek in a tight slap.

"That's for interrupting us, bitch," She hisses, grabbing me by my hair to force my face to look at hers. "Such a pretty face...what a pity."

The metallic taste in my mouth is foul and the pull on the back of my head where she's pulling my hair is starting to give me a headache. Through my pain, I notice strange gold flecks in the iris of her eyes that reflect off the florescent lights in the warehouse which makes me wonder whether or not it's normal.

"Let her go, my dear," Carter commands her. "I'll let you have your fun with her later."

With her lip jutted out like a petulant child that has just been denied the permission to play outside, Lilian tugs my head back before releasing me, making me see stars. Wrapping her arms around Carter's waist, she smiles up at him like a child as he stares at me expectantly.

"Beautiful piece of work isn't she?" He starts, patting her head which has her purring at his touch which disgusts me. "A good dose of a new drug and some electroshock therapy later, she became perfect."

Well, that explains the golden flecks...I roll my eyes, spitting out the blood in my mouth to speak, "It's no wonder that you have to drug her...I'd need to be drunk as hell in order to be able to even stand kissing you let alone do whatever she does with you behind closed doors...unless you're into exhibition?"

 "I can't wait to hear what you say after the same is done to you, Alastora," The evil man grins, nodding his head subtly to someone behind me who begins to wheel a metal cart towards me. "Don't worry. It won't affect your baby, I'll make sure of that. I can already imagine Alexander Holt's face when he sees you the way that you were as a child when I send you to kill him."

Before I can scream for help since it is the only thing I can do in this situation, the prick of a needle entering my neck has a toe-curling scream tearing itself from my throat as the horrid drug spreads through the veins in my neck like little needles, the fast pumping of my heart transporting it throughout my body quicker than it should be if I were calm. 

The unknown man forces a mouth guard into my reluctant mouth, apologising under his breath as the electroshock machine begins to emit a low whirr telling me that it's warming up to deliver the juice to my brain. My cheeks become wet as I pray that Alexander finds me quickly, vowing to the whatever deity there is out there that I will follow Alexander's every instruction if I survive this with my sanity intact.