At the mention of his nephews my heart breaks a little inside. I wonder if they抳e noticed I抦 gone yet.
揑 wasn抰 yours to take,?I say, my voice cracking.
揃ut you have always been mine. As soon as I saw you I knew that you were made for me. We are bound together. Why do you think it was my nephews who found you? So that they could bring you back to me.?He looks at me with such a strange look of anguish on his face that I think he actually believes some of that bullshit.
揧ou抮e crazy. One hundred percent deluded.?
揧ou know that we belong together. I was your first love. Your first everything. That has connected us beyond anything else ever could. I taught you how to experience true pleasure.?
I feel anger bubbling beneath my skin, threatening to burst out of me at any moment. It took me a long time to deal with the shame of what he did to me. Of how he could manipulate my body into climaxing, which he used as justification for his sick and twisted torture. 揧ou raped me, you fucking maniac!?I spit at him. 揑 enjoyed nothing of what we did. Nothing.?
I stare at him and feel so much venom that it seeps from every pore in my body. The sound of the door breaking down and footsteps can be heard above us and my heart sinks. I can抰 believe I have lured the men I love to their deaths. I can抰 believe I thought I could beat him after all this time.
揙h, here are my boys now,?he says with a cruel smile. 揅all to them, Jessica. Tell them where you are.?
揊uck you!?I spit and he laughs. I could tell them to go away, but nothing I say is going to stop them coming in here.
A moment later, Liam comes running into the room with his three brothers close behind him.
揝top!?I shout, my voice cracking with fear. 揌e has the whole place rigged.?
Shane grabs hold of Liam抯 collar to stop him walking toward me and the four of them freeze as they stare at me.
揌e抯 got sniper rifles set up all around the room. He has the controller in his hand,?I nod to Paul and he holds up the small black box in his hand.
揟hat抯 right,?he says with a grin.
揌e抯 bluffing,?Mikey snaps.
揌e抯 not,?I shake my head. 揟hey are trained on the door there where you are. He showed me.?
Shane turns to his uncle. 揧ou knew she抎 come here. You set this up??
揧ep.?
揥hat the fuck do you want??he snarls.
揥hat I抳e always wanted. My Jessica back,?he smiles.
揝he is not your Jessica!?Shane hisses.
揙h, but she is!?Paul snarls. 揧ou think there isn抰 a single inch of her body that I didn抰 claim long before you lot got your filthy hands on her? Who do you think it was who taught her what she really likes??He licks his lips and I feel the bile rise in my stomach again as they have to listen to this. 揑 know the many ways to make her scream. In pain and pleasure!?
I press my lips together as I try to drown out his sick ramblings and think of a way out of this.
揧ou think telling us how you raped and tortured our girl will end well for you??Conor growls.
揧our girl!?Paul laughs loudly. 揇id she tell you that she didn抰 enjoy it? Did she tell you how hard I can make her come for me. She has the sweetest cream,?he croons and the bile burns the back of my throat now but I swallow it down.
I keep my gun trained on him as I look between him and the brothers.
揧ou will never touch her again!?Conor snarls.
揤olk!?Wolf! I shout, using the name his ego will respond to. 揓ust let them go,?I plead with him.
He looks at me and shakes his head. 揧ou know I can抰 do that. I can抰 risk them telling anyone who I really am. I can抰 be worrying about them coming looking for us.?
揟hey won抰，？I insist.
揟he fuck we won抰！?Mikey snaps and I suck in a breath. How the hell are we all going to get out of this alive?
Shane raises his gun and points it at his uncle too.
揅areful now,?Paul chuckles. 揟here抯 a gun trained on Jessica too.?
揧ou抮e lying,?Shane snaps.
揘ope,?he shakes his head. 揑f I can抰 have her, then I抦 certainly not letting you have her.?
揧ou are a fucking psychopath,?Shane snarls at him.
揗e??Paul shakes his head. 揧ou are the one who has been lying to her. Manipulating her into believing that you loved her, when you were working for me all along. Isn抰 that right, Shane??
Shane抯 frown deepens. 揥hat the fuck??
揅ome on, now. You know it抯 true. Do your brothers know too??
揧ou抮e lying!?Shane snaps.
揃ut we both know you抮e the liar in here, Shane. Do your brothers know about the other little secret you抳e been keeping from them??he cackles.
Conor, Liam and Mikey look to Shane now and suddenly I see the way out. I have no idea what Paul is on about, but he is a deluded maniac, and I can work with that.
揑 will put a bullet in your head if you speak another word,?Shane hisses.
揟ry it. And at least two of your brothers will die along with her if you do. Because I can push this button quicker than you can fire off a single round.?
揥hat secret??Liam asks and I see the color drain from Shane抯 face. Damn! He really does have a secret.
揌e抯 lying,?Shane repeats.
揧ou know that I抦 not,?Paul glares at him. 揟ell them, Shane. Tell them what you抳e been hiding from them all these years. Or shall I tell them the real reason their daddy hated their guts??
揊uck you!?Shane spits but his brothers look between him and Paul.
I look between them too, wondering what the hell is going on here.
揥hy did he hate us, Shane??Mikey asks.
揑t抯 not the time!?
揑t fucking is,?Liam barks and Shane shakes his head in annoyance.
揋o on, tell them who their real daddy is, Shane!?Paul chuckles.
揥hat??Conor blinks in confusion. 揥hat the fuck is he talking about, Shane??
They are not going to let this go and I watch the perverse satisfaction on Paul抯 face as he watches the unbreakable bond of the Ryan brothers fracturing before his eyes.
揌e抯 talking about the twins.?Shane抯 Adam抯 apple bobs as he swallows hard. 揚atrick wasn抰 their real father.?
揝o who is??Mikey asks.
揌e is,?Shane looks up at Paul who is grinning maniacally at them.
揝urprise, boys!?he shouts. 揇addy抯 home!?
揊uck, no!?Mikey shouts as Liam puts his head in his hands. 揥hy the fuck?Shane??He keeps asking half questions as the revelation ripples through them like a current of electricity that is threatening to spark and cause a fire.
揥hy the fuck didn抰 you tell us??Liam snarls at him.
I look back at Paul and the smile on his face makes my heart twist in agony. I turn my body slightly and point my gun at Shane. 揥hat else have you lied about, Shane??
He blinks at me in shock as he stares down the barrel of the gun. 揘othing, Jessie.?
揥hy the hell would I believe you now??
揓essie!?he frowns.
揧ou knew who the Wolf was all along! You抳e been planning to hand me over to him all this time.?
揘o,?he shakes his head as Conor, Liam and Mikey look at him with suspicion now. The seed has been planted and it is growing at a dangerous speed.
揥hy would we be here if we were going to do that??he shakes his head.
揑 don抰 think your brothers knew,?I look between him and Paul. 揑 think you two have been planning this all along, but now you抳e decided you don抰 want to give me up after all.?
揧es,?Paul agrees while Shane stares at me.
Paul still has the remote held up in his hand, his finger hovering over the button and I realize if he is going to buy this, I am going to have to lay my heart wide open. I need to speak my truth because it is the only thing that is going to convince him.