Missing Link (The Finders Book 1) (19 page)

"He's coming, Sam..."

Chapter Twenty-Three

I wake as I feel the car pull to a stop. But I don't open my eyes. To see it is to believe it, and believe it is the last thing I want to do. I knew where I was, I could feel the darkness of this place slowly seeping its way back into me. The hold it once had over me grasping at my body, dragging me back in.

Link's words resonate in my head, "You're strong, Sam..."

I felt my flame flicker, a small spark. I needed to find my strength, my hope, my fire, because beyond those doors the devil was waiting and now I'd had a taste of freedom and what it felt like to love and be cherished and cared for, I wasn't going back without a fight.

A door clicks open and a cold breeze washes over my face. The inside light comes on directly above me and I squint through the haze. Teddy's arm is still wrapped snug around my shoulders and my head is tucked under his bristly chin. He makes no move to untangle our bodies, even pulling me tighter when I make a move to sit up.

Jet stands at the door, holding it open with his body. He looks different without his dark glasses, the underneath of his eyes now turning a light shade of purple. I made a mental note to high five myself later when the circumstances are less intense.

"Hurry up and get out, bitch. Don't got all night." Steven hollered from the front seat, earning a chortle from idiot number two in the passenger’s seat. Before I could come up with some witty retort, Jet slammed the door shut and moved to the front. He pulled the driver’s door open and landed a ferocious punch straight to the centre of Stevens cocky face. He slammed back against the seat before slumping awkwardly against the steering wheel. Out cold.

I sat up straight, unable to disguise my shock. Jet pointed a sharp finger at the passenger,

"You, keep your mouth fucking shut, understood?" He spoke slowly and sternly. Asshole nodded nervously before Jet turned his attention back to me. He jerked his head to the side, indicating for me to climb out.

"Charlie's waiting, hurry up."

I shuddered, but squared my shoulders and shuffled across the seats. I risked one last glance at Teddy who was simply watching me, his expression unreadable.

"I will never forgive you for this." I whispered quietly. "You sat aside and let him beat me, and touch me, and keep me cooped up like a damn dog."

Teddy looked away; the pain my words were causing was obvious in his features.

"Look at me, damn it!" I yelled. He slowly drew his gaze back to mine, his eyes glistening. "I finally found happiness. I finally found real friends. I finally found someone who saw me as more than just a damn trophy!"

My door flung open violently,

"Enough, Sam!" Jet scolded, grabbing my elbow and pulling me from the car roughly. I yanked my arm from his grasp, barely finding my footing and swung with my right hook, my fist barely skimming the light beard that was newly present on his face.

"Enough!" Our eyes connected. The stone faced Jet I had come to know before had disappeared and he was now portraying every emotion on his face. Anger, pain, pity, sympathy. I could see them all. I wondered what had changed him, why he was so different now.

"Oh my beautiful Samantha." The sound of that voice was enough to make me want to crawl inside myself. Jet stepped to the side silently, allowing me full view of Charlie who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to the front doors. "I am so glad to see that you still have that passion inside you."

His gaze ran up my legs and over the rest of my body before working its way back down, a disapproving frown becoming more prominent on his face as he took in my outfit.

"Take her to her room so she can get changed before we talk. This," he gestured with his hand "is not acceptable for our reunion."

He screwed up his face as though he had just bitten into a lemon, and I bit back the urge to do a twirl and showcase the large word "JUICY" that was plastered across my backside. Instead opting to simply glare daggers at his back as he turned and swaggered back up the stairs, almost like I was unimportant.

Jet sighed, "Come on, Sam." He said gently before proceeding up the stairs. I swallowed hard. You can do this, be strong, don't let him beat you down again.

I held my shoulders back and followed behind Jet. While inside I was shaking like a leaf, my outer only portrayed confidence. It was surreal walking into that large house. It was like nothing had changed. Not a vase, or rug, or picture was out of place. And here I was, walking up the staircase to my old room, ready to put on another piece of clothing that I loathed. Charlie had great taste in clothes; they were always beautiful, elegant and sophisticated. But it was what they represented that infuriated me. What he wanted, what he ordered, his rules, his choices, wrapped all around me and tied in a big fucking bow.

Well I was done. I was wrong when I said it was like nothing had changed. Something has changed. I've changed.

I closed the door to my room, as per usual, an amazing gown lay draped dramatically across the bed.

Green had always been Charlie's favourite colour on me, when he wanted me to look the most stunning on his arm he would always put me in some shade of the emerald colour. The dress laying across the bed was like a slap in the face. The crimson red colour was sharp and stunning. Something at another time I would have loved and appreciated. But right then I knew it was Charlie's subtle way of saying he was disgraced with me and fuck it, if that's what this was, I would wear the damn dress with pride.

I took my time, dragging a soft brush through my thick hair, the deep red illuminated by the bright lights of the room. I layered on my makeup, thick strokes of eyeliner bordering my eyes, a dark two toned eye shadow, and to top it off, a bright red lip. If Charlie was going to treat me like a whore I may as well look the part. It was late, almost 3am, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins eliminated any type of tiredness I had felt before. If Charlie thought I was going to lie down and beg for forgiveness he was in for the shock of his life.

Charlie had underestimated the power of a girl with nothing left to lose.

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Come on, Sam."

I stood, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The scarlet covered dress I was wearing hit all the right curves, almost like it was made for my body. The idea didn't surprise me, it sounded like something Charlie would do. It was short in the front, hitting midthigh and tapering down, the back just lightly brushing the floor behind me even with my 6 inch heels on. The top was modest with a straight cut neck line, only showing a slight shadow of my cleavage with thick straps right at the edges. My hair tumbled over one shoulder, messy and loose.

"Sam..." Jet repeated again from the doorway.

"I'm coming." I told him, my voice void of any type of emotion. I followed him down the hallway, I noticed there was a guard standing outside one of the spare bedroom doors, it struck me as strange but my mind at the time was too focused on what was about to happen. I walked out on to the second floor landing, my hand trailed along the bannister, the only sound was my heels clipping against the tiled floor as I walked silently down the staircase. Jet led me to Charlie's office, his doors were shut. We both stood there for a minute, staring at the large doors before Jet finally raised his hand and knocked loudly.

"Come in." Charlie's voice called and Jet pushed the doors open before stepping to the side, giving me space to walk past. I took a deep breath before forcing my body to move forward. The room was brightly lit, the energy that filled the room was the complete opposite. I could almost feel the energy radiating off Charlie as he sat in his large chair behind his desk, his hands folded neatly in front of him and his eyes cast down.

I jumped when the doors slammed behind me. My heart was racing but I refused to show this man that I was scared. Charlie's office was large, but sparsely decorated with bookshelves lining the walls and his desk and couple of chairs being the most prominent features.

"Come forward." Charlie said, speaking in a quiet tone.

"Why?" I immediately questioned. His eyes shot up quickly, zeroing in on me. I saw a small flash of anger before he let out a small chuckle.

"My, my. 3 weeks and you've already lost all of your manners." He said, sounding slightly amused. I didn't answer, standing my ground. "Please, take a seat so we may talk."

He gestured to one of the large chairs that sat opposite him. I narrowed my eyes, I had expected anger maybe even sadness. But in great Charlie fashion instead it was the polite business man, directing me and speaking to me as though I was there for some casual meeting.

He sighed, "Samantha, I simply would like to talk to you. Please." He gestured again to the seat, and this time I moved slowly forward before sitting gently on the comfortable chair and crossing my legs. I saw Charlie's eyes go straight to my thighs which were now quite exposed and the front of my dress rode up a little. They then moved up my body before once again resting on my face.

"You look beautiful." I scoffed at the compliment before he added, "But you always do."

"Can you get to the point, Charlie." I spoke with confidence even though my throat was dry.

"You ran. That is not something I take lightly Samantha." He replied sternly. "I'm disappointed in you. After all I have done for you, you ran."

"What exactly have you done for me apart from keep me cooped up in this house for three years!?" I all but screamed at him, even surprising myself with my confidence. I had always kept my mouth shut, too scared of him to stand up for myself. I was still scared but the difference was, now I simply didn't care. I didn't care if he hit me, or beat me. He was going to hear me for the first time.

"I gave you everything." He growled. "A roof over your head, food in your stomach, beautiful clothes, staff that catered for you. I treated you like a Princess!" He stood swiftly, his chair scraping back against the floor as he slammed his palms on his desk and glared at me. I tried not to flinch, holding my shoulders square. "And all for you to betray me!"

I glared at him as he began pacing back and forth.

"I told you before, your Father made some powerful enemies. All I have ever done is love and protect you. If you weren't in this house, in my bed they would have killed you a long time ago." He had told me this before, but I was unsure of whether this was the truth or something that he told himself to make him feel better about the way he treated me, to try and justify his own actions in his head. He ran his fingers through his hair, clearly agitated.

"But after everything I have done for you, you still run off with him like a cheap fucking whore!" He grasped a lamp from the side of his desk and threw it with amazing might against the wall. It shattered, sharp pieces of glass scattering everywhere. I jumped from the chair and moved behind it, trying to put something between him and me.

"That's why you picked this dress." I stated quietly.

"Did you fuck him?!" He demanded, slowly moving around the desk. I tensed up. I was prepared to defend myself, I was prepared to tell him exactly what I thought about him. What I hadn't prepared myself for was him to talk about Link. My throat tickled and I gripped the chair in front of me so tight my knuckles started to turn white. Charlie moved closer to me but I didn't take much notice as all I could see in my head was Link laying face down on the kitchen floor, blood seeping out around him. "Answer me!" Suddenly there was a hand wrapped around my throat, I gasped as Charlie forced me backwards.

Tears trickled from my eyes, blurring my vision.

"It doesn't matter now. Your goons killed him!" I screamed as he got right in my face, still forcing me backwards towards the doors. He laughed, it echoing loudly in the large room and sent a chill straight through my body. He backed me against the door, his hand clenching tighter against my throat making it difficult to breathe. He leaned in menacingly, his breath rushing past my ear,

"He suffered the consequences for touching something that belongs to me." He whispered before pushing open the double doors and throwing me backwards. I flew back, my brain automatically reaching one hand out behind me to try and stop my fall. I screamed as I landed, a loud crack and an electric pain shooting up my arm. I groaned in pain, cradling my wrist and curling onto my side on the cold floor. I knew instantly it was broken, the pain almost unbearable. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying to stop the tears. Just as I opened them I saw Charlie standing over me, reaching out his hand to grab me. I reacted, kicking my leg out, the toe of my shoe connecting with his cheek. His face swung to the side, but the rest of his body stayed still. I scuttled backwards, slipping across the floor on my bottom still clutching my broken arm to my chest.

Charlie's face slowly turned back to face me. Blood was now dripping from the corner of his mouth, a bright red mark clearly evident along his jaw line. His eyes were dark and frightening. His anger had been building for months now, every day he had become more violent, more aggressive. But I think I had finally broken him. He'd finally snapped. Now he wasn't the Charlie I knew. He was dark, he was angry, he was unpredictable. A combination that was utterly lethal.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Charlie stalked towards me, a predator moving in for the kill. I tried to move back faster but my heals slipped and scraped against the floor, getting me nowhere. He moved around to my side, I tried to kick out at him again but he blocked my leg with his arm, reaching out with his other hand he gripped a handful of my hair. I yelped in pain as he dragged me across the smooth floor, finally depositing me in the middle of the large foyer. There were several men scattered around, maybe 10, including Jet and Teddy who had varying looks of anger and surprise etched on their faces.