Chapter 8

Courtney

The last thing I remember is talking to Nate and then turning around to get out of there. Something didn't feel right about Nate. I thought he was supposed to be my friend, but the more I think of it the more I get a really bad feeling.
What if he works for Sergei?
What if he's a spy?
So many questions and no answers for them. I try to move but I can't move. Panic sets in as I have no idea where I am or what I'm laying on. It feels like I'm handcuffed to a bed and my legs are bound by rope. All I can see is darkness. He must have blindfolded me. I can hear footsteps coming closer to me and then a familiar voice makes my body run cold.
"You see when I made this deal with Sergei, he did promise me one thing. That I could fuck you anyway and anywhere I wanted. I'm gonna enjoy this whore."
No!
I can feel him ripping my shirt off me and cutting my panties off underneath my skirt. His ice-cold fingers on my body instantly make me scream in fear. As I'm screaming he slaps my face and I feel him shoving fabric into my mouth to silence me. Oh please, I hope to god Alec and the Lucien have figured out I've been taken by now. Maybe they are looking for me right now.
I whimper and cry against the fabric as he rips the blindfold off my eyes the brightness blinds my vision. "Look at me whore, I want your eyes on me as I fuck you mercilessly. You are my whore for a day. Sergei says this is your punishment for running off."
Tears pour out of my eyes as he unzips his pants. He's just like Sergei. A monster. I thrash against the handcuffs as he forcefully thrust his dick inside me. He shows me no mercy as his fingers dig in my breast making me thrash harder. Another thrust even harder makes my body shake in fear. If this is his punishment, I'm afraid to know what will happen when I come face to face with him. I was so stupid to think I could ever escape him. He rips the fabric out of my mouth and hisses in my ear. "Now I want to hear you sing. Scream for me slut."
Another pain rips through my body as he thrust into me again. I scream with each and every thrust till I can't scream anymore. I lay there motionless as he digs his fingers in my hips. Still, I don't scream. This only seems to anger him even more so he slaps my face five more times. "I said I want to hear your screams begging me to stop, it turns me on!!"I just lay there not fighting anymore till he finishes inside me leaving me broken, bruised, and bleeding between my legs. "I'll be back in an hour so be ready for round two."
Before he leaves, he forces a needle into my arm, making me instantly become drowsy. I have no idea how long I've been out when I finally come to. My eyes are blurry and I see a figure coming closer and closer.
"Please no more." I feel my legs being unbound and the cuffs being taken off my wrists. The hands seem so warm and familiar but I don't know who it is as the injection of drugs is still very much coursing through my veins. I feel the warmth on my body and being lifted up. Maybe this is just a dream perhaps a hallucination from the drugs. I feel my body going limp again and darkness taking over me.
The next time I wake up I'm in my own bedroom at Giovanni’s estate. Looking to my left, I see Caterina rushing to my side, "Oh god! We were so worried we wouldn't ever find you! Alec was going crazy and hasn't slept since we brought you home."
I can't face him after this. I'm too ashamed to. "I-I don't want to see him. He can’t see me like this."
She looks at me with a sad look on her face. "I understand, but there's one thing you should know. He's the one who found you and carried you out and brought you up here. I've never seen him so worried about a woman." She sits some pain pills and a glass of water on the table next to me before leaving me alone to my thoughts. A light knock sounds and the door slowly opens and there he stands.
No, not Alec but Giovanni. He looks like he's been crying. "I just wanted to let you know we captured Nate. He won't hurt you anymore but we're still looking for Sergei. I just wanted to come to check on you as I think of you as a second daughter. I'll leave you alone now."
I feel absolutely nothing. No emotions. No nothing. Just emptiness. The pain pills finally kick in and I feel my eyelids becoming heavy and let sleep take over.
I wake up drenched in my own sweat and screaming rocking myself back and forth when arms wrap around me. I instantly freeze then relax when his voice attempts to calm me down as I allow all my walls to crumble down.
Breaking down in Alec's arms he rocks me back and forth. "It's alright Courtney. You’re okay, I got you. You’re safe now, baby."
He continues to whisper soothing words in my ear as I continue to break down. My door slams open and Caterina rushes in and looks at me, making sure it's alright for Alec to be in here touching me. I nod at her and she leaves us alone.
I can finally breathe normally and he stops rocking me. His blue eyes search my face and he examined my face "Goddamit. What did he do to you beautiful? My beautiful girl."
Did he just call me beautiful?
Does the cocky, arrogant, cold Alec Vitale actually have a soft side? I'd never guessed. I look up to him as Caterina's words from earlier. "Thank you, Alec... thank you for saving me. I'll never forget the kindness you've shown me. Nobody has ever done that for me, not until I met you guys."
Taking his face in my hands, I kiss him on the lips and his face instantly flushes then back to normal he speaks again, "We have Nate tied up in one of our warehouses and I intend on making him suffer at my hands. In the end, he will be begging me to kill him."
At his words, my heart instantly melts at this. Not only did he save me, but he is also willing to kill for me.
My killer.
It certainly has a nice ring to it. No, he's not mine. All we had was just a little fun. No strings attached. I know his type. Fuck them and dump them type of guy. At this thought, my heart starts to sink. He must have noticed because he shakes me back to reality, "Hey what’s wrong?"
I shake my head and assure him. "Everything is fine just trying to adjust to the fact someone is actually helping me."
He kisses my forehead. "I've got to go with Lucien to the warehouse. We'll talk later, yeah?"
Nodding my head in agreement he leaves me to my own thoughts and thinking of everything that has taken place in the last few days. From me having sex with Alec to being kidnapped and raped by someone I considered a friend.
Then, being rescued by someone that always said he hated me. I definitely need to go downstairs and talk to Gio and properly thank him for all his kindness.
I knock on his door and I hear. "Come in."
Taking a deep breath, I turn to look at him and take a seat in front of him. I need him to know a appreciate everything he's done for me ever since I arrived. "Thank you for everything you've done. From giving me a job to finding me an apartment and offering me protection. If it weren't for you I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by now, so thank you. You’re like the father I never had."
He offers me a drink and pours himself one and raises his drink as do. "To family. That's what you are to me."
Family.
The one thing I've always wanted and craved ever since that devil had his claws in me. Sergei always convinced me the only thing I needed was him and him only. It was all a lie. He used me, broke me, and beat me till I passed out from the pain every day and night. Now I am free from his grip, I'm never going back to him. "Gio I want someone to train me to fight. I want to be able to protect myself if needed."
He doesn't say anything for a few moments then looks up to me with a proud smile, "Of course, as soon as you're well enough you will start training. Who do you want to train you?"
Who else would I want to train me? Of course, without a doubt, I already know the answer to that. “Alec.”
He's the only one I would trust of the opposite sex. Alec makes me feel safe for some reason. I know we've had our little fights and started out with a hate relationship, but it's different now. He saved me in more ways than he knows. I just have to be able to convince him to help me train. Gio grins and by that look, I know that he knows that Alec and I had sex. He knows we're not a couple but just two people that have had a rough past and just looking for a little security and comfort. Even if it's just us having sex with each other and then lying together afterword in silence just holding one another.
I need this just as much as Alec needs this too. He's just my friend with benefits as I am his.
Alec comes into the office and looks confused as we both look to him with the sneakiest grins plastered on our faces. "Alec I want you to train Courtney to protect herself just in case. I want her to be able to fight back if needed in the future."
Alec possessively wraps an arm around me and growls out. "You can count on me to train her and protect her no matter what. After all, she is family."
Family.
That's all that matters now.
For the first time in my life I smile and this time it's not fake.
It's real.