Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

missed you.” Victor gripped her face with his hand in a painful hold and crushed his mouth down on hers.
    Bile rose up her throat at his touch, and Bella wondered how he would feel if she threw up on him. He bit her lip hard when she tried to pull away, and she forced herself to remain still under his hold.
    He released her, breathing hard with arousal. Bella simply stared back at him silently, letting all the disgust she felt for him show in her eyes.
    This man would not break her again, no matter what he did. She was stronger than that. He reached out and viciously slapped her across the face, his hand in her hair holding her so she took the full impact of the brutal hit.
    “That was for finding you with another man, Bella. My sweet little Bella. Good thing I killed him.”
    Jason. Bella couldn’t hide her fear. Oh God, what happened to him?
    Was Victor telling the truth or was he lying?
    Was Jason still alive?
    Victor smiled as he saw the tears in her eyes. Up until that moment he had been slightly confused that she had not broken down begging and crying like she did before. But no bother, she would before he was done. Her cries would echo off the thick brick walls of the building. Her screams would be music to his ears just like before.
    Bella watched as Victor sauntered over to center counter to pick up something between his two fingers. The candlelight flickered off the diamond like a beacon as he rolled the band of her engagement ring tauntingly.
    “Bad, bad little Bella. Did you really think I was going to allow you to marry someone else? You really can’t be that stupid.”
    He leaned his hip against the marble table casually, like they were old friends settling in for a chat. Bella slowly slid her legs further behind her, hoping for the opportunity to cut the bindings around her ankles as he continued to speak.
    “I’ve watched you, you know. You and that Neanderthal you’ve tied yourself to. You should have known you would never be safe from me no matter who you tried to get to protect you. I had to leave the States for a while after our…last night together. At first I was very angry at you for living, but then I realized this was a blessing. It was an opportunity for me to have another chance with you. One last night. And nothing could make me happier.”
    He turned and set the ring down on the counter, next to a gun and a roll of black cloth. He pushed the cloth, slowly rolling it to reveal a set of knives as he continued to speak casually.
    “You see, I searched for you in New York, but you had vanished. I guess I should have known you would run back to your family. After I saw your picture in the newspaper, I knew exactly where to find you. The Internet is a funny thing, you know…even though you weren’t named in the picture, you were mentioned as a donor of that benefit. All I had to do was search your name. You should have known better, but thanks for making it so easy for me.”
    He had taken four of the knives out of the cloth roll and set them down on the drop cloth in the center of the room as he spoke.
    Bella watched the light reflect off the steel in his hands. Her breathing sped up as fear began to overcome her senses.
    No, not again. This couldn’t happen again.
    She struggled to saw through the ropes around her ankle without him seeing, but she couldn’t get her legs angled behind her and her terror was now causing her body to shake with uncontrollable tremors, making her grip on the handsaw slip.
    “Now on to the fun we’re going to have. I’m going to stake you down onto the floor here with these knives, one in each of your hands and your legs. It’s going to hurt like hell, and you’re going to scream. Then I’m going to use you anyway I want…for as long as I please. I really have missed fucking you, Bella. You were the best fuck I’ve ever had.” He chuckled softly. “When I’m done with you, I’m going to leave your body here for your family to find. Perfect, right?”
    Bella blinked to clear the tears from her eyes, so they slid down her cheeks in hot rivers, then blinked again to make sure she wasn’t imagining what she thought she saw. A sob of joy burst from her chest as she watched a dark shadow moving silently behind the plastic panel covering most of the dining room.
    Victor grinned at the sound, taking it as a sign of her fear of what was to come. He walked back over to the counter but quickly turned, gun in hand as Jason and Finn suddenly lunged