Battered: Bluff Lake, #2

By Prometheus Susan

Summer played the part of hero and it cost her dearly. By stopping a random girl from drinking a cocktail laced with drugs, she put a target on her own back. Now, Summer's world has been turned upside down as she's thrust into a nightmarish existence she can't escape. With every day a fight to survive, can Summer hold onto hope of making it out alive? 

 

From the second Bryce caught the scent of his mate, he's been on the hunt for her. Blood boiling with rage at the mere thought of what she was being subjected to, he vowed to claim a violent vengeance against those who dared to harm her. Nothing can stop him from rescuing his mate, but will he make it to her in time? Or will her battered soul be broken beyond repair?

 

Warning: The content of this book contains abusive situations both physically and sexually. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prometheus Susan
• Release date: May 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201734138

Prometheus Susan

Prometheus is the mother of two boys, 19 and 26. As well as a loving wife to her husband of 31 years.  She lives in northern Illinois with her family, two cats,pet bunny, Fred and a puppy, Bear.. An avid Chicago Bears football fan regardless of how bad they play. But differs from the rest of the family in regards to baseball. They are Cub fans while she is a Brewers fan.  For years, Prometheus has had stories floating around in her head when she finally decided to put them to paper. Following a long-held dream of being an author. Bringing the crazy muses that she had to life, sharing them with everyone else.  Besides her love for her family and friends, coffee is her biggest love and addiction. The summer will find her at the beach or waterpark, soaking up those beautiful rays of sunshine. She finds cooking to be very relaxing, experimenting with new recipes. Crafting is one of her other ways to relax and unwind. Pink and sparkly is her signature. 

Book preview

Summer played the part of hero and it cost her dearly. By stopping a random girl from drinking a cocktail laced with drugs, she put a target on her own back. Now, Summer’s world has been turned upside down as she’s thrust into a nightmarish existence she can’t escape. With every day a fight to survive, can Summer hold onto hope of making it out alive?

From the second Bryce caught the scent of his mate, he’s been on the hunt for her. Blood boiling with rage at the mere thought of what she was being subjected to, he vowed to claim a violent vengeance against those who dared to harm her. Nothing can stop him from rescuing his mate, but will he make it to her in time? Or will her battered soul be broken beyond repair?

To all my dear friends and family.

Thank you for your understanding, support, and love.

Without all of you, this dream would not be a reality.

Thank you for being there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, bounce ideas off of, or when my mind is going a million different directions and I’m not making much sense. Or when the writer's block hits and so does the frustration.

Each of you mean the world to me. Love ya all. 

Chapter 1

In the beginning, Summer tried to escape, only to be beaten within an inch of her life. At the time, she wanted to live, sure that someone would look for her. She learned early on to not fight back, to do what was expected of her, keep her eyes closed or lowered. Those were the rules. Following them was how she survived this past year. Now she wasn't sure if she followed them nearly enough.

The clothes that she was given were not the usual ones when she was taken out of the bedroom. Summer wasn't stupid. There was no shocking device placed around her throat or wrists. She saw quite a few girls leave this way, never to return. Pleading or begging would only earn her a backhand from Anthony. Any syllable uttered would earn her some form of pain.

There was no place to run as Anthony held tightly onto her arm, leading her out of the mansion. Summer knew there were guards, a fence that came to a gate. Even if she was able to get free, there was no way to outrun all of them. She wasn't even sure if she could run that far. Not with her hip and leg.

Her injury was Anthony's fault. David and Leonard were not happy, threatening that if he pulled one more stunt like that again, he would disappear. This wasn't the first time she heard them make that threat, but he always redeemed himself with the other two. Money forever rescued him. Nothing else mattered to those three but the bottom line, how big their bank accounts were growing.

The guard that broke her leg and dislocated her hip had never been heard from again. Anthony promised her to the guard, free of charge, to do with her what he wanted. Summer never liked that guard, he smoked cigars, chose to hold the lit end near their skin, every so often burning one of them. From that day, she had burn marks from his cigar on her ass. But that was nothing compared to what he had eventually done to her.

It hadn't been the first time that one of the clients used a spreader bar on her legs or secured her over a bench. Some of them were into bondage. Most were sadists. To Summer, it was just one more way that she was used and humiliated. This ass was the worst. He had kept spreading her legs further and further apart till finally, her hip popped. Her screams in pain delighted him.

He took a riding crop to the back of her legs. When that wasn't getting him off, he began kicking her. She heard the snap of her bone echo throughout the room. Summer was sure she was going to die in there. Her right hip and left leg were at odd angles from her body. The screams coming from her wouldn't stop as he took his time to slowly fuck her.

Thankfully, that was the time David stepped into the surveillance room. He saw what was happening, heard her screams. If it hadn't been for David that day, she was sure that guard would have killed her. One of their clients was a doctor, given free sessions with one of the others in exchange for treating her.

They set her leg in a makeshift cast, not as sturdy as a plaster one. Popped her hip back into place. Told to stay off the leg, no pressure on the bone for six weeks. During that time, Anthony starved her, making her pay for making him look bad. Her recovery lasted two weeks before she was taken down to the basement. By that time, her hip bones protruded from her skin; she was a walking skeleton. Summer returned to her room afterward in severe pain, crying into her pillow.

Her suspicions and worry grew when Anthony led her to an SUV. They always traveled in the van. Summer bit her bottom lip; sitting in the passenger seat, she watched the mansion in the side mirror grow smaller until she didn't see it any further. Her eyes stayed glued to the scenery out her window. She didn’t want to die. Maybe this was payback for her praying for death so many times this past year. Blinking back the tears, if she could go back to that fateful night, she would change the outcome.

Chapter 2

––––––––

Laying her head against the window, she figured that they had been on the road for three hours. Summer closed her eyes, remembering back to that night she met Anthony. Life had been good back then. What seemed like a lifetime ago was only one year from what she could tell. Her whole life was ahead of her, so many dreams. All of that was gone in an instant over her actions.

It was just weeks before she was to enter her final year at veterinary school. She was to report within weeks at the local zoo for her clinical studies. All Summer ever wanted was to work with animals. She preferred them to humans. Bartending at one of the local bars, it was a busy Friday night. One woman caught her attention sitting at the bar. She was alone, seemed to be upset if the tears streaming down her cheeks were any indication.

She stayed as close to the woman as she could while still tending to those sitting at the bar wanting drinks. Summer learned that her name was April. They had laughed about their names, one was a month, and the other was a season. April caught her fiancé cheating with her best friend. The loser blamed her for his dishonesty. Summer tried to tell her that it was a blessing in disguise if he was cheating while engaged, then he would want to once married. She saw enough of it working at the bar.

It was the guy that sat down next to her that sent alarm bells ringing in her head. He was too smooth, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, consoling this woman. Offering her tissues, even wiping the tears from her eyes. Too intimate if you asked her. Summer kept an eye on her and him as she filled drink orders. His smile gave her the creeps, made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Calculating eyes as he said all the right things, but they were so wrong.

When April went to the ladies' room, her drink was fresh, sitting on the bar. Out of the corner of her eye, Summer saw the man's hand waver over the glass, the bubbling of the alcohol was a telltale sign of a drug being added. Nodding her head to the bouncer as she stepped over to where the man was sitting as April approached the bar. She switched out her straw; the bar had recently added the drug reacting straws. Sure enough, the straw started to glow.

The man was escorted out, not very nicely either. Summer called April a cab, had the bouncer walk her out, and made sure she got into the cab. The rest of the night had gone by quickly before she knew it was the last call then closing. What had happened earlier had been put out of her mind when the man left. Walking out to her car was the same as any other night. Nothing to warn her when she drove home.

It wasn't until she was walking up to her apartment building that she had a shiver run up her spine, turning to glance behind her. Anthony took her by surprise, grabbing her by the hair, pulling her back towards an awaiting SUV. Summer fought to get free, stepping on his insole, elbow to the stomach, sending her fist back into his groin. He had let go, she ran for her apartment, screaming at the top of her lungs. All she remembered was hitting the pavement face-first then waking up in that bedroom at the mansion.

That was how she met Anthony; he was the man from the bar trying to drug April. Since Summer let April get away from him, she had to take her place. It didn't take long to figure out what that meant. David gave her the royal tour of the mansion, explaining that she was now owned by them. Her smart-ass remarks earned her a busted lip, bloody nose, and bruises up and down her body. Fighting back made it worse and was more of a challenge to any of them.

She spent weeks locked in that bedroom with no contact with anyone. David's words were when she learned to behave, then she could prove to them that she wanted to live. If she didn't, then she would end up four feet under with her throat cut from ear to ear. Being starved of food changed her mind. Never had she known a hunger than since she had been taken. Every day her stomach growled, ached, and hurt. Some days it was not as bad, she learned to drink lots of water, it helped with the pain. Summer really thought that if she followed their rules, behaved, then someone would find her and rescue her.

Someone had to be looking for her. She had a job, school, an apartment, friends, and family. Why didn't anyone notice when she seemed to fall off the face of the earth? Granted, her parents were out of the country, had been for most of her life. But one would think they would notice that their only daughter hadn't called in a long time. Months went by, and the trail of unnamed men using her body, not one recognized her or knew her name. She had disappeared, and no one even noticed.

Chapter 3

Feeling the SUV jerk to a stop, her eyes flew open, not moving her body. Trying to even out her breathing, she wondered if this was the end. They were stopped in a darkened parking lot, and from what she could see out the window was a park. Summer could see the picnic shelters, swings, and slides. Was this where the police would find her body when the sun came up?

She stayed in the vehicle until Anthony opened the door and dragged her out. His words whispered in her ear sent shivers down her spine. You run, you die. Summer wanted to ask what was going on. Where were they? Why were they there? But the words were caught in her throat. He was almost choking her as he pulled her along towards one of the picnic shelters.

Her stomach was tied in knots, the aching of being hungry worsening. Summer's head snapped up when flashlights came on in the shelter. Someone was waiting for them. Breathing a shallow breath of relief, they weren't alone. Some clients wanted public sex, the chance of being caught heightened their pleasure, others had twisted fantasies that had included dressing up a certain way, letting the fantasy play out. This was probably one of their clients, paying extra for some screwed up fantasy.

Furrowing her brows, she knew this man, well, one of them. There were three men standing shoulder to shoulder. The middle one she knew, he always requested her for the full night. Frequently, she looked forward to this client because he would feed her protein bars. Summer had to be on her knees as she took the pieces of the bar from his hand, but it was food. Many a week, that was the only food she ate. It wasn't much, but it was one act of kindness that she had been shown since her kidnapping.

Anthony tugged her until he pushed her towards the men. The money has cleared. The bitch is all yours.

Stumbling as her foot caught on the edge of the cement of the shelter. One of the men stepped forward to catch her before she face-planted against the hard surface. Summer moved her hair out of her eyes as she looked up at him. She was confused, if it had been up to Anthony, she would have fallen hard and then been kicked for falling and not moving quick enough to stand up. It would have embarrassed him, which was a huge no-no.

But this man gently set her on her feet and steadied her when she wobbled. Unsure what was transpiring, what Anthony had been talking about. Summer didn't know what she was supposed to do, the last thing she wanted to do was anger, Anthony. The night air picked up, the leaves in the trees around them rustling in the wind. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she shivered, turning her head, expecting to see the usual scowl from him, only to find him gone. He left her with these three men. Anthony was a first-class prick, mean, evil at times, but she knew he was always around when there were clients. There were no cameras here, no one watching her every move. Left alone in the dark.

Standing there, she listened to the conversation going on between the three men. It seemed that she was too thin, the one that had caught her didn't like that all he felt was bones. The other one said that she looked pale even in the dark and was wondering if she was sickly. But it was what the middle one said that caught her attention, All of that could be fixed with the proper diet and sunshine. The two agreed that she needed to be trained. Summer wasn't sure what they were talking about. Some of what they said sounded hopeful, but she learned not to be optimistic a long time ago.

That was when the one that she knew took steps to come right up to her. He lifted her head with his fingers under her chin. His words echoed in her head. ''Time to get you home, baby girl.'' Home where, with who? Had she been sold? Was being sold better than being dead? Would these three be worse than what she had already lived through? Summer didn't have the answers, so did what she learned to do: followed them to an awaiting car. Her body and soul were too battered for anymore.

Chapter 4

They were gentle with her as she climbed into the car. Summer was waiting for the backhand; sure it was coming. She kept her head down, not trusting any of them. The only one she