Hunting Her

Chapter 46

Hours had dragged on, the small, flickering bulb casting long, distorted shadows across the room. Hunter was slumped against his chains, his body limp and battered. The torture had taken its toll; he was unconscious, his face pale and streaked with blood. 

I scanned him carefully, my heart clenching in my chest. He was okay. I told myself over and over. He was okay. 

Dominic, drenched in sweat and visibly agitated, tossed the bloody knife across the room with a harsh clang. It skidded across the concrete floor, coming to a stop in the corner. My eyes snapped to him. His breaths were heavy, his anger palpable, and his hands shook slightly from the effort of maintaining his composure.

I couldn't help the flicker of twisted amusement warming my face as I let out a broken, hollow laugh that echoed in the grim space. "Frustrated, are we?" I taunted, my voice rough.

Dominic's face contorted with fury at my mocking tone. Without warning, he stormed over and smacked me across the face, the force of the blow snapped my head to the side. The pain was sharp, but I only laughed harder, the sound fractured and almost hysterical.

"You think this is funny?" Dominic growled, his rage barely contained. He punched me squarely in the stomach. The air whooshed out of my lungs, and I doubled over, gasping for breath.

"You're not exactly setting the bar high for your performance, Dominic. If you're this easily frustrated, maybe you're not as good as you think." I wheezed, slowly picking myself back up. 

He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back to force me to meet his gaze. "You think this is a game?" he hissed. 

"One you certainly aren't winning." I grinned. "You're pathetic." I said, still smiling at him despite the pain echoing throughout my skull. 

Dominic's grip tightened, his knuckles white. "We'll see about that." He released me, and left the room, shouting as he went.

My eyes flew back over to Hunter, who's head still hung limply. "Hunter?" I whispered gently, swallowing back the sobs. "Hunter?" I asked, suddenly wanting an answer from him more than I'd wanted anything else in my life. 

Minutes ticked by and time passed as slowly as it has ever passed. It felt like days. I'd watched as a team of grim-faced individuals entered. They moved with practiced efficiency, tending to Hunter's wounds with a clinical detachment. I would yell every so often, threatening them to be gentle or I'd rip their faces off but they ignored me. 

They worked and then eventually they left. Every second after the left was painful. The worst pain I'd ever felt, but finally Hunter's breathing steadied, and he began to stir. 

His gaze immediately fell onto me and a faint, tired smile curved his lips. "Hi, English. Miss me?" he asked, his voice hoarse but warm.

The sight of him awake and speaking brought me to tears instantly. They spilled down my cheeks, dripping onto the cold, hard floor beneath me. "Hunter," I sobbed, my voice breaking. 

Hunter's smile faltered, and he looked down at his bloodied and bandaged body with a rueful chuckle. "Hey, don't cry. I'm okay. All put together. It's just a bit of a mess right now."

"I can't go through that again." My tears flowing freely as I struggled to compose myself.

Hunter's eyes softened. "I get it. If this was happening to you I'd be trying to cut my hands off to get to you." His eyes flickered to my wrists which I knew were rubbed to the point of bleeding from me pulling at my chains. "Seems you almost did." 

I gave him a small smile. 

"But you're strong. You're strong enough to go through this again. I promise you are." I shook my head, not agreeing at all. Hunter moved slightly, testing out his healing body. He winced slightly but covered it up. The room then fell silent, the large room suddenly feeling a lot smaller.