Warrior

Chapter Fourty Three

Satey

Liam was saying my name. Repeating it under his breath until it was louder, projecting across the room to my ears. His voice was broken, cracked with emotion as he chanted it over and over.

"Liam," I answered and I so desperately wanted to calm him down; to press my index on his worried lips to shush him.

"Satey," he said again and I could see, in the pale light from the open doorway, his hands straining against whatever bound him to the wall. "Satey."

"This is sweet," James mocked, menacing voice laced with demonic sarcasm.

"Look at me, Satey," Liam told me without acknowledging his father and repeating my name under his breath so many times I was sure he'd gone mad.

"I am, Liam, I am."

I was crying.

"Everything's going to be alright."

I let out a loud sob as James scoffed, "No it's not."

"I love you," I told him, tears running into my mouth.

"Satey," he answered and a lone tear slid down his soot-covered cheek. "Satey."

It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but it was as final as it would have been if he had said it.

"Well," James clapped his hands as he stepped farther into the room. "As touching as that was, I still want my money, Liam."

Liam's gaze finally tore from mine as he faced his father. "I don't have your damn money!"

"Not quite," James agreed with a sickening smile before reaching behind him into his pocket and pulling out a folded up packet of paper. "But all you do is have to sign your name at the bottom of this page, simple as that, and we can all go about our lives like this never happened."

"Don't do it, Liam," I blurted out before my brain could catch up with my mouth, "your mother wanted you to have her inheritance."

James blurred across vision and then my cheek was stinging and my head was snapping back from the blow of the slap.

"Don't touch her!" Liam screamed, metal rattling as he struggled.

"Keep your bitch in line," James spat at him before turning to face me again.

I was crying harder and I could feel a heat rising from where James slapped me. He lifted my chin with two fingers and I jerked my head away until he used his whole palm to station my head to look at him.

"You're a pretty thing," he told me.

I spit in his face.

He flinched, shoving my face away so hard I cracked my neck painfully.

"Don't touch her!" Liam was screaming as I rolled my head to soothe my aching neck.

"Boo-hoo," James mocked him as he stood in front of where Liam seethed; red in the face with veins prominent in his neck. "I don't remember you fighting this hard for your mother," James mused with a twisted grin, "almost makes me wonder if you really loved her."

"Don't act like you don't know what you did," Liam spat, his voice so low with rage it barely carried over to me.

James didn't answer as he paced, deep in thought, as he swung the keys to our chains around his fingers.

"You gonna give me what I deserve, boy? Or am I gonna have to pry your signature out of you?"

Liam spit at him.

James grimaced, taking a hand and wiping it over his face in disgust.

"Either way works for me," James shrugged, looking at Liam for a changed answer, but when he didn't, James jerked his head and two bulky guys came in and rushed towards Liam, yanking his hands out of the binding and pulling a bag over his head before dragging him out of the room, all the while ignoring my screams.

"Don't worry." James winked at me. "I saved the best for last."

And when the door slammed behind him, I collapsed in cries.