Sold // Harry Styles

Chapter 24

"Come on out, Jackie. Don't be shy," A.J. teases.

Knives feel like they tear through my stomach and slash at my organs. They make it hard to breathe and function.

"See what you've done to the poor boy?" A.J. says as he slips his hands around my shoulders and guides me over to Harry. His eyes widen with concern as he sees me walking with his boss. He tries to say something but the tape muffles his voice.

"Shut up," Cain says harshly as he jolts Harry in his arms. He stops talking immediately and his eyes clench in pain as Cain's fingernails dig into his burn.

My blood pumps faster and heat rises in my body as I see Cain hurting Harry. All of my muscles tense up and my fingers dig into the palm of my hand.

"Let him go," I say, scaring myself with the sudden confidence behind my voice. There's no falter in my words as they slip past my lips.

A.J. raises his eyebrows as he takes a step forward. "I see that lesson I had with you really did pay off," he whispers in my ear. His fingers run carelessly through my hair, trying to pull out any knots. I slap his hand away and take a step back as he smirks. "I like your hair short."

"Get away from me," I say with disgust.

"Always feisty," he mumbles and then clears his throat. "Well unfortunately for you, Harry is being punished at the moment," A.J. says lowly.

I stand up straighter and look into A.J.'s eyes. They look black and intimidating but I push it aside as I straighten out my posture. "Put him down," I say between gritted teeth.

A.J. stares at me-not glaring but not a gaze either. He chuckles before turning around to look at Harry who's still in the gang members' arms. He slowly nods his head to Cain and the other guy before Harry is dropped to his feet. He loses his balance due to the tape around his ankles, but Cain quickly snatches his shoulders before he topples over.

"Untie him," I demand.

"Now, now, sweetheart. Don't get too carried away. If it makes you feel any better, we won't do anything to him...yet."

I glare at A.J. and he smiles at me with his usual deceitful look. I quickly reach up to rip the tape off of Harry's mouth but A.J. grips my wrist in his hand before I can do anything.

"Not so fast, sweetheart," he says as he begins to twist my skin. His grip becomes tighter with each passing second and the pain is overwhelming. I hear a ringing in my ears and everything seems to happen in slow motion.

I glance at Harry who's trying desperately to free himself from Cain. I know he's trying to yell something but the pain radiating from A.J.'s grip is the only thing I can think about. Everything around me is dark and slowly fading out as the pain overtakes my body.

It feels as though my bones are made of glass and they're slowly shattering into jagged pieces that rip through my skin. Millions of needles stab into my wrist, and my hand begins to fall asleep with the lack of circulation flowing through my arm. His grip only becomes tighter around my wrist as he continues to wrench at the skin. I cry out in agony and beg him to stop but when I look up at him, he's smiling at me. There's a hint of pleasure masked within his eye as he watches me struggle with freeing myself from his grip.

"Please, stop," I cry.

A.J. releases my wrist suddenly and tosses it to the side. I quickly hold it in my hand and rub it back and forth but it doesn't give me any sense of relief. My wrist throbs every time I touch it and the pain sears through my bones, reminding me what A.J. Is capable of. Red marks and fingerprints mark my skin as if it's A.J.'s personal signature--an indication of his ownership over me.