Damaged Queen Read online

  She didn’t run though.

  Harper got up and met him at the door. Straightening her spine, she was ready for whatever she was about to find out.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  “You clean up really well yourself. I didn’t mean to cause a fight at the table.”

  He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back, and kissing her. “Already forgiven. You don’t need to worry about another thing. I promise.”

  “You always know what to say. Don’t leave me alone with Tillie.”

  “She’s not too bad. Mostly with her, it’s all about business.”

  “Have you slept with her?” she asked.

  “No. I’ve never slept with her. Jealous?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Don’t be.”

  He took her hand, and there was no turning back. Not as they left the house, or she climbed into his car. Even when he fastened her seatbelt, she stayed perfectly silent. In her mind, she kept imagining the basement door. Wherever they were going, she’d need to find it.

  Would Axel put her life in danger?

  Absolutely.

  “I don’t want you walking off tonight.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I’ve also got to give you something. It means no one else will approach you, and you’ll be safe there.”

  She glanced over at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I will have to leave you alone, but you’ll be in good company.”

  She’d noticed the tension within him, and it was freaking her out, scaring her.

  “I’ll do whatever it is you need me to.”

  “I got a call from the wedding planner. You’re avoiding her calls?” Draven asked.

  She’d been avoiding the calls since Axel’s conversation. “I haven’t been in the mood to plan a wedding. It’s fine. I’ll call her as soon as I know more.”

  They were silent for the rest of the ride. Arriving at what looked like a club, Draven got out of the car, and she noticed no one made a move to open her door. He handed his keys to one of the men waiting outside, and opened her door. He’d pulled something out of his jacket, and as she got out, he turned her and place something against her neck.

  She touched her fingers to the collar, recognizing words.

  “It marks you as mine. No one else will touch you.”

  She turned to look at him. “You don’t think it’s strange you’re about to enter a club where a woman needs to be branded to be kept safe.”

  He took her hand. “Sometimes questions spoil it.”

  “Did you really need to bring me here today?” she asked.

  “I wanted to share this with you. I feel it’s important.” He kissed her knuckles, and then they entered … another world.

  At least to Harper it was another world.

  Lights were turned down low, but there were stages and different rooms. The music was down low, but it seemed to fill the room. The energy hit her straight away.

  Draven put his arm around her, tucking her close to his side, and she looked around, having her fill of every single room.

  It wasn’t long before Harper recognized the woman from the party. She stayed by Draven’s side, but stood in a long black dress, tall and serene as if she was above everyone else. Harper wanted to knock her off that little pedestal.

  “Draven, darling, I’m so pleased you could come. And you brought your pet. Would you like me to mark that pale skin again?” Tillie went to touch her, and she stepped back, glaring at the woman, who laughed.

  He didn’t let her go far. “I wanted Harper to see part of what you did here.”

  “I have our guest here. Will she be here for that?” Tillie asked.

  “No. I want her protected. She’s mine.”

  “Yes, I remember. She’ll be safe here. No one will touch her. She’s got your mark. That is all that needs to be seen.”

  Draven turned to her.

  “You’ve brought me to a sex club, and now you’re leaving?”

  “I’ve got some business to attend to. Look around. Have some fun. Don’t talk to anyone, and I’ll be back.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.

  She watched him go with Tillie by his side.

  One day soon, she was going to hurt that woman.

  She didn’t have time to admire the views. Passing the rooms, she thought about what Axel said—the basement—and went in that direction. When she passed a room that showed a woman being bound and whipped, she had to stop and watch.

  Men and women were gazing at the stage with such rapt attention.

  Harper saw the whip and flashed back to that night.

  Unlike her, the woman on stage relished every sting and bite.

  For Harper, just seeing it made her feel sick to her stomach.

  She stepped away from the room and kept on with her search. She passed rooms, and didn’t go for the stairs. Walking to the back of the house, she saw there wasn’t as much activity, and whenever someone passed, she hid in an alcove or a closet.

  Harper looked down a short passage, and she saw a guy holding a gun, standing guard near one of the doors. He stood out like a sore thumb.

  Why did he guard this one door?

  She flicked her hair back, lowered her shirt so that more of her cleavage showed, and made her way toward him. She pretended to be a little high, and certainly very easy.

  “Honey, you’re not allowed to be here,” he said.

  “Oh, shoot, did I make a wrong turn? I have no idea where I’m going. It’s all so exciting.” She stopped in front of him, and she saw him relax. His gaze was on her chest. Pushing some hair off her face, she let out a giggle. “Why are you not part of the party upstairs? You would be so much fun to play with.”

  He chuckled. “Well, I get off in half an hour. Save me some play time and you can make it up to me.”

  Harper stepped up close.

  All of the training she remembered from years ago rushed toward her, and she caught him by surprise. The man was more interested in getting his dick wet than protecting what was behind that door. Drawing her knee up, she hit him square in the nuts, and slammed her fist against his face. With him distracted, she grabbed the gun and used it to knock him out cold. She held the gun in her hands, and without wasting any time, she stepped over him and opened the door to the basement.

  There was a light on, a single light, and she heard sniffling. Tears.

  Harper tensed up and held the gun in her hand, not that she knew how to use it.

  Walking down the steps, she stopped, and as she took in the cages, Harper just knew.

  Women.

  A quick head count told her there were at least twenty women spread out on the cells. None of them spoke, even as some of them cried.

  She stared at them and felt ill.

  “Are you guys here because you want to be?” she asked.

  “We can’t talk. We’re not allowed to talk,” one of the women said.

  She looked at each of them. Harper walked toward the cages. They were all locked up. She gripped the bars and tried to pull it open.

  Did Draven know about them? This?

  “You shouldn’t be down here,” Tillie said.

  Harper turned to see Tillie on the stairs, wearing a smile.

  “You know, I’ve got security around every single room of this place. I like to take care of all of my assets.”

  “They’re people,” she said. “Real people.”

  “They’re a commodity, Harper. Men and women pay for the pleasure of using them. They’re expendable.” Tillie folded her arms. “When one of them dies, another will take their place. It’s a natural circle of all things. They get fed and are well-kept.”

  “You’ve got them in the dark in a cage.”

  “I feed them. They’re allowed to use the bathroom, get washed. I’ve got ten women upstairs working the men who paid for them.” Tillie laughed. “Draven hasn’t told you a thing, has he?” Tillie stepped up toward her. “I th
ought he was ready to move up in the world when he had me whip your back. Such a pretty back. I offered to take you off his hands. To show him how to treat a bad girl like you. I’d mark you up real good and have all my customers that like to make my women bleed, have their fill of you.”

  Harper drew her fist back and slammed it against the woman’s face. She’d taken her by surprise, and as she held the barrel of the gun, she swung it around, and hit her again.

  “You want to try and tame me, bitch? Let’s see how you can handle a beating. You like to dish it out. Let’s see you take one.”

  She stepped over Tillie. The other woman tried to fight her, but Harper had years of anger. She was done with being pushed around. By Draven, by Axel, by fucking Alan. It was done. This bitch was going down.

  She drew her fist back and hit her again.

  Harper got three more hits in before she was pulled off, and she screamed at the unfairness of it.

  Draven had her locked against the wall, his hands holding hers above her head.

  “Enough!”

  “No! Never enough. You knew. Didn’t you? This is what this all is. You didn’t go your own path. Your father made sure you followed in his footsteps. The women, they’ve been taken, trafficked out. The sex trade?”

  “I’m not talking with you about this.”

  “You wanted to change. You hated your father, and yet, you’ve become him.”

  “Nothing could change, Harper.”

  “It could change. You could make it so. This is not you. You were supposed to be better than this. You shouldn’t be doing this. They’re real people, Draven. Real women, just like me. You need to let them go. To let them live. This is so fucking wrong, you don’t even know how much. None of them deserve this, none of them.” She stopped, feeling a sob work its way up her throat. All of these women deserved a chance. There’s no way she could let them down, not again.

  “Get her out of here before I deal with her,” Tillie said, getting to her feet.

  “Come on, bitch, I’d like to see you fucking try. I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll fucking kill you.”

  Draven lifted her up, and she was pulled from the room. The guy she’d been teasing was nowhere in sight, and she was so fucking pissed.

  Draven carried her out of the car, and she kept on fighting him.

  Draven didn’t put her in the passenger seat or even in the back. He dumped her in the trunk.

  Tears filled her eyes as he closed the trunk, and she kept on hitting it and screaming. All the while her heart pounded with what she knew to be the truth. This was what Axel wanted her to know, what he needed her to know before she committed to this. He didn’t like selling people, and it must be why he had an aversion to the cells.

  It explained so much. Draven hadn’t changed. He was still a little minion for his father.

  Tears fell down her cheeks, and the only satisfaction she had was knowing she’d hurt that bitch. All those women. They had to be let go. She had to help them, to do something that would save them.

  Time passed, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. Her throat was sore from her screaming. She didn’t know what else to do.

  When the car came to a stop, she wondered if he was going to push it into a river or something. She sniffled, hating how broken she felt.

  The trunk opened up, and she stared up at Draven. They were back home in Stonewall, where it all began.

  He reached for her, and she kicked out, hard. She made sure he felt it as well, sitting up. Draven let out a curse, but he didn’t stop there.

  When he made to touch her, she slapped him away. She was very much aware of the guards, watching.

  “Get off me. I don’t want you near me. Get the fuck away from me.”

  She didn’t stop, and he held her, controlling her. He carried her over his shoulder even as she hit him, until they were inside his home.

  “Leave us,” he said.

  One by one the guards disappeared.

  Harper pulled off her heels and threw them at him. “You evil son of a bitch!”

  When she threw them off, she grabbed a vase and threw it. He dodged that.

  “You shouldn’t have gone looking.”

  “They are nothing more than slaves. You are in the human trafficking business.”

  “You really didn’t know.”

  “I knew you weren’t exactly legal. I didn’t know the extent of what you did. The fucking cells. The whipping post. I thought all of that was in the past. Something Axel’s father did.”

  “He did do it. “

  “And you don’t? Those girls are there of their own free will?” she asked.

  “Harper.”

  “No! You will tell me now. Alan wanted to get me out of the way because he knew you would change his ways. He knew his time for power was coming to an end while I was there. You … became him. You became the exact monster he was.” The tears fell thick and fast.

  “I do what I have to do.”

  She shook her head. “No. You do what you’re told to do. You do what is expected of you.” She sniffled. “You’re not going to let those women go, are you?”

  “They are not mine,” he said. “I was there to deal with one that caused a problem.”

  She burst out laughing. Once she started, it was impossible to stop. Holding her stomach, she kept on laughing, let it out, and snorting as she did.

  Someone cleared their throat, and she saw Axel had joined them.

  “Well, I guess the joke is on me, right? All those years ago, this was the life you wanted. The life you all envisioned. Pimps, criminals, bullies, rapists, murderers.”

  “I’ve never taken a woman against her will,” Draven said.

  “You help rapists. Every man that touches them, every woman that does the same, you help them because you keep them captured. You paid for them. If not those women in those cages like fucking dogs, then it was others. Other women at other times.” She couldn’t stop crying thinking about it. She saw Draven from the past. “I ran to keep you guys safe. I don’t care anymore if you believe it or not. It doesn’t matter. No matter what, I didn’t cause this. I didn’t make you buy those girls. I didn’t make you do anything.” She stepped back. “I won’t be part of this. I can’t be, not anymore. Not after all I’ve done before this.”

  “Harper,” Draven said.

  “You can kill me, Draven. I’d gladly die rather than be by your side, knowing that … you take them. They have a life, too. Not working for you. They have worth, so much of it, and I can’t do this. Not this.” She turned on her heel and was about to walk away to her room. She stopped and walked right up to him. “What is it you do?”

  “Go to your room, Harper. Now.”

  “You can’t even say it, can you? You can’t even acknowledge what you are? I’m a human trafficker! It’s what I did. I helped sell girls. There is proof out there about what I did, and it kills me. I can’t look at myself in the mirror because of all that I’ve done. I have to live with that, but I don’t pretend I’m something I’m not.”

  She glared at him, and Draven glared back. He took a step toward her, but she stayed right where she was.

  “I’m a murderer, killer, I buy and sell women to be used for whatever purpose their owners want. I run drugs and guns, and I have control of over half a city, maybe even more within a couple of days. I took my father’s legacy, and I made it grow. Women earn a lot of money on their backs, Harper. I’m just one of many who use it.”

  “I was a … member of a group. I was initiated to be with four men. Then to keep them safe, I was blackmailed and forced to … hurt other people. To bring them into a life they had no control over. I knew their lives would be total shit, but I did it for you, for Axel, for Buck, and for Jett. When I stopped being told what I was going to do, I vowed I would never hurt another living innocent soul.” She stared up at him, and she clapped her hands. “Congratulations, Draven. You’re exactly everything your father ever wanted, too. Just like I became.�
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  Then, she turned away and went to her room. Her heart shattered.

  Draven was nowhere near the man she thought he was. That man had died and who stood in his place was someone she didn’t recognize.

  ****

  The moment Harper turned the corner and left, Draven pounded Axel’s face. “You piece of fucking shit. Why did you tell her, huh? Why did you tell her?”

  Axel didn’t hit him back but took the beating he was dishing out.

  Each blow cut Draven to the core. He wanted Axel to fight back.

  To hurt him.

  To deliver whatever blow would numb the pain.

  “She had a right to know,” Axel said.

  This made Draven stop, but Axel still didn’t put his fists up. He still didn’t fight.

  “Why? She doesn’t need to know that shit.”

  “Look at you, Draven. Look at us. We were never supposed to be like this. What would Buck say? Jett? We said everything was going to be different, and you can’t keep blaming Harper for what we’ve become. Take a long look in the mirror. I do so every single day, and I don’t like what I’ve become. Having her here reminds me of what we once were before she fucking left.” Axel pointed at his face. “I don’t give a shit about the scars or anything else. We were never supposed to do this. You told me I was never going to see another woman on that fucking whipping post or locked up in those cells, and yet, Harper, the woman you fell in love with years ago, was the one I saw again, in both of those places. The fact she hasn’t killed you, I’d count myself lucky. You could blame her for a lot of things, I don’t care. She fucking walked away when we all asked her not to. She betrayed us and worked for our enemies as a human trafficker, helping them get girls of all ages. The war that broke out, the men that died. Buck and Jett, but we can’t blame her for everything. That’s why I told her to go to the basement. You want to lock her away in this town and throw away the key. You think you can protect her, but you can’t. One day, sooner or later, there are going to be men like us. Men who are determined to make a difference, and that’s us gone. I welcome it, Draven. I welcome when they take our fucking legacy from us and destroy it. We were supposed to be better than this.”

  Axel got to his feet, spat at the floor, and walked away.