Saving My Submission BN (33 page)

“Mel,” she hissed. “Hurry.”

Nervously fumbling with the locks, I yanked opened the
door but Sanna was gone. My heart thundered in my chest. Had Tideway followed
her out the window? Had he discovered her tapping on the door? Oh god, had my
questions bought him precious seconds to capture Sanna instead of me?

Seized with a gut-wrenching panic, I raced onto the
back porch. Turning to the left, I frantically called for Sanna in a terse
whisper. Spinning around, I jumped, then froze as a figure dressed in black
raised a gun to my head. Edging back slowly, we both stepped into the light
that poured onto the porch from the open kitchen doorway. It was a woman whose
hair had been tucked beneath a black ski cap, but instantly, I recognized the
face.

Carnation.

“Don’t make a fucking sound, Mel,” she warned with a
demented whisper, sounding so much like Sanna, I blinked in surprise. “Lace
your hands behind your head and don’t move.”

My whole body vibrated in a petrified quiver. “Why are
you doing this? What do you want?”

“I said don’t make a sound, cunt,” she snarled on an
evil hiss. “I told you you’d be sorry if I had to hunt you down, didn’t I,
bunny?
”

Oh my god.
All
this time… I’d thought it had been Davis, when all along it had been Carnation.
She’d slashed Joshua’s tires. She’d probably hired Tideway to smash up my house
and plant the cameras and microphones. She’d been the one sending me all the
threatening texts. The bitch was certifiably insane, one hundred and ten
percent bat-shit crazy, but how did she know about my connection with Davis?

“Surprise,” she giggled as her face scrunched up in a
demonic grin. Sliding the barrel of the gun around my temple to the back of my
head, she stepped in behind me. “Now shut the fuck up before I blow your brains
out right here. Walk to the end of the porch and turn the corner. Don’t even
think about running, or I’ll kill you right now.”

My mind swirled with questions. How had she found out
about Joshua and me? What could I do to buy myself some time? The barrel of the
gun pressed hard against my head, making it impossible for me to focus on
anything other than fear.

Had Carnation sent the flowers or had they truly been
from Davis? I needed to get that damn gun off the back of my head so I could
think. I could stumble and fall, cry out maybe. Glancing up, I inwardly cursed.
The fascia covering the porch shielded the two of us from being seen by Dylan
and James. Coupled with the darkness, I would be dead long before either man
figured out what was going on.

Moving at a snail’s pace, I tried to think of a way to
draw attention to the bat-shit bitch without ending up in the morgue. Turning
the corner, advancing along the west side of the lodge, she whispered for me to
stop as she jabbed the gun against my scalp. Flicking on a tiny flashlight,
Carnation shone a faint beam on a set of stairs, leading to a storm shelter or
an underground root cellar.

“Go down the steps and get inside. Not a fucking peep,
whore,” Carnation hissed in a seething tone.

My head screamed ‘No’, but my body obeyed. Praying
that somehow one of the men would catch glimpse of the tiny light, I quickly
scanned the horizon. My hope dwindled. I couldn’t see anything but the glow of
the encroaching fire. The guys were out there somewhere, blinded within the
thick forest of trees. Help wasn’t coming.

Stepping into the musty smelling room with the gun to
my head, Carnation eased the door shut behind us. Shining the tiny penlight
around the earthen room, she handed me a battery-operated camping lantern and
ordered me to turn it on.

As light flooded the room, she ripped off the stocking
cap and shook out her long blonde curls while staring at me with a venomous
look.

“Down on your knees. You’ve had a lot of practice in
that position, now haven’t you?” she chortled with a derisive sneer.

As I crouched down and knelt on the hard dirt floor,
Carnation raced in toward me, slamming the gun against the side of my head with
a brutal blow. Pain exploded through my brain and I struggled against the
swelling blackness devouring my vision. Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear the
spots as I attempted to rise back up, but Carnation stomped a heavy boot into
the small of my back, pinning me to the dark soil of the floor.

Gripping my wrist, she twisted one arm behind my back.
Fight or flight took over and I struggled against her claim, ripping my arm
from her grip. She landed another agonizing blow to the back of my head and the
darkness won me over.

Slowly rising from the inky veil, I blinked against
the bright light. I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious, but as I tried
to move I discovered I was laying on the ground with my hands bound behind my
back.

“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble and shit load of
money, you know that?” Carnation bitched as she gnashed her teeth on the end of
a long white zip tie. I was sure that’s what she’d used to bind my wrists. “Do
you have any idea how much it costs to hire a goddamn hit man? I should have
let him blow your brains out instead of ordering him to fuck with you for a
little while.”

“Why do you want to hurt me?” I murmured. “Who are
you?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you fucking bitch. You know
exactly who I am, just like I know who you are,” she sneered. “I was sitting in
my car outside the church that day of the stupid wedding. I saw him all over
you in the parking lot. And I know you fucked him at the club. I still have a
good friend at Genesis. She told me all about the scene Master Kerr made when
my
Master took pity on you and spanked your
pathetic ass. I also know you fucked him that night. I would have thought
Master Stephen had better taste, but obviously he’ll fuck any hole. So I had to
slash his tires,” she boasted.
 

She’d been watching Joshua and me… had a spy inside
the club watching us, too.

“When I asked my friend to cozy up to Kerr, I found
out that
my
Master Stephen had told him
to leave you alone. Poor Master Kerr was dumbfounded and still pissed that Mika
asked him to leave that night. Stupid prick. Kerr thought you were playing
games with him. That’s when I hatched my plot to get rid of you.” The
terrifying gleam in her eyes made my blood turn to ice. “Then when my friend
told me she was sad that Kerr was leaving the country on business... well, it
made my job that much easier.”

“You could have come to me and told me you still loved
him. I would have stepped aside,” I lied.

Carnation snorted with a sarcastic scoff. “As long as
you’re alive, he’ll always want you. He doesn’t love you. He’s never loved
anyone but me. You know that, right? He loves me, and he always will.”

Agree with her. Play
along with her irrational rambling. Buy yourself some time.

“You’re right. Joshua doesn’t love me and I don’t love
him. We’re only friends,” I fibbed.

“Who the fuck is Joshua?” she snarled. “I’m talking
about Master,
my
Master… Master Stephen.”

“Oh, right,” I whispered as my head screamed in pain.

“Humph, I must have hit you harder than I thought. Are
you trying to pull some psychological mumbo-jumbo on me, whore? It won’t work.
A couple dozen shrinks have already tried. I’m not crazy.” She paused and narrowed
her eyes. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you? Just like all those other fucking
bitch subs at Genesis. They always talked about me behind my back….Always
thought they were better than me. But I’ll show them. Master Stephen will take
me back and he’ll force that weasel-prick Mika to reinstate my membership. I’ll
be back, goddammit. Even if I have to kill them all.”

“In your fucking dreams,” I murmured. Fuzzy and sick
to my stomach, I wasn’t sure if I’d actually said the words aloud or simply
thought them.

Carnation gripped a fist in my hair and yanked my head
back. I cried out in pain as she kicked me in the ribs. I grunted, biting back
a howl of agony.

“My dreams are none of your fucking business, whore.
Let me tell you something. You’ve spread your legs for
my
Master for the last time. I’m going to cut
your nasty cunt out and shove it down your throat. Now shut the hell up. My fun
with you is just getting started,” she cackled in a dry, brittle whisper.

“How did you find us here?” I whispered, hoping I could
keep her talking long enough that someone would find me.

She chuckled. “Might as well tell you the truth.
You’ll be taking it to the grave, anyway. My Master Stephen used to bring me
here sometimes with Ian,” she preened. “I was special enough that he wanted to
share me. Show the other less fortunate
Doms
what a
special girl I was. Ian loves me too. Don’t think he doesn’t.”

I wanted to gag. She was beyond delusional. Outside I
could hear voices calling my name.
Oh thank god.
They’re looking for me.

“Fuck,” Carnation hissed. “That didn’t take as long as
I’d hoped. Be quiet now,
bunny
, or I’ll
have to slit your throat.”

Snatching a knife off a long wooden workbench,
Carnation squatted down near my face.

“How did you like my texts? Pretty convincing, huh?”
she snickered. “It was fun and so damn easy. I played you like a damn fiddle.
All this time you thought it was your old Master after your ass. God, that’s
classic. Sorry, bitch, but Kerr doesn’t want you anymore, and neither do I.
Looks like you’re going to have to die, bunny. You’re in my way.”

The more Carnation confessed, the more the pieces
began falling into place. She was obsessed with Joshua. And in her twisted,
totally fucked-up mind she truly thought he would take her back. I wasn’t about
to start arguing with her.

Pulling a blue bandanna out of her pants pocket, she
tried to shove the cotton cloth into my mouth. Clenching my jaws, I jerked my
head back. A new wave of pain crashed through my brain, but I refused to open
my mouth.

Landing a fist to my cheek bone, then another, she
cursed me under her breath. White lights exploded behind my eyes. I cried out,
but my wail was instantly muffled as she crammed the bandana inside my mouth.
Pressing her knee against my lips, she peeled off a strip of duct tape. Where
the roll had come from, I didn’t know.

My vision faded in and out and I fought the urge to
vomit as she slapped the adhesive over my mouth. I knew I was going to die in
the cold, musty room. I just didn’t know when or how. I prayed she wouldn’t
make me suffer long, that she’d put a bullet in my head before she beat me to a
bloody pulp or began to dismember my body.

Why hadn’t I told Joshua that I loved him when I had
the chance? How was he going to survive losing two women that he loved? Would
he ever risk his heart again? Tears stung my eyes and made the throbbing in my
head expand with a gut-churning spike.

Sanna’s frantic cries for me grew loud. I groaned as I
raised my head off the floor and looked toward the door.

“Do you want sissy to come in and play with us?”
Carnation asked in a manic whisper.

Grunting, I shook my head no. My brain felt like it
was lined with spikes, and my movement sent the barbs piercing inward with an
agonizing stab.

“Oh, but I’d like for little Sanna baby to have just
as much fun as you are. Wouldn’t you?”

A pitiful moan burned in the back of my throat, and I
shook my head more adamantly sending shards of white-hot pain piercing inside
my brain.

Long minutes later, I heard Joshua call my name in a
tone so rife with panic, it shattered my heart. He called out again. His voice
was louder… more demanding. God, I didn’t want to die. Not here. Not now. I’d
finally found the man who made me complete. Fate couldn’t be so cruel and take
it all away so soon… could it?
  

“We don’t want him playing with us,” Carnation
whispered. “If he knew what I was doing to you, he might not want me back. He
can’t find us, because I won’t be able to finish what I started. And I’ve been
looking forward to making you suffer for a long, long time.” The sound of her
vile, hissed cackle made my skin crawl.

Joshua screamed my name again. He was close, so close
it sounded as if he were in the room. I knew Carnation would make me pay, and
might very well kill me on the spot, but I had to do something to draw Joshua’s
attention.

As the mentally unstable bitch stared pensively at the
door, I drew my leg back and kicked her in the shin as hard as I could. She let
out a scream that intensified the ringing in my ears. Then as if realizing her
mistake, she slapped a hand over her mouth and lunged toward me. My life would
be over in a matter of seconds.

The weathered worn door exploded with a deafening
crack as Joshua burst into the room, gun drawn and pointed. A look of absolute
shock registered on his face when he realized he was aiming his weapon at his
former sub. As she raised her gun and started to point it to my head, Joshua
fired. Carnation sailed backward with a shriek of pain that crashed through my
thundering head.

Loud footsteps running overhead mixed with the
cacophony echoing in my ears. Closing my eyes I tried to combat the pain
vibrating in my head.

“Down here,” Joshua yelled.

The agony inside my skull grew unbearable. With a
whimper, I faded into the darkness.

“Come on, baby, wake up. Please come back to me,”
Joshua’s poignant plea coaxed me toward the surface.

Opening my eyes, I tried to blink the blurry fog away.
The light from the room felt like daggers, stabbing unmercifully into my skull.
Squinting I saw Joshua sitting next to me on the couch, a tiny smile of relief
tugged his lips, but his eyes still wore a veil of fear. Leaning over the back
of the leather divan, Sanna gazed down at me as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Reaching down, she softly caressed her hand over mine. Briefly closing my eyes,
I savored her loving touch before realizing something cold and wet lay pressed
around my head.