Demise (Gallows Hill, #3)

by Katelyn Taylor

Skyla

My head is reeling, and I’m rendered absolutely speechless. “Wh-here are you taking me?” I stutter. “Somewhere safe,” he assures me before turning back to face the road. “Why? Why are you doing this?” I ask. The car slows for a moment as he turns his head to look at me once more. That familiar face, a face I never would have guessed, never would have suspected. “Professor Corwin, what’s going on?” “I told you I’d come for you, my love. It took a little longer than I would have liked, and I’m sorry for that. Those boys were circling you like sharks,”

“Stalker?” he asks with furrowed brows before he lets out a deep chuckle. “Is that what they told you? You can’t listen to them, Giselle. They will say anything to turn you against me.” “Skyla,” I say shakily. “Hm?” “My name. You called me Giselle, but I’m Skyla. Giselle was my mother.” “Oh yes, that’s what I meant. The resemblance is uncanny, though. You’re like Giselle reincarnated,”

An angry noise reverberates through his chest as he growls. “You smell like them. It’s disgusting. Make no mistake, there will be consequences for letting them touch what is mine,” he says as he starts walking us towards the warehouse.

When the door to the warehouse opens, I’m surprised, no, stunned. On the outside, it looks like a storage facility, maybe some kind of factory. On the inside, though? It’s a house. Like a fully blown decorated and furnished home. The layout is open, where you can see nearly every room and hallway from one spot.

“I appreciate it more than you know. How…how did we get here, so quickly, that is?” I ask, fishing for any and every bit of information I can gather. “It wasn’t all that quick. I may have overestimated the dosage for the packet of apple cider,” he says with a frown. “Apple cider?” I ask, my mind trying to follow the last memory I had. The drink Wesley gave me in the kitchen, right before everything went black. “You drugged the cider packet?” I ask. “Well, my options were quite limited, and I know what a weakness you have for the stuff,” he smiles, like it’s an endearing thing. “Don’t be mad, my love. I did it for us, for your safety.”

“Thank you for coming for me. Did you…take care of the guys?” In a split second, his demeanor shifts. His posture becomes rigid, his hold on me practically punishing. “No, not yet. My first priority was getting you out of there and home where you belong. I’ll take care of them soon, though. Don’t worry.” Fear pangs inside me as I give him a watery smile. “T-thank you.” He nods and presses another slobbery kiss to my face before walking us deeper through the ‘house.’ “You’re probably still tired, aren’t you?” “Very. Would you mind if I rested for a little?” I ask. “Not at all, my love,” he says as he walks into a bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

Though as quick as that hope came, it fades when his hands reach for the waistline of my leggings as he begins dragging the material down my legs. I pinch my thighs together, attempting to scoot away from him. “What are you doing?” His eyes flick up to me in irritation; the former adoring look long forgotten. “You reek of them. You need a bath.” I pull away from his grasp, doing my best to keep my tone even. “If you just undo my hands, I can get undressed. I’m kind of shy,” I say with a weak smile.

“My love, I’ve watched you get spit-roasted over a dozen times. You’re a slut.”

“But you’re my slut,” he says before crushing his lips to mine. Nausea rises inside me as I do everything I can to fight against him. My legs thrash, and my tied hands pound against him, but nothing works. He’s stronger than he looks, a lot stronger. Bile begins to pool at the back of my throat, but instead of trying to push it down, I let it go. Vomit spews out of my mouth and all over him as I heave. He shouts, shoving me to the ground, wiping the puke from his face before grabbing the rope and quickly tying my legs up as I begin to crawl away.

Until rage turns his eyes black, and he draws his leg back, delivering a kick to my gut. Then another, and another. By the fourth kick, I’m vomiting all over again. I don’t know if it’s from the drugs, the fear, or the pain. It doesn’t matter either way. On the last kick, I hear a sharp crack that steals all the air from my lungs and forces me to lay on my back. I howl and scream in pain, and it seems to shake Professor Corwin from his anger fueled haze. He stares down at me for a moment, what looks like remorse across his face, as he turns his back and stomps off towards the shower, shutting the bathroom door behind himself. There I lie, half-naked, covered in vomit, hurting, and absolutely terrified of what’s to come.

Wesley

Things could be worse, I suppose. How mad can a man be when he finally got the girl? Okay, maybe that’s a stretch. I don’t know if I exactly got the girl so much as got to eat her delectable cunt while one of her boyfriends watched and jacked off to it. Fuck, that was hot. I’ve wanted Skyla from the first moment I laid eyes on her. With every day that passed, my desire for her only grew until I could hardly see straight unless I was with her.

She got really drowsy earlier, no doubt the exhaustion from all the stress finally catching up to her. I carried her to her room and laid her down before I came back down here to work. Kinda tempted to crawl into bed beside her. Maybe she’s already awake. I’d be more than interested for round two with her; even Liam could join again.

I don’t miss the way he’s watching me, and I don’t attempt to hide the way I’m watching him. Skyla is absolutely the goal, but a time or two with one of her guys wouldn’t be the worst way to spend an afternoon. It may sound stereotypical, but in the military on missions where we couldn’t leave our position for days at a time, needs arose, and we all found ways of…release. Then, when we would return back home or to base…well, let’s just say I’m not a fan of labels. Love is love, and pleasure is pleasure; nothing more to it.

Liam fills up a glass with water, turning around to face me as he drinks it. His light green eyes stay on mine as his Adam’s apple begins working the liquid, pushing it down until the glass is empty. His tongue runs along his lips before lifting the hem of his shirt up, dabbing at his chin where I know there is no water. It does give the opportunity to show off his toned abs. This kid doesn’t know what kind of fire he’s playing with. It seems like it’s a game to him, like he’s trying to goad me. He’s gonna be shocked when he realizes that I don’t bluff. “What are you doing?” I ask him. “Nothing.” He smirks, dropping his shirt and sauntering as best as he can towards me.

“I was parched. You didn’t offer me the drink I wanted earlier, so I had to make do.” I raise an eyebrow to him and stare. That teasing smile doesn’t leave his face until I lift my hand to the back of his neck, moving up before my fingers grab a hold of his hair and yank. His smile drops, and a short gasp escapes him as I lean over him. I purposely let my lips trail over his as I speak. “If you want to suck my cock, all you have to do is ask nicely.” Liam’s pupils are blown as he stares at me, his tongue darting out to trace over his lip as I yank on his hair once more. Another gasp escapes him, this one sounding a hell of a lot more like a moan. “You want to be my good boy and drink my cum?” I ask. He goes to speak when a voice shouts in the otherwise quiet house. “What the fuck is going on here?” Asher snaps.

“Your boyfriend was just telling me how badly he wants to suck my cock.” An offended scoff escapes Asher as he shakes his head. “Boyfriend? You’re out of your goddamn mind.” I don’t miss the hurt that flashes across Liam’s face when Asher says that and honestly, it pisses me off. So, I help the kid out. “Oh? Was I mistaken? Perfect, more for me,” I say before I drag Liam’s mouth to mine.

His hands come to my face, and I drag him closer, my tongue tangling with his just as he’s ripped away from me and hauled into Asher’s side. I smirk, wiping my mouth with the side of my hand as Asher’s hand flexes around Liam’s hip, keeping him plastered to him. A dazed-looking Liam stares at me until Asher wraps his hand around his throat, pulling his lips to him. He kisses Liam savagely, hungrily, and I can tell that it’s mainly to show me up. I’ll be honest though, the only real winner in this scenario is Liam, and when Asher rips away from him, the idiot is grinning like he just won the goddamn lottery. My work here is done. “What the fuck did we just walk in on?” Griggs grouches, his eyes moving from me to Liam and Asher, Ronan behind him with a stoic look. “Just call me Cupid, happy to lend my services to either of you gentlemen,” I say as I raise my brows suggestively.

“Where’s Skyla?” “Asleep,” I answer. “She was tired, so I carried her to her room for a nap.” “You carried her?” Griggs asks sharply. My gaze darts to Liam, who’s now the one with the shit-eating grin. “Yeah, did we forget to mention Skyla added a new boyfriend?” “What?” Asher and Griggs ask simultaneously. “About time; I was getting sick of your lovesick bullshit,” Ronan says as he turns to head up the stairs, always the first to seek Skyla out.

“I did. She wanted it, I wanted it. It happened. That gonna be a problem, Griggs?” I challenge.

“If she brings in one more goddamn guy, I’m gutting him like a pig, onsite,” Griggs grumbles. “Good luck telling her that.” Liam laughs. “Skyla? Skyla?” Ronan suddenly calls out from the top floor. “What the FUCK!” His tone sets us all on edge.

“Where is she?” he asks with crazed eyes. My head swivels around the room like she’s probably just hiding somewhere before looking back at him. “I-I don’t know. I just put her down here.” “How long ago?” Griggs asks. “I don’t know, three hours ago? Maybe four?” “Maybe four?” Asher snarls, wrapping his fists in my shirt. “Where the FUCK is my wife?”

I switch to the back of the house. I run through the film for another five minutes when Griggs leans over, pausing the footage. “There!” he says. I squint, trying to see what he’s talking about. A quick black flash can be seen from the corner before the footage blips, and it’s gone. No. Pulling up my next app, I begin running security checks, hoping to fucking God that I’m wrong. “Come on, come on, come on,” I mutter to myself before my heart sinks. “Well?” Asher asks as my eyes raise from the screen. “Someone hacked into the main line, made a duplicate footage to camouflage themselves,” I say. “Meaning?” Ronan hedges, understanding and fear already written all over his face. My eyes come to Vincent’s just as I hear an out of breath Liam crest the stairs. “He’s got her,” I whisper.

Vincent

He’s got her. He has Skyla. He took her. And it’s all this dumb motherfucker’s fault. I can’t even blink before my body moves of its own accord. My hands are wrapped around Wesley’s throat, and I’m squeezing like I never have before. I snapped plenty of throats in my life, crushed plenty of tracheas. I have no doubt this one will be the most satisfying of all.

“Vincent, c’mon. You’re gonna kill him!” Ronan barks. “Good,” I grit through clenched teeth, my body shaking as I hold Wesley down with everything I have. “No, not good. We need to focus our energy on finding Skyla, not tearing each other apart.”

killed him? She cares about him. It’ll hurt her,” Ronan says. “Please!” he begs as his arms strain, yanking on me violently while Wesley’s face turns a pale blue. “Come on, Vincent. We have to find her, we need you. She needs you,” Ronan says. My head turns to look at him, fury vibrating through me as my body shakes. He nods his head quickly. “Skyla needs you.”

I’m able to tap into the city’s street cameras, accessing the one that points directly to that parking lot. Sure enough, the guy is parked close enough for me to make out who has her as he loads her into the back seat of his piece of shit car. “Motherfucker,” I growl under my breath. “Who?” Asher asks as he and Liam lean over my shoulder. “What the fuck? Professor Corwin?” Liam balks. “He’s the stalker? How?” “He saw a pretty girl and got obsessed,”

Two properties belong to Nicholas Corwin. One apartment just off campus, and then a warehouse out in Vermont that was purchased a little over three months ago. When the cameras show him heading for the freeway going northbound, I know we have our answer. Motherfucker is taking her to Vermont.

“Keep tracking them just in case. They have to be heading for that warehouse.” “Where are you going?” Ronan shouts. “I’m going to get my girl!” I snarl as I rip the door open and sprint for my bike. I fire it up before running into the garage, grabbing two five-gallon jugs of gas that I’ve had on hand for instances like this. I also grab a blanket and a first aid kit, just in case, before tossing it all into the back of Wesley’s car. In the time it takes me to do all that, the fuck wads have finally managed to make it outside. Asher is locking the place up behind them as Wesley jumps into the driver’s seat, and Ronan is carrying Liam’s broken ass to the car.

Skyla

“You’re a mess, my love.” I don’t say anything, I just watch him quietly. He lets out a ragged sigh as he shakes his head. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It should have been easy from the start, you know?” “What should have?” I ask carefully. He grabs a loofa, covering it with soap before beginning to wash my shirt and legs. I’m a little confused why he’s doing it, but I’ll take this over him stripping me naked. “Everything. You know, I met your mom in the same class that I met you.” “My mom?” I echo.

“She was so beautiful, like sunlight walking into a room,” he smiles. “I sat by her on the first day. The way she looked at me, I knew it was always going to be us, forever.”

“And then you saw me, and you thought I looked like her?” He looks at me and shakes his head. “You don’t just look like her. You’re a spitting image, her doppelganger. I couldn’t believe it when I laid my eyes on you. I watched you for weeks, waiting for an opening to show you all we could be.”

“Do you know what it was like to sit back and watch you with them? Watch them touch you, watch them hold you. Do you have any clue how many times I wanted to slit Walcott’s throat in the middle of class just for breathing in your direction?!” he snarls.

“So, you and my mom dated?” He hesitates for a moment before that soft, dreamy look re-enters his eyes. Oh, my God, he’s a fucking lunatic. “We did, for several months, and we were really happy. Until that piece of shit Parris came along,” he spits. “She hated him, couldn’t stand the guy. He had just graduated, and his father chose my Giselle as his bride.”

“Then fucking Putnam came into the picture, just like they always do. He thought he was owed Giselle, that she…she was some kind of property! And being the pig that Henry was, he shared her like a common whore!” he snaps, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets. He closes his eyes, blowing out a heavy breath before looking at me. “And then she died; she was taken from the world, from me. I have no doubt in my mind that Putnam and Parris were behind it. They are behind everything bad in this goddamn world.”

“Of course, everyone knows it. The way her death was swept under the rug. You were sent away. Putnam went MIA for months. It’s obvious!” he snarls, his hands shaking as he drops the loofa. He falls to the ground, holding his head in his shaky hands as he begins to sob. “Giselle! My sweet, sweet Giselle.” I don’t move a muscle, tracking his movements carefully, when all of a sudden, his tears have dried, sobs have ceased, and he looks at me with a blank face that chills me to the bone. “It’s okay, though. Things are okay now. We can start our lives now, together.”

“We can’t, though. I’m Skyla, not Giselle. You don’t love me; you love my mom, Professor Corwin.” “You’re GISELLE!” he shouts, peeling my soaked shirt up and over my head. He’s clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed since my shirt can’t come off with my hands being tied. In his anger, he grabs the thin material, ripping it in two and exposing my breasts. Only my panties remain, but apparently I don’t get to keep those either. Corwin rips those off as well, cupping more and more water over me. He abandons the loofa, covering his hands in shampoo as he begins scrubbing my hair. He yanks and pulls my hair, and I wince before he shoves me underwater. I hold my breath as one hand pins me to the tub, and the other aggressively rinses my hair before yanking me from the water.

“Now that you’re clean, let’s get you into some fresh clothes. I still have some of your old ones,” he says as he begins rifling through that duffel bag he brought. A white blouse and skirt in hand, he turns and sets the clothes beside me as his eyes roam over my body. I attempt to cover myself, but it doesn’t work.

Instinctively, I stretch my limbs, the skin worn and raw from the rope. Corwin’s eyes trace over my breasts, falling down to my legs before forcing them apart. He stares at me with pure lust, and fear clenches inside me. When his hand comes up, presumably to touch me, I fight. Kicking him in the side of the head, I attempt to scramble off the bed, ignoring my screaming ribs as I scoot to the edge. I don’t make it far before he recovers, smacking me across the face. Again and again, slap after slap sends my head spinning before he crawls on top of me, his towel falling away as his limp shriveled cock flops onto my thigh. It’s fucking revolting, but I don’t have time to focus on it before his hands wrap around my throat. He's choking me hard, shaking me as he speaks through clenched teeth. “Stop fucking fighting me, Giselle! Just fucking stop!”

“My love, are you okay?” he asks. “I’m so sorry. You just…you can’t run. It’s not safe, okay?” I look at him in revulsion, but don’t say anything as he nods to himself, like my silence is compliance. What a mistake that will be for him. “Come on, lay down,” he says as he lays on top of me, pinning me into place. My ribs scream as I attempt to shift beneath him, but he only bears more weight down on top of me. “What about my clothes?” I wheeze. “We don’t need clothes between us. Rest, my love,” he says as he nuzzles into me, the sound of his heavy sleeping breaths coming faster than I’d anticipated. I try to move slowly, but I can’t budge an inch. The pain inside me is so overwhelming, I’m ready to vomit all over again.

Movement shakes me from my sleep. It’s slight, but the motion jars my ribs, forcing a whimper out of me. “Oh yeah,” Corwin moans. “Wiggle on me, Giselle.” My eyes fly open to find Corwin grinding his semi-hard cock against my bare thigh. “Stop it!” I snap, shoving my hands at his shoulder. God, he’s an overweight piece of shit. An evil smile transforms his face as he looks at me. “Oh, you want to play? Let’s play.”

I swear I’m about to bleed. My screams echo through the house, and Corwin groans in pleasure. “Good girl. Scream for me like a little slut. I know you like it rough. I’ve watched you get fucked by them nice and hard. You want it hard? I’ll give it to you,” he says as he uses his other hand to slip between my thighs. My legs thrash, and I power through the pain radiating across my body as I use everything at my disposal. I buck and smack and kick and bite, but he thinks it’s a game. He’s getting off on it. “Oh God, you’re a wild one,” he says as he attempts to subdue me.

I’m in a daze, trying to get my bearings, when I feel his fingers shove inside me. His nails are long and jagged, cutting into me as he painfully shoves his fingers in and out of me. “STOP! NO!” I scream, picking up my efforts. I feel tears pouring down my face as I fight against him. He shushes my screaming, flattening his tongue as he licks at the trail of tears down my face. “Your tears taste so fucking good,” he moans. “Not as good as the rest of you, though,” he says, pulling his fingers from me, sucking on them as he moans.

The door is so close I can almost taste it, but a hand buries into my hair, yanking me backward. “No, no, no!” I scream as my nails dig into the carpet, like that will be my saving grace. His arm wraps beneath my battered torso, forcing me onto my knees before I feel the head of his tiny cock line up against me. His other hand is still in my hair before moving to my neck, forcing my face into the ground as he pushes his knees onto the back of my legs, effectively pinning me in place. “Hold that cunt still,” he grits through clenched teeth. Another tear rolls down my face, this one solidifying my fate. I close my eyes as I begin to visualize a place, any place. Somewhere that I can go disassociate until this nightmare is over. Or I’m dead. I’d prefer either at this point. A thunderous boom rattles the walls of the room as I force my eyes to look towards the doorway. Vincent.

ground and begins pummeling him into the ground. In the next moment, Ronan and Wesley are rushing into the room, followed by Asher and then Liam hobbling as fast as he can with his boot. “Baby!” Ronan yells as he drops to my side, eyes scanning over me as Wesley does the same on my other side. A wave of relief rushes over me when I look at them. If I wasn’t in such a state of shock, I could fucking cry.

“I’m so sorry, little one. I—” “Not now,” Ronan snaps as he wraps me into his arms.

Liam’s eyes frantically scan the room before landing on me. They zone in on my face. With all the blows to my cheeks and nose, I’m sure I look like I’ve been through hell. “Did he touch you?” Ronan asks, pulling me away from him so he can look at me. My stomach curls at the reminder of his hands on me. Vincent and Asher pause in their assault for a moment, all eyes on me when I give a shaky nod. Fury ignites in all their eyes, but it’s Liam that makes the first move. He reaches for the lamp on the side table, yanking it straight out of the wall before holding it above his head. “Burn in hell,” he grumbles before bringing it down with such force Corwin’s head makes a sickening splat sound.