Page 28 of Scar

All day at work, I've been overthinking. Is it a bad idea to bring Maeve along with me tonight? I have to pick up four college men, men that Maeve may have gone to school with. They're the men who assaulted my patient, the one that, because of them, is on a psychiatric hold right now. She's on suicide watch because of these men.

It's sickening.

I did what I could, I wrote her the prescription for the medical abortion, and as far as I know, she took it. I will request blood panels from the facility after I handle these men. It isn't like her being pregnant would somehow save them. No, they're destined to die, have been since the moment that young girl came into my office in full tears. Their remorse or lack of is all that will affect how brutally I kill them.

I breeze through my day pretty quickly. Thankfully, I was overbooked since I missed yesterday for Maeve's exams. She really did amazing, I'm so proud of her, and I hope she knows it. By the time my last patient of the day leaves, it's far past sunset, and I know on any other day my girl would be getting ready for bed at this hour. But I think she's either nervous or excited about our plans tonight. I hate that I have to be cautious that she doesn't run, I hope soon I can take the collar off and we can just exist. That I can buy her a car and trust that she won't go anywhere, that she'll always come home to me. But I'm confident we will get there.

Maeve is in the living room when I get home, she's curled up under a blanket and looking like a fucking goddess. "I missed you all day today." I tell her, rounding the couch to give her a kiss. It surprises me that she willingly reciprocates my affection, but I'm not going to make her feel insecure about it. I cup her face in my hand, stroking her smooth skin with my thumb.

This gorgeous woman smiles up at me, a smile I'm not sure I deserve, but I want it anyway. I want every smile, every tear, every moan, every yawn. I want her. "Go get dressed, ma fleur. Something black and not too flashy." I instruct. I smack her ass roughly when she goes to walk away from me. She jumps at the contact, squealing in surprise, but her glare towards me isn't as convincing as she thinks it is. She even blushes when I wink at her.

I grab the few things I need from the basement, lorazepam, rope, duct tape, a hunting knife, and unfortunately, the leash for Maeve. It's a special leash that will connect to her collar and can not be disconnected without the key. I will keep the handle of her leash clipped to my belt for security. I know she won't like that, I know it will hurt her that I don't trust her. But I can't, not yet. She's already tried to run once and I won't lose her. I can't lose her.

When I head back upstairs, Maeve is just coming back out of our bedroom. She's wearing a black pair of flared leggings that hugs her perfect ass so well I want to bite it. She's also sporting black boots and a black tank top, her hair is braided and hanging down her back. "You look flawless, fleur." I tell her genuinely. I love the little blush she does when I compliment her, like she's not used to hearing it.

I offer my hand to her, smiling when she takes it. I know she's surprised we're leaving the house, but she looks afraid. "I turned the fence off. I won't let you get hurt." I promise her as I help her into my second car, my SUV. I have too many bodies to collect tonight. They won't fit in my car.

I wait to inform Maeve about the leash until we're already off the property. I know it's shitty, but I can't have her asking to go back home. I need her to see all of me, I need her to accept me.

Once we get to the first man's house, I turn to face her, staring at her apologetically. "I need you not to be upset with me, okay?" I plead. She stares at me lost but slowly nods. I hate that I can see her heart break the second I pull the leash out of my pocket. She doesn't even say anything. She just drops her head and moves her braid so I have access to her collar. I don't know if she's upset because I don't trust her, upset because she was trying to run, or simply humiliated. But I don't like the broken look in her eye. I grasp a hold of her chin, tilting her face to look at me. "I know,fleur, I'm sorry." I say sincerely. She breaks eye contact with me the second I let go of her chin, a gesture that destroys me itself.

I wait to clasp the leash to my pants until we're both out of the car, but she doesn't say a word. She doesn't even look around. She keeps her eyes at her feet and walks somewhat behind me up to this guy's door. I don't have time to focus on her hating me right now, I have four college jocks to abduct. But I can't shut my mind off, I'm desperately looking for all the ways I can make this up to Maeve later.

I knock loudly, gaining a few shouts from the other side of the door. Luck must be on my side. All four men are at this guy's house. They're having a small party between the four of them and a girl far too drunk almost blacked out on the couch. No doubt she was about to suffer a similar fate to Abby. "Ayye! Mark! I think someone brought you a party favor!" The guy at the door shouts. He's not even going to ask who I am and what I'm doing here? Do they have no sense of self-preservation? Mark, one of the four, comes to the door. But his focus isn't on me. It's on Maeve. He grins, a sickening grin. "I've been trying to get this little firecracker to come to one of my parties for years." He announces. He moves to touch Maeve. My Maeve. I grip his wrist so tightly that I'm surprised it doesn't snap. "Mine." I growl at him.

I don't know what the plan was bringing Maeve here, but it's turned into something different altogether. These men seem to want to swarm Maeve as soon as they see her. One even touches her leash and tries to high five me. If my girl wasn't humiliated by the leash, I'm sure she is now. I'll tell her soon that nobody who has seen this will be alive to tell a soul here very soon.

I feel her tug on my shirt while I'm speaking with one of the men. Immediately, my focus is on her. My focus will always be on her. She is the priority. "Yes, ma fleur?" I ask quietly. I turn and cup her cheek in my hand, stroking the skin. "Can I check on that girl? She looks sick." She asks quietly. Oh, my sweet, sweet girl. "Of course, love. But she's not sick. They've spiked her drink." Iinformher. She gives a sad nod, waiting for me to unhook her leash. I hand her the other end of it, knowing to keep an eye on her. But I don't think I have anything to worry about if she is with the young girl she's worried about.

"How'd you get that one? I've been trying to hit it since freshman year! She's a fucking prude." Mark asks. I glare at him, cracking my neck before I plaster on a fake smile. "You just don't have what it takes." I tease. I know how to get to these idiot jocks, I know what makes them tick. They're egomaniacs, they're narcissists. "Asshole." Mark says with a bark of laughter. He almost spills his beer when he claps me on the shoulder. Good, that means the lorazepam is going to kick in soon. The others shouldn't be far behind.

I keep an eye on my girl, but she's being quiet as can be. She's sitting on the floor in front of this other girl, wiping her face with a damp cloth and attempting to get her to drink some water. Mark dropping to the floor makes her jump and spin around in her spot. "It's time to go, fleur." I tell her, reaching a hand for her to take.

Maeve takes my hand, her eyes still locked onto the girl on the couch, so I grip her chin and tilt her to look at me. "She's going to be fine. She will wake up tomorrow and not remember a thing, okay? I promise you." I say sincerely. I don't want her afraid for this young girl. "But she's not safe here with them." She says quietly. My girl. I lean down, kissing her lips. She hesitates, still clearly upset about the leash, but she doesn't push me away. "She's perfectly safe. These guys are coming with us. Trust me." I insist.

I take Maeve back out to the SUV, securing her leash to the door handle. Again, I know it breaks her heart that I don't trust her, but I'm just being cautious. I also take the precaution to put on the safety lock so she can't open the door. It gives me peace of mind to get done what I need without worrying about her getting out or someone getting in. I'd hate to kill someone on the street because they touch my girl.

Chapter 39

Maeve's POV

That made the top of the list for the most humiliating experience of my life. All four of those guys go to my school. They're all in my friend group, and they all just saw me being walked into a party on a leash! I don't want to cry, but I can't stop myself. They're in free fall. They have been since Leon left me in the car alone. Every time I think they're done, I remember the predatory looks on those guys' faces when they saw that I was literally collared and leashed like a dog.

I can't believe Leon brought me here, and for what? Did he bring me here just to show off that I'm a prisoner now? That I'm some kind of kept woman. I thought I was starting to trust him, and now the whole school will know, and they'll laugh at me. So even if Leon ever lets me finish school, I'll be the laughing stock of campus.

I hear the back gate open on his SUV, slightly jumping when I feel the entire vehicle dip as if someone jumped in the back. I want to scream, I didn't notice if it was Leon. I was too upset to be watching my surroundings. I shouldn't feel unsafe when I'm not near my kidnapper. It's supposed to be the other way around. But I just want him to come back.

I scream when my door opens, but Leon shushes me and puts his hands on the side of my face. "Ma petite fleur..." He says quietly. I swat his hands away, wiping the wetness from my cheeks. I don't want to hear his stupid pet names when he just humiliated me in front of the four most popular guys on campus. "Tell me what is wrong so I can fix it." He begs. I laugh, shaking my head and crossing my arms across my chest. He can't make those guys unsee what he just let them see. He can't fix it.

Leon holds onto my face again, this time not letting me swat him away. I just want to go home. No, not home. I don't have a home, I want to go back to my prison and sleep away my shame. "Those men will never utter a word about what they saw tonight, I promise you." He says confidently. I laugh through my tears, rolling my eyes at him. "You can't know that." I say as confidently as I can.

I hate that he knew what was bothering me, I hate that he knew it would humiliate me but did it anyway. "I can. Because they all die tonight." He says. I whip my head around and stare at him like he's a crazy person. "Excuse me?" I ask. He just sighs and leans in to kiss me. I don't have the energy to push him away. "These four men brutally hurt one of my patients. A young woman a little older than you that threatened to kill herself if she was pregnant. They do not get away with this. Are you with me or not?" He asks.

Am I? Do I really want to be a part of this? Well... I'm already a part of it. It's if I want to be more. "Did they really?" I ask nervously. Leon sighs, kissing my lips again in such a soft way that I hardly feel it. "Yes. She had to drop out of college because she was too scared of seeing these guys again." He answers me.

I feel sick.

These men, my classmates, they're rapists. I've been invited to parties they've thrown! That could have been me! "Who was she?" I ask. My friends may have ditched me, but I wouldn't have wanted it to be one of them. "Abby Marino." He answers. At the same time that I'm thankful not to know her, I'm sickened that I didn't know this happened.