Free Reckless Fear (The Black Vipers #1) by Micki Fredricks Page B

his wrist, desperate for another breath.
    The veins in his forehead popped out, fury rolling off him in waves. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? How weak you’ve made me look?”
    He threw me to the floor once again. I pulled my knees up, curling into a ball and protecting the only thing in my life that had ever been good.
    “Who the fuck is going to want you now? I made a deal. You and your fucking virginity, Sasha. You fucking knew what the conditions were.”
    He paced in front of me. My chest heaved in and out as I coughed against the swelling in my throat.
    My fingernails dug into the floor as I reached out, pulling myself toward the door. It was useless but I had to show him I wasn't giving up. I would never roll over and take the beatings like mom did.
    “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” He grabbed me by the ankle, pulling me back toward him.
    I fought against him, digging at the floor until my nails were broken and bloody. He picked me up and threw me onto the bed. I thrashed and kicked, trying with every ounce of strength I had to get away from him. He pinned me down, straddling me while restraining my hands.
    “Who was he? I’ll have him skinned alive!”
    I shut my eyes as tightly as I could, remembering Ben’s face, his hands, the way he’d held me.
    “Who?” he demanded.
    I had kept my secret until physically there was no way to hide it. I was angry at Ben for using me the way he had, but there would be a part of me always thankful for the night we’d spent together. I felt the little flutter of life in my lower abdomen and held on to the sensation, tucking it deeply into my heart.
    I would make it through whatever Dad did to me. Escape was so close, maybe no more than a week and I would be gone from here. I wasn't sure how he’d found out about the baby but leaving had just gotten much more complicated.
    But I was determined, and no one could take from me what Ben had given.
    He’d given me life. Not only in the form of the child growing inside of me, but the drive to escape my own life and start over. Start something better.
    “I swear to fuck, if you don’t tell me who did this to you, I will unleash a beating from hell you will never forget.”
    I opened my eyes, finding his. And this time, I didn't back down.
    ”Fuck. You.” I spat out.
    He hadn't lied. The beating was brutal and I could never have foreseen the depth of darkness he would sink into.
    My eyes fluttered open several days later, my body screaming in agony. Every inch of me was bruised and sore.
    The room was unfamiliar. A small, dark place with no windows. My heart rate spiked as fear pulsed through my veins. My naked body had been thrown onto a bed like discarded trash. A searing pain shot into my skull when I tried to move my head and my stomach rolled making me gag on bile as I reacted to the intense pain.
    I tried to roll to the side but the seeping wounds on my back stuck to the sheet. I cautiously reached around, hissing when my fingertips touched the marred skin. My back burned from the open wounds that would become my cross to bear. A constant reminder of what I’d endured.
    But it was not the pain in my head or the burning on my back that broke my spirit, it was the constant trickle of blood running from between my legs.
    I grabbed my stomach, frantically trying to reassure myself life still remained and my baby was still safely inside of me. I reached between my legs, lifting shaky, blood covered fingers. My heart shredded in agony, my body shaking uncontrollably.
    A guttural scream echoed around the room over and over. Moments passed before I realized it was me making the sound. It was primal and raw. The kind of sound made when there’s no hope for repairing the damage.
    I curled in around myself, trying to ease the crushing pain in my chest.
    “Why!” I screamed, “Why?”
    My father had violated my body. He removed the love of my life and threw us both away, taking my child’s life and