Chapter 33

I just stand there. Not able to move, speak, or think. I slowly turn my head when I hear Max say something to Ryder and chuckle. Ryder looks at me, a defeated look on his face. His eyes glaze over, knowing full well that what he's done to me, from the beginning, is unforgivable.

The room starts to spin and I struggle to stand. A single tear rolls down my cheek. How could I have been so stupid?

Twice!

I've been a pawn to both of these men. The selfishness front and center and being so naive to turn the other cheek.

Max then moves and stands in front of me, folding his arms, a curious look on his face. I look over at a vase sitting on an end table, wishing I could bash it over his face! This unwarranted drama is enough to make me walk away from men. Period!

"So, Samantha! What are we going to do with the traitor?"

I close my eyes, thinking of a way to get Ryder and me out of this situation. We can and will definitely talk about his betrayal later! I don't think I can forgive him.

"Which one?" I ask with no emotion. "There are so many of them in this room."

Max grabs my chin, seething mad! I'm guessing my reaction isn't the one he hoped for.

Good!

I look at him, showing no fear. I'm done playing his games!

Unbeknownst to me, I've been playing for years.

Max then starts to laugh. "Is that courage I smell?" He brings my face to his lips and kisses my forehead gently.

"Don't touch me!" I snap at him, looking away.

He lets me go. A disgusted look spreads throughout his face. "I don't know why I didn't kill you myself! It was easy to kill my boss's son and make him disappear."

I scoff at him, not knowing why I am so surprised. "Of course, you didn't earn that position! No one would ever trust you with running their company!"

Max chuckles wryly. "Your father does. " He then rolls his head to the side and smiles.

I raise my hand and slap him in the face! So hard that it catches him by surprise. He takes a step back, cradling his face.

He looks around and begins to laugh. "You really should keep your hands to yourself." Max rubs his cheek and backhands me.

I fall to the floor! I put my hand to my lip and look at my fingers. Blood.

"You fucking coward! Of course, you'd hit a woman!" Ryder yells, trying to remove his arms from the guards' hold.

Max turns around, looking at Ryder, surprised. "You're one to talk! Doesn't your resume include killing women?"

Ryder is seething! "I am going to kill you! I promise! I'm going to bring you to the edge of death, torment you, and kill you! Unless your wife does it! Either way, I'm going to enjoy it!"

Max looks at Ryder. He almost looks scared of him.

Max then turns back to me.

"Come here, wife," Max says, pulling me to my feet. I begin to put up a fight.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Here let me make it better!"

Max kisses me! He does it with so much force that my split lip begins burning.

I scream and push him off of me, wiping my lips. "You're disgusting! The very same reason why I never had sex with you! Don't touch me!"

Max looks very upset, his left eye twitches. I know I hit a nerve, and I'm scared of what's to come.

"That's fine! I was actually going to feed you to Benjamin," Max says as he points behind him.

He then turns around to look for the guard. "Ben?" Max looks around for his guard. "Someone go find him!" He snaps!

The woman guard puts her gun down to her side and walks toward the hallway, where the bedrooms are. Max puts his hands on his hips and begins tapping the floor with his foot. He's losing patience!

The female guard reappears soon after. She shakes her head as she looks at Ryder. "Both Ben and Rhodes are down."

Max looks at Ryder angrily. "No doubt your work! It's okay, though." He winks at Ryder and turns to me. "It's our wedding night! Come on, Sam!"

"No!" Ryder yells, trying to free himself again. One of the men holding him punches him in the stomach.

Max grabs me and starts dragging me into the hallway as I realize what's about to happen. I fight him with everything I have.

"Max!" I scream! "No! Please! Stop!"

I turn to Ryder. "Ryder!" I sob. Max is going to rape me! Horror fills me as I grab onto the couch, anything to keep me here and not alone with him.

The couch just drags along with me. Max removes my hand and laughs.

He lifts me over his shoulder and turns back toward the living room. I punch and kick, but it does not affect him!

"When I'm done with her, you can have her! Or what's left, Assassin."

I continue to fight as I hear Ryder yell for me!

Max turns around, walks down the hallway and into the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Max puts me down, and I run across the room, continuing to cry.

Why didn't I listen to Ryder?! I have made a grave mistake! One that will cost me my life, my parents, and now Ryder.

I look around, trying to find anything to throw at him. I turn, noticing the room has a door to the balcony. The balcony wraps around to the door in the living room.

There's only one problem! I have to get to it, unlock it, and then run out. All before Max grabs me.

I decide to go for it!

He slowly begins walking to me. This is my chance!

I take a golden vase sitting on a pillar near the door and throw it at him! I run to the door, trying to unlock it. Max catches the vase and throws it against the wall.

For some reason, I can't unlock the door! After a couple of attempts at trying to turn the lock, I can unlock it. However, I'm not quick enough.

I panic and yell as I feel Max's arm around my waist. He picks me up with one arm and walks toward the bed.

"Stop, please! Take my money! I will gladly hand it over to you! You know me! You know I've never cared for my inheritance! Please, just let us go!" I beg.

He throws me on the bed and bends over, holding my legs down.

"The thought crossed my mind. But no! I have to play the part of the scorned lover. You know what that's like?"

Max wraps one hand around my neck and beings to squeeze. My mouth opens as I fight to breathe, trying to pry his hand from my neck.

It's of no use, so I try to claw at his face, but I can't reach it! Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I fight for air!

"You could never know! To finally be rescued from an abandoned warehouse by my fiancé. Only for her to turn around and say the name of the other man while I'm expressing my love for her. And I'm bandaged from head to toe. All because she couldn't die like a good, little bitch!" He lets me go roughly and stands tall.

I repeatedly cough, trying to gasp for air. I wrap my hands around my neck and look up at Max.

He has nothing but hate in his eyes for me!

"Of course, I already knew his name! I knew about the two of you. Banging your head on the floor seemed like the more appropriate thing to do at the hospital! Instead, I played it off. Like you did when I first asked you why you said Ryder's name out loud. It was so obvious you didn't want to be there with me or home with your parents. You wanted to go back to your Stockholm syndrome life."

He slowly bends over in front of me, inches from my face. I lean away, terrified he'll hurt me again.

"It's okay, though! What I want most in this world, Samantha, is to be rich. That's all! I never wanted to marry. I'm still content with just sleeping around. Like I've done from the very beginning."

I look at him, stunned. He grabs my face, making me jump!

"Don't look at me so surprised, gorgeous. I had to swallow a ginormous pill being around you. You were always so..." Max looks me up and down, "...mouth-watering. Had to get my kicks somehow."

I try to move away, but he has a hand on my face and leg. He then lets me go and runs his finger down my lips, neck, and between my breasts.

I look away from him in disgust. "If your parents could only see you now..."

Max scoffs and stands tall. "What?! What could those two bums do to me?! I didn't understand, growing up, the value of a dollar. However, that changed when I went to middle school. Everyone started to tease me because I had little."

"So one day I demanded my parents get me new clothes! Of course, they explained to me that they couldn't afford it. I slowly started despising them."

"Every time they were around your parents, I felt shame! Two grown adults, living in the slum and content. That's why I never wanted your parents around mine. "

I can't believe how awful he's speaking about his parents!

"I've been to your parent's home, Max! They don't live in the slum! It's a nice, two-bedroom home. Which they own! What are you talking about, you ungrateful mother-"

Max grabs me by my neck and stands me up, pressing his lips against my ear. "No, Sam," he whispers. "I call that slum. They are poor, insignificant, low class, if you will. Once I'm done with you, I will burn that house to the ground, with my parents inside."

This is the man I've known for so long?! I never thought I'd see the day he'd talk horribly about anything. Even the people responsible for giving him life. He always made it seem like he worshipped the ground they walk on.

I look around the room. There has to be a way out!

Max pushes me against the bed. "Now I'm going to show you what you've been missing out on." He starts to undo his belt. I do all I can to hold my tears back. Now isn't the time to cry.

It's time to fight!

Suddenly, we hear gunshots erupt from down the hall. We both look toward the bedroom door. Max reaches for me.

Now is my opportunity! I turn and kick Max right between the legs. "No, thank you!"

He yells in pain and falls onto the bed.

"You fucking bitch!"

I spit at him and crawl to the other side of the bed, running to the door!

When I put my hand on the doorknob, a bullet goes flying by my head and through the door! I scream!

Ryder's Point-of-View

*Minutes before

"When I'm done with her, you can have her. Or what's left, Assassin," Max says with a smirk as he turns to me.

He has Sam over his shoulder. She's screaming and punching! I fight to get to her, but these two guards punch me in the stomach every time I do.

Sam has been out of view for almost a minute. I scan the room out of breath, trying to endure the pain. I look at all the exits and all the guards, looking for a weakness.

Anything to help me out.

I suddenly hear what sounds like something shattering from down the hallway! No doubt, Samantha is fighting for her life.

Keep him preoccupied, baby. I tell myself. I'm coming!

The woman and two male guards put their guns away and sit, while the other two keep a good hold on me.

One guard, that is sitting looks like he's about to boil over in rage! He's a big, bald guy, and he also keeps staring at me.

"Is there a problem with your eyes?" I say, looking down.

The guard stands up immediately and walks over me, stopping two feet from me. "Are you talking to me?!" He asks angrily.

I look up at him. "If your ass was staring at me, then you must be the bitch I'm talking to."

The two guards holding me start to laugh.

"I'm a bitch?!" He points to himself. "Well then, it seems like the boss is going to fuck yours!"

Everyone erupts in laughter. "And you killed two of my closest friends! I'm going to enjoy snapping your neck."

"Really?" I ask, looking to the guard. "Which one were you closest to? The one with the broken neck or the one with the knife sticking out of his neck?" A smile creeps on my face as I continue to stare at him.

The big, bald guard suddenly lunges at me!

Finally!

He's about a foot away when I jump up and kick him square in the face with both feet; his nose makes a crunching noise. I use the leverage to do a backflip, landing on my feet.

My arms are twisted so I can make both guards, which have a hold of me, bump their heads into each other. All three guards fall to the floor at the same time.

The woman and other male guards start shooting at me! I run and jump behind the sofa. Shards of glass and feathers from the sofa begin to fall all around me.

"There's nowhere to go, hot stuff!" The woman guard shouts. I hear them both reloading their guns. "There's two of us and one of you!"

I'm enjoying this little exercise, but it's time to end this.

God only knows what Max is doing with Sam!

I find a big piece of broken glass and grab it.

"Okay, you win!" I yell, getting up from behind the sofa slowly. My hands are in the air, the glass hidden in the sleeve of my jacket.

The male guard emerges from behind the bar and the female from the hallway, training their guns right at me.

I look for it and see it!

My gun is a couple of feet from me on the floor.

"Not so tough, are you?" The male guard says, walking to me, slowly.

I smile at him. "Then why were you hiding? Not too bright, are you?"

He stops. I tilt my head to the side. He tries to quickly cock his gun when he sees the piece of glass glisten as it slides out of my sleeve.

I throw it and hit him right in the chest! Panicking, he grabs his chest and falls.

A bullet flies inches from my head!

I jump to the ground to retrieve my gun and shoot the woman twice in her chest and head, never bothering to look up at her. She drops the gun and falls.

The guard that I kicked in the face a few minutes ago starts to get up.

He turns, seeing everyone around him on the ground. He's also nursing a bloody nose. The only thing between us is the couch.

The hallway, to get to Sam, is right behind him. Suddenly we hear a gunshot go through one of the bedroom doors!

Sam scream!

"If you want to get to that slut, you'll have to go through me," the guard says, wiping his nose and looking at his bloodied hand.

I smile at him. "My pleasure!"

He starts walking towards me. I run and jump onto the sofa. Using the sofa to catapult me, I jump into the air. Once I'm airborne, I knee him in the face!

At the same time, I put a bullet through the top of his head. We both land on the floor at the same time. I turn and look at him. He's lying on his back.

Dead.

I put another bullet through his heart just because he called Sam a slut.

I turn and run to the bedroom.