Secrets and Scars: A Gripping Psychological Thriller (Fatal Hearts Series Book 3) Read Free

out.” He closed the sack and lay down. I did the same, making myself small and trying not to touch him, which was almost impossible.
    “I hope so.” The shelter might keep some dangers out, but not the one that mattered most.
    “I know you’re scared,” Owen said. “But it’s been a long day. You must be exhausted. We can’t move on until I’m sure you have enough energy to carry on. And it could be dangerous to navigate this jungle in the dark.” He switched off the torch. “Get some sleep. I’ll stay up and wake you if I hear anything.”
    “I’ll try.” In spite of my fears, I turned my back to him and closed my eyes, resting in the small comfort that I was no longer alone.
     

Chapter Four
     
    A nightmare transported me back to Alvin’s yacht, to his studio of horrors. The monster had tied me to a stripper pole, then whipped me with a thin metal chain that cut as deep as a knife. Each lash was like a stream of fire that raced down my skin, burning it, breaking it, tearing it apart.
    I glanced down at the fresh wounds on my stomach, seeing the white flesh moments before bright red tainted it.
    He laughed and swung his hand back, ready to strike again. My tortured screams fell on deaf ears as I slid up and down the pole, tugging at the handcuffs and begging him to release me, all the while knowing I would never win against metal, against him. After more skin-numbing lashes, I passed out from the pain.
    I felt his hands on me, shaking me awake. My eyes flew open.
    The cover of night was too thick to see through, but I felt Owen’s presence behind me, the safety he offered me.
    The bed rustled as he drew closer and wrapped an arm around me.
    I sobbed as he hugged me tight. The pain from my wounds awakened as he pressed me to his body.
    I pulled back, biting my trembling lip. “Hurts,” I murmured. A groan escaped my lips as I attempted to pull myself up on one elbow.
    I heard a click and then weak yellow light chased the darkness from the shelter.
    Owen’s hands moved to unbutton my shirt.
    I placed my hand on top of his. “What are you doing?”
    “Show me what he did to you. I want to see.” By the time he finished saying the words, the top buttons were already open, the shirt swept off my shoulders. The light shifted as he shone it on my back.
    “Fuckin’ bastard.” He ground the words between his teeth.
    “Don’t… don’t touch.”
    “I need to do something about these wounds, Chloe. We don’t want them getting infected. Don’t move.”
    I craned my head to watch as he removed from the sack a half-empty bottle of water, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol we’d also found in the depot, and a clean white cloth. “I’m not a doctor, but I know we can’t leave your wounds untreated.”
    As Owen cleaned and disinfected my wounds with the few supplies we had, tears slid down my cheeks. I wasn’t crying from the pain, but from the emotions that rose to the surface, brought on by someone showing me kindness.
    Memories of Jim tending to my wounds in the dungeon flooded my mind.
    “Thank you.” I pulled the shirt over my shoulders again, buttoning it with unsteady fingers.
    “Don’t thank me, Chloe.” He draped the blanket over me again. “Now get back to sleep.”
     

Chapter Five
     
    At the break of dawn, we finished up the loaf of bread we had started eating yesterday, and washed it down with the rest of the water from the almost empty bottle. Unable to take a shower, we opened the second bottle of water and used some of it to wash our faces.
    “I hope you managed to get some rest.” Owen kicked dry breadcrumbs into nearby bushes, and turned to me with a tight expression. “I still can’t believe he did that to you.”
    “I started it—”
    “I don’t know what happened between you two in the past, but only a monster treats another person that way.”
    I picked up the empty bottle from the ground and stuffed it into the sack, avoiding eye contact.
    How would Owen react when