Her Guardian Angel (Fire and Snow)(18)

She leapt from the couch and ran for her room. She wasn't sure why she tried to hide from him. It never worked. On some level she needed to try and escape, even if she knew it was impossible. She'd made it to the back wall, only mere meters from her room, when she heard the rasp of the key in the lock and the handle turn. Eyes wide in fear she pressed herself against the wall. She knew he would open the door in a rush any second; he seemed to like the mind games as much as the physical ones. He knew precisely what to do, to get the maximum effect out of her. Just like she knew he needed to see her reactions to him, hence he would open the door quickly so he could see her.

She cowered down on the ground as he entered, shaking in fear and anticipated horror. He looked calm. On the outside he looked totally in control. That meant inside there was a storm brewing, a storm that would crash right through her. She heard the door close, the lock click into place. She watched as he prowled further into the room, stopping behind the couch.

"You trying to hide again, slave? How sweet." He chuckled, the evil sound sending a shudder through her on a bone deep level.

"Come to me, my slave. Do not make me come and get you, you won't like the consequences if I do." His deep icy voice was enough to give her nightmares all on its own.

She scrambled up to her feet, rushing over to him. It was never in her best interest to further annoy him, especially when he was in a mood. The one time she decided to push her luck and make a stand, he had beaten her so badly she was sure he'd cracked at least a couple ribs. She learnt her lesson. When she got to him she lowered her head, watching the floor, with her hands behind her back--just like he'd 'trained' her to do. Hell, she really was a pet, a well-trained pet.

Her breath hitched as he grabbed a fist full of her curls. As he tilted her head back, she saw his smirk as he took in the look of fear and horror in her eyes and face.

"Very good, but you have still forgotten something."

Forgotten? Damn, what did she not do this time? And how bad would the punishment be. He only gave her a moment before he pulled on her hair to get her to lower to her knees.

"You need to be on your knees, slave."

Of course, her knees. How could she have forgotten that? She prayed silently he wouldn't punish her too harshly for the error.

He pulled the key-chain from under his shirt and proceeded to unlock the collar around her neck. She did her best not to shudder as he ran his fingers down her cheek, over her neck and collarbone to her shoulder. He pushed firmly at a bruise on her shoulder with his thumb until her shoulder gave out. She groaned in pain until he released the pressure, even then it continued to sting.

"Hmm, your skin looks so bloody good with my marks on it, slave. Me and you are in for some good times. I've got me a couple of days off work. So we need to get downstairs and get to work. You need some more marks--don't you think?"

Kelly starting shaking before he even finished talking. Oh double damn. This was worse than she had thought, a bad mood was one thing, a couple of days of continuous abuse was an entirely different level of hell. She took a deep breath, tried to seal herself for what was to come as he pulled her from the floor and led her down the stairs to her very own personal hell. She couldn't stop the tears that silently ran down her cheeks and fell to the floor--these were going to be the longest days of her life so far.

~ * ~

"What the hell? Arson? Are you serious?"

Dominic's body all but vibrated with anger. People could have easily been hurt or killed on that ship. As it was, the ship was gutted and a massive amount of wood had been ruined. Trees took decades to grow so their timber should be used well, cherished for the precious gift it was, not wasted like it doesn't have value. He just couldn't understand how people could light fires on purpose. Fire was unique in its ability to completely wipe out lives and property from the face of the earth--not something to be taken lightly.

"Did the investigators work out how it was started?" He asked his dad.

"The investigator said the point of origin was definitely in the sleeping cabin. The mattresses and bedding were soaked in accelerant then set alight. The Captain reported smelling petrol as he approached his ship just before he noticed the smoke and raised the alarm." His dad shook his head as he spoke.

"Do they have any suspects?" Dominic really wanted this guy caught, just what they needed at the heart of summer was a hyped up firebug with a jerry-can of petrol and a lighter running around the place.

"Well, they are pretty sure it's someone who is familiar with the docks. They're looking at a couple of workers. Apparently the Captain of that particular ship has been taking out his frustrations on a couple of them for a while now. Guess one or more of them decided to get him back with their own style of justice." Jake said on a sigh.