Hope Restrained (Estate Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

causing him to
release her. Quickly, she turned to face him and shoved her hands against his body
while he was still off balance from her kick. He fell, but reached out,
grabbing her and pulling her down alongside him. The jolt through her body
stunned her, the pain of her shoulder impacting with the ground instantly
crippling her, but exciting her at the same time. She’d been trained to enjoy
it, to crave it. Pain would not be the factor that slowed her down.
    He rolled on her within seconds, his hands coming down
heavily on her arms, his legs and feet pinning her shoulders, abdomen and hips.
Sweat slid down his jawline as he scowled down at her. She struggled against
him, desperate to free herself from the impossible hold in which he’d trapped
her. His body pressed into hers, the pain of his hold floating in exquisite
waves throughout her body. The mixture of adrenaline and endorphins was a heady
sensation that rushed through her veins when she fought.
    “I’ve had enough of your bullshit.” Seething with anger, his
words were broken and strained from his heavy breathing. “I apologize for
having to do this, seeing that you are, technically, a woman and all.” Before
she could react, he reached behind his body to pull the gun he had tucked into
his waistband bringing it around quickly and striking it against her temple. She
felt the pain of the hit only briefly before a black tunnel overtook her.
    ~     ~     ~
    As soon as she was unconscious, Xander rolled off of her and
leaned up against the wall while he inspected his injured leg. The pain was
excruciating and he couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid as to miss the thin
blade. Growing up with Aaron, Xander was well aware how many weapons could be
hidden on a person’s body. “Fucking bitch!” He kicked out with his other foot,
striking her in the side of her unconscious body. He hated this woman — for
her attempt on Aaron’s life and for stabbing him — but, still, he couldn’t
help but be intrigued by her skill as a fighter. He knew he was a tough
opponent for most men, but for a woman? He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t
just been part of it.
    Pushing himself up, he calmed himself before grabbing her
legs and picking them up off the floor. He chuckled while looking at her limp body.
“I’d be a gentleman and carry you if you hadn’t stabbed me in the leg. Unfortunately,
you’re just going to have to deal with being dragged.” He laughed to himself
again and pulled her through the corridors to a small holding cell which had
horrified him to discover after Joseph’s demise, but now one for which he could
be thankful. When he entered the room, he immediately placed her by a wall. Four
shackles were attached to chains in a bizarre pulley system. The pulleys were
then attached to four individual cranks. When he’d first found this cell, it
had taken him a minute to figure out the purpose behind it, but, after
remembering Joseph’s tastes, he was disgusted to think about what could be done
with the elaborate setup.
    With the chains, Joseph had created marionette puppets out
of the person unlucky enough to wear them. They could be positioned in whatever
fashion he would have wanted, the pain inflicted either by the position they
were set in, or in what was done to them while they were chained. And, judging
by the condition of the room when it had been discovered, what had been done to
those poor souls was ghastly and horrific. Even after the room had been
scrubbed down with bleach, the stains from the blood could not be removed. Rust
color splotches marked the floor, the walls — even the ceiling. Normally,
Xander would use any other room, just to avoid the latent energy contained
within this cell, but in his current situation, this cell was exactly what he
needed.
    Tugging the pulleys out from the wall, he was able to secure
one shackle to each of her wrists. She was dead weight due to having been
knocked out, so he used the cranks