His Princess Unmasked

In The Loop

  I'd already gone through all the tapes available for me to listen to; the border was beginning to set in. I'd crawled up under the blankets and closed my eyes. I couldn't sleep, not while Brent was out there dealing with the man who tried to kidnap me. The laptop was still out in the living room, I could go out and grab it quickly, and Brent would never know I'd left the room. An image of his super serious face flashes behind my eyelids; he would be mad. I pout to myself; oh, but the bordem was too brutal! Pushing the blankets down, I sit up and stare at the bedroom door. It had been a couple of hours since he'd left me in here. What if he was hurt? I sit up on my knees and peek through the blinds of the window above the bed. There was a mean-looking white sports car parked next to Brent's. There were no police cars. Biting on the nail of my thumb, I go to sit on the edge of the bed. Then I remember that he'd said I could text him if I needed anything. How ridiculous would I sound asking him to bring me the laptop for entertainment? He was out there doing some dangerous s**t. And here I was wanting to watch The Simpsons while drinking a cup of chocolate milk. I sigh in frustration and again stare at the door. I wouldn't bother him. I would go out there like a big girl and get the laptop and come right back. 

Making my way to the door, I unlock it and peek out into the hall. The barn doors to the kitchen were wide open, and there was light spilling down the hall and into the living room. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "Go!" I whisper before I make a mad dash for the living room. I didn't make it far. "Hey!" I hear Brent's voice boom from behind me. I freeze where I am, eyes still closed. "s**t," I whine. Turning around slowly, I open my eyes. I see Brent standing in between the kitchen and living entrance. "I told you to stay in the room, baby." He says, sounding disappointed. "I know," I whine softly. "I-I," I stutter, trying to explain. I couldn't figure out what to do with my hands. "I'm sorry." I finally say in defeat. Brent sighs, "You wanted the computer." He says, stepping in front of me. I look down at my feet. "Yeah," I admit looking back at the computer on the couch. "Then you should have texted me as I told you," Brent replies sternly. I can't make myself look in his eyes. Feeling an onset of overwhelm, I can feel myself tear up. Oh please, come on. This was ridiculous. This wasn't something to cry about; get it together, Tori. "I-I'm sorry, okay." I choke on a cry. 

Brent's hand goes to my chin, and he pulls it upward. "I only am telling you this because I want you to be safe." He tells me softly. Wiping the tears off my cheeks, Brent brings me into an embrace. "I didn't want to bother you." I whimper, burying my face into his chest. He smelled like sea salt and earthy dust. It wasn't unpleasant. Curious, I stick my tongue out; he tasted very salty. "Did you just taste me?" Brent chuckles, pulling me back to glance down at me in his arms. "Maybe," I answer, darting eyes and shrugging. "I'm glad you can have a good sense of humor after what you've been put through tonight," Brent says, sighing and bringing me back into an embrace. "Brent!" A rumbling male voice hollers from the kitchen suddenly, and I jump. "That's Andre. Don't be scared." Brent says, tightening his embrace. "What's up?!" Brent yells back. "She's responded. It's ago." Andre answers. Confused, I pull back and look up at Brent, "What's ago, and who is she?" I ask, studying his face. "When you were on your way out to get the laptop, I was on my way to fill you in on my findings. The man that tried to kidnap you was Daniel and.." He begins to explain, but I push back in shock. "What?!" I scream and start to run towards the kitchen. I was too quick for Brent to catch, and I look towards the door that leads to the garage and makes a run to it. 

"Babe! No!" Brent yells at me as I fly through the door to find Daniel bloody and bruised, tied to a chair with duct tape. "You bastard!" I scream, flying towards him, my hands in the air. Before I make it to layout any physical punishment on Daniel, I am pulled up around my waist. My feet are taken completely off the ground, and I instinctively begin to punch at the arm lifting me. "Calm down, killer." I hear Andre's voice rumble against my back. "He has gotten plenty of that, no sense in you hurting yourself trying to hurt him." He chuckles, "I could scratch his f*****g eyes out!" I scream, tears streaming down my face. "Why?!" I scream at Daniel. His eyes were wide. "Tori, I-" He begins to answer. "Shut the f**k up!" Brent yells at him coming to scoop me up from Andre's arm. "It's okay, Princess. Come here. I know you're mad, but he works for us now." Brent says, holding me around the waist as Andre had. "He works for us. Don't you, Daniel." Brent demands nothing but a yes in his voice. "Yes," Daniel states, the look of fight completely gone from his eyes. I stop struggling to get away from Brent's grip. "Why?" I ask Daniel again, this time far more calmly. "Your mother." He answers. "My mother?" I ask, confused. 

"Your mother hired him to come to abduct you because she feels you belong in a ward," Brent explains to me. He loosens his grip enough so that I can spin to face him, his arms still around me. "I- I haven't done anything that warrants that. H-have I?" I ask him as fear seeps into my physical body. "No. You did nothing to warrant that. You do not belong in a mental ward. You belong here with me." Brent answers me, no breaking in his voice or hint of stutter. "For all it's worth, Tori, I didn't think you belonged there either. I only agreed to do any of this because I am a greedy piece of shit." Daniel interjects; looking back at him, I give him a face of disgust. "Shut the f**k up. I don't give a f**k what your opinion is of me. I am glad that these two beat the s**t out of you." I growl, my nails digging into Brent's forearms. "I deserved that." Daniel sighs, leaning back into his chair. It was a shame he was such an asshole; he was handsome for being a white man. His sandy blonde hair was plastered to his forehead with dried blood, and his thick lips were split. There was blood in his mouth that had stained his teeth. "These two messed me up good. Trust me when I say I have no intention of crossing them again." He starts to chuckle and then goes into a fit of coughing. Spitting out a large clot of blood, he leans back again and smiles up at Brent. "I am going to need medical attention, boss. It looks like I might have some internal bleeding." He states, switching to then look at Andre. 

"I know someone," Andre says, taking his phone out of his pocket. "He was a  hospital corpsman." He adds, swiping open his phone screen. "Be sure to explain to him what he could be getting into," Brent says, pulling my face to look at me. "You should get back to the bedroom. It's well past your bedtime. Daddy is taking care of everything out here. I have a plan, and you shouldn't have to worry that beautiful brain about it till after you've gotten some decent rest." He says, booping my nose. "You two are adorable," Daniel says, "You really like to test your boundaries, don't you, Danny Boy?!" Brent growls. I jerk in his arms with how harsh he sounded. I'd been starting to see a new side of Brent, and it was almost scary how aggressive he could sound and be. It radiated from him, his dominance; it naturally came off of him in waves. Tonight those waves were swells, and they were beating against anything in their path. Biting my lip, I am surprised to find myself becoming excited by his display of dominance. Looking up at him, I find him still dead, glaring at Daniel. "Daddy," I whisper, not wanting Daniel to hear me. "Hmm?" Brent says mindlessly, still glaring away. "Daddy," I say again, wanting him to see my face for the answer there. 

Blinking, Brent looks down at me, "Oh." He chuckles. "Can you put me to sleep?" I whine, swirling my finger around his chest. "You go take care of her. I have this. I have a medic in route to tend to this d**k's health." Andre says, still peering down at his phone. "Branch?" Brent asks, "Navy. His name is Raphael. He says he doesn't care about repercussions. Says it feels good to have a chance to work with brothers again." Andre says, looking up and giving Brent a nod. "Rah," Brent replies with a grunt in his voice. "Alright, well, tell him he is welcome to anything he needs in the house. And listen to s**t face, you cause any issues, not even my girl's begging will keep me from killing you." Brent snarls at Daniel. "You won't have any problems here, boss." Daniel coughs; looking back at him, I see that he was losing color. "Is he going to die?" I ask worriedly. "No. Unfortunately not." Brent growls, pulling me by the hand to follow him back into the house. I felt selfish for hinting that I wanted him, but all of this oddly turned me on. Man, I was f****d up. "Jesus," I groan in frustration as I'm practically dragged towards the bedroom. "Me too, Princess. Me too." Brent snarls as he throws open the bedroom door. "I think we both need this."