Her Darkest Secrets

This book will be darker than the other books in the series. It will deal with the aftermath of physical, emotional, and s****l abuse. There will be some discussions about what happened to the main character but there will NOT be graphic depictions of what the FMC has gone through. If any of these are a trigger for you, I would suggest skipping this book. This book is the fourth in the Forced Series (Forced to Marry My Brother's Best Friend is book one.) You can read this as a standalone but will likely enjoy it and understand it better if you read the first three books first. Now let's step back into the Forced World with Brandon and Annie. Annie POV Sometimes I can’t believe how stupid I was to come here. Sure, my stepfather liked to use me as a punching bag, but that was a million times better than everything I’ve been through since coming here. I thought I had found such a good job working at the club, and when Wyatt told me that there was an opportunity for a better job, one where I could make more money, and I was over the moon about it. I ran away when I was seventeen and lived on the streets, and in and out of shelters, for almost two years before I got this job. I always thought I would have done anything to get out of those shelters. After everything I’ve been forced to do here for the last two weeks, I know that’s not even close to being true. I was so stupid, so naïve, I thought he was really helping me out by finding me a room to rent, and purchasing new clothes for me for the job. Turns out the job was being forced into s****l servitude until I could afford to pay them back for the room and clothes. I know now, they would never actually let me pay that money back. When the new girl was thrown in here with me, I thought for sure she was going to listen to them and force me to get ready to sleep with these men again. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done that. And the women always get me ready, so they can save their own skin. Melissa’s different though, she didn’t do that, instead she traded herself for me. She let them take her, but before that she promised me that her husband would be looking for her, that he would come save her and me too. Maybe I’m being naïve again, trusting what she told me is true. But she did save me, at least for tonight. I curl up on my cot and try to sleep. Wyatt might have let me off the hook for now, but he’ll come for me soon. I’ll need my energy when he does. Being so tired you pass out, or can’t function properly, either pisses the men off, or they love it. Either way you get hurt worse. I’m just finally starting to drift off to sleep when I hear a commotion outside my door. I sit up, startled, and then start screaming when my door is practically kicked in. A large man in a suit stands there looking around. “Are you the only one here?” “Y-yes,” I answer frantically. “Okay, honey, I know you have no reason to trust me but I’m going to ask you to come with me. We’re here to help and we just want to make sure all the women here are somewhere safe.” I stare at him, not sure what to do or think. Melissa was one thing. She helped me, she kept me safe, she didn’t lie to me. She said, wait, she said her husband would come and help us. “Are you Melissa’s husband?” “No, I’m not, but I work for him. There are more men rounding up all the girls they can find and putting them in a safe room while we put the men in another room. The cops, and a women’s shelter representative are on their way here to help figure all of this out.” He walks into the room and comes to squat in front of my cot, making me back up against the wall. “I know you’re scared right now, and I’m sure the fact that I’m here in front of you isn’t helping. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough women on our team to go through each room. I promise I’m not going to touch you, I’ll walk beside you and take you out of here. I just need you to be brave for a little while longer. Do you think you can do that?” “Y-yes,” I stutter out. “As long as I really am going to get out of here.” “You really are.” He stands back up and I do too, I don’t want to go with him but I see some of the others following more men so I take a leap of faith. He leads me to one of the waiting areas. It’s only the other women and girls in here and they all look scared but also a little hopeful and relieved. I take a seat right where he dropped me off, in the middle of the room, and wait. For what I’m not sure. After what feels like an eternity I hear my name. I look up to see Melissa running in, covered in bruises and I almost break down, because it’s all my fault. As soon as she’s in front of me I hop up and pull her into a hug. "Melissa, oh my God, I thought I wouldn't see you again, why did you do that, why would you do that for me? I can't believe you." She just smiles ignoring my question. “That’s Gavin,” she points at the man behind her. And before she even says it I know it’s her husband. He looks like an avenging angel and he hasn’t taken his eyes off of her since they came into the room. The look on his face is enough to keep anyone from her, to keep anyone from trying to hurt her ever again. She asks if I want to go with them, and part of me thinks maybe I should just go my own way. But then I think about what happened the last time I thought I could do something on my own. “Yes,” I whisper, “please don’t leave me here.” Her husband calls one of his men in to help me but I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach him touching me. Melissa tries to reassure me, telling me he’ll just walk me out to the car, “no, it’s okay, I can do it.” I tell them, but as soon as I stand up my knees collapse and I start to fall to the ground. Before I hit it though, a pair of strong arms wrap around me. I look up at the person that caught me, it’s that guy, Brandon, that they both asked to help me. I don’t know why but he isn’t making my skin crawl and I’m not afraid. “You’re safe, I swear it,” he says in a soft tone, but with absolute conviction, and all of a sudden I do feel safe. I feel safe and I feel tired so when he picks me up I don’t even bother fighting it. I just lay my head on his shoulder and soak in the protectiveness of his embrace.