I’m shaking as I watch the naked woman in the chair. She’s thrashing as Kashton holds her hair down, and Saint brands the back of her neck. My watery eyes widen, and my heart hammers in my chest. How can they do this to her? Hurt an innocent woman just because another Lord told them to?
Saint removes the brand. Kashton yanks her head up, and she’s shaking uncontrollably. Her bloodshot eyes are on mine as if she can see me, and a chill runs up my spine.
I push off the glass, stepping back, and hit something…no someone. My body stiffens, and a hand covers my mouth while another wraps around my arms, pinning them down to my side.
“Shh,” a voice whispers in my ear, and I’m paralyzed—unable to move. I might as well be in the straitjacket like the woman in the other room. “Don’t make a sound, baby girl. They can’t see you, but they can hear you.”
It’s Haidyn! I blink, and a tear rolls down my cheek.
He removes his hand from my mouth, and I take in a shaky breath. I spin around as he pulls his cell from his pocket and watch him type away on it.
“Hai-dyn?” I whisper. God, I hope he’s not doing what I think he’s doing. Please…no.
His eyes meet mine, and he places it back in his pocket. “Sorry, Ash,” he says, not sounding a bit remorseful.
My heart hammers in my chest as I look back through the glass and see Saint pull his phone from his pocket. A lump lodges in my throat, making it impossible to swallow. His bright-green eyes snap up and look directly at me, and my stomach sinks.
He starts walking toward the door, and I run to the one in the room I’m in. It’s already open. I was too busy watching what was happening to the woman to even hear Haidyn open it and join me. I hit the hallway and run to the stairwell.
I make it up to the first floor and rush outside into the dark night. I’m shaking, my side’s burning, and I’m trying to catch my breath. It’s like one of those bad dreams where you know something evil is chasing you, but you can’t get away fast enough. I almost trip over a loose branch on the ground, and my hair is stuck to my tear-streaked face as I shove limbs out of my way.
I jump over a branch, but I’m hit from behind as I land. I scream as I’m shoved to the uneven ground. Rocks dig into my chest and stomach. I’m yanked and tossed onto my back, and a hand covers my mouth. I slap at whoever is on top of me. I can’t see anything because my hair covers more than half my face, stuck to my tears. I can’t breathe with his hand over my mouth, so I try to free it by digging my nails into his skin, but it does no good.
My hands are ripped from the man and pulled above my head, pinned to the ground. I kick my legs and arch my back, but it’s useless. Someone is on top of me, and they’re too heavy.
The hand is removed from my mouth only to be replaced by some kind of cloth shoved into it, filling my cheeks. I cry into it, my body shaking.
“Shhh,” a voice says softly. My hair is pushed from my face, and hands grab my wet cheeks. “You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
Saint is on top of me. I arch my neck to see Haidyn kneeling above my head, pinning my arms down.
A sob wracks my body.
“You’re okay.” He repeats, and I shake my head. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ash, but you’ve got to be quiet.” He looks over his shoulder before his eyes come back to mine. “Can you do that?”
I nod quickly, taking a deep breath through my nose.
He reaches into my mouth and removes the cloth, and I sob. “Shh.” He covers my mouth once more. “Deep breaths, sweetheart. Come on, calm your breathing for me.”
I take a deep breath and blink the fresh tears from my eyes.
“That’s it. Good girl. Again,” he says softly.
I manage to take another breath through my nose, and he slowly removes his hand from my face. I lick my wet lips, and he smiles down at me. “You’re okay. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Haidyn releases my wrists, and I bring them to my chest, trying to shield myself from Saint.
“Take her home.” Haidyn gets to his feet. “I’ll cover for you.” He stands and walks away from us, heading back toward Carnage.
“Come on.” Saint gets off me and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet. I stumble back from him, and he stands before me, staring. I blink the fresh tears streaming down my face, trying to stabilize myself on my shaking legs. He steps forward. “Ash—”
I take another one back.
Reaching up, he runs his hands through his hair. “I need you to understand something…”
“Don’t touch me.” I manage to get out through the knot in my throat.
He places his hands out wide. “You can’t stay here, sweetheart. I have to take you home.”
I shake my head, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Listen to me, Ashtyn,” he commands, his voice so harsh it makes me flinch.
My watery eyes lift to meet his dark stare.
“Either you willingly leave with me, or I tie you up, gag that pretty mouth of yours, and drag you from these woods.”
Drag? As in with a rope around my neck? The blood rushes in my ears. How did I not know what Saint was capable of? How could I have ever felt so safe around him? How many women has he hurt? Killed? What will it take for him to do the same to me? I remember my father telling me what he must do if I didn’t bleed for him. I never stopped to think about it until now. That only due to pure luck, he hasn’t done to me what he just did to that woman.
He reaches down and undoes his belt, and my heart leaps in my chest. “Ok-ay…okay.” I swallow. “I’ll leave with you.” If I allow him to tie up and gag me, I won’t have a chance.
SAINT
Haidyn had tossed me the keys to a car that he has here because the last thing I wanted to do was put her on the back of my bike to take her home.
She follows me back to Carnage, and we get into his car. She sniffs. “Where do you want to go?” I ask. I can’t take her to the house of Lords because I have to come back here, and I don’t want her there without me.
“My place,” she whispers.
I’m not sure how much she saw. Haidyn just messaged me that he was with her, and she was in the observation room. I want to ask her, but I’m just going to assume she saw all of it by how she reacted.
Reaching over, I touch her thigh, and she jumps. “Ash—”
“How could you do that to her?” she asks softly.
I sigh. “We have no control over what our fathers order us to do.” It’s true. When we run Carnage, we’ll have full say, but until then, we will do as we’re told.
“How long will you keep her in that?”
“I’m not sure.” Again, that’s up to her husband. He was the one who brought her in tied up in his trunk.
“What else will our dads have you guys do to her?” she wonders.
I run a hand through my hair. “They…” I stop myself, unable to finish that sentence. The truth is our fathers won’t touch her. It’ll be everyone else who gets their piece. I can’t say I feel sorry for the woman. She deserves it. The innocent aren’t sent to Carnage.
“That was her husband, right?” she whispers. Again, I don’t answer. “What if she’s pregnant?” she asks softly.
“Carnage is no place for a child.” That’s the only way I can think to respond to that question. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying that if she is, I can’t save her or the baby. It’s up to her husband since he’s the one who turned her in.
“How could he do that to her? He’s supposed to protect her.”
“Lords don’t marry for love.” Some do, but it’s rare, and she already knows that. She’s just trying to justify what she saw.
She doesn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she sinks further into the passenger seat. I pull up to her house, and she’s out before I can even open the driver’s side door.
“Ash?” I call out as she runs toward her house.
I rush up behind her and grab her arm, turning her to face me. She whimpers in my arms, and I hate how terrified she is of me. “You’re okay,” I say and force her eyes to mine. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”
She nods, crossing her arms over her chest, not believing a damn thing I just said. I look at her house and then back at her. “You can’t tell anyone what you saw.”
Her watery eyes meet mine, but she says nothing. “No one, Ash.”
“I under—”
“I don’t think you do,” I say, tightening my hands on her upper arms. She tries to pull away, but I maintain my firm grasp. “No one. Not a soul.”
“I understand,” she snaps, pulling away from me, and I let her go.
With a heavy sigh, I watch her turn away from me. She runs up her steps into her house and slams the front door shut.
