I sat in the dark with my back pressed against the door, my thoughts frozen on that last image I had of Nick bleeding on the ground. I couldn’t think of anything else. Not this place or mom’s words, or the searing betrayal that burned its way through my chest.
I forced everything else away, closing my eyes, forcing all my concentration on one single prayer. “You keep him alive, and I’ll do anything. Anything you want. I’ll leave them, if that’s what you want. I’ll go away. So far away you won’t hear from me again. I won’t ask for another thing. Just him…okay? Just him.”
Footsteps thudded, and it took me a second to realize what that sound was. Click. The lock sounded. As the door swung open, I scurried backwards, shoving my heels against the floor. I expected them to come charging in. I expected cruel hands and roars as they made their demands.
But none of that came.
My heartbeat thundered. My breaths were hard fists in the back of my throat I had to swallow. I lifted my gaze to the shadowed figure standing in the doorway and met ice-blue eyes.
“Ms. Castlemaine,” he murmured, staring down at me as though this was the position he’d expected to find me in. Fear coursed through me with the slow drag of his gaze along my body, stopping at my ankle. “I’m sure you have questions. If you’ll follow me…”
Follow me? I opened my mouth to bite back, but he turned and strode away, leaving the door open. Run. That need drove me as I shoved against the floor and rose. His steps thudded, growing fainter as I moved to the open doorway.
I glanced along the hallway and stopped, my gaze fixed on the locked double doors and the card reader. Even if I tried to make a break for it, I wouldn’t get far. I was betting they weren’t the only locked doors in this prison either.
You’ve come to Hell. Just a brand new version of it. Vivienne’s words echoed within me as I swallowed and shifted my focus to the fading footsteps. I had no choice but to follow. I needed answers…and I prayed I’d get them.
I moved to the corner, catching sight of the man as he walked along the hall and stopped at an open doorway with his back to me. My heart was pounding as I followed, my eyes searching the locked doors and darkened rooms behind the glass windows, then stopped, well out of his reach.
My little lioness…
Dad’s nickname for me surfaced now as I watched the man turn and motion to the doorway. “Please.” The word was careful and controlled. I gave a shake of my head. There was no way in hell I was going into a room with him, or anyone, for that matter.
One brow rose as the double doors behind him gave a click and opened. As though on cue, a guard stepped out. Tall, with striking white hair. His unflinching gaze moved to mine as he stopped at the man’s side and leaned close, whispering something in his ear.
But the man didn’t lean toward him, just stood still, his gaze fixed on me. My stomach trembled with the focus. He’d made no move to hurt me, hadn’t even raised his voice, and yet in that moment, I was more afraid of him than the bastards who’d dragged me kicking and screaming into this place.
I’m sure you have questions.
I swallowed, staring at his hand that hovered in the air, knowing I couldn’t stand here forever. The white-haired guard straightened and glanced my way. His eyes sparked and his lips curled in a silent snarl. He looked at me with the kind of malice that sent a chill along my spine. My stomach trembled at the sight of him. I didn’t want to be alone with him…not if I could help it.
“The answers you seek start in this room, Ms. Castlemaine, or I can leave you to my associate here.” He stilled for a second, his voice turning dangerous. “But his methods are decidedly less tasteful than mine.”
My heartbeat stuttered as terror surged through me. Cold tiles kissed my bare feet as I stepped through the door, flinching as the automatic lights came on. It was a bathroom. Open. Stark and white. There were no doors for privacy, not for the toilets or the showers. My chest tightened at the sight. There was a set of clothes on the edge of the sparkling vanity, white lace panties and some kind of sheer covering. I froze at the sight.
“There’s bodywash and shampoo.” I spun, finding him and the guard standing behind me. He glanced at the clothes, then at me. “We expect our initiates to be meticulously clean at all times.”
My eyes widened, rage racing to the surface. I gritted my teeth. “Go fuck yourself.”
There was a twitch at the corner of his lips as he lifted the phone in his hand. One swipe of his thumb, and he pressed the screen.
“NICK!” My own screams rang out from his phone. He lifted it toward me and I saw the interior of that warehouse once more.
“RYTH!” Nick roared. “RYTH!”
My heart punched my ribs. The pounding in my ears was deafening as he pressed the screen, stopping the video. “I understand your…stepbrother was hurt in the intervention.”
I jerked my gaze to his, and the white tiles of the bathroom faded to black. He was all I saw in that moment, every glimmer in his eyes and every rise of his chest.
“I’m sure you’re concerned about him,” he continued, that unflinching tone never once wavering. “I could make some calls to find out the extent of his injuries. But by the looks of this…it seems rather unlikely he survived.”
No…
I stumbled backwards as my knees buckled, sending me crashing to the floor.
Thud…thud…thud…his polished shoes came into view. “If you do what I ask,” he demanded. “Shower, scrub…and dress in the garments I provided.”
I stared at the tops of his shoes, black against the stark tiles, and fought the tears when they came. “Please,” I whispered. “Please tell me he’s alive.”
My captor said nothing, nor did he move. He just waited while the screams of agony howled inside me and eventually fell silent. On quivering legs, I rose, gripped my shirt, and dragged it over my head. I was still in the same underwear I’d put on that morning. The same underwear Nick had picked out for me at Victoria’s Secret.
My captor lowered his gaze as I reached around and unhooked my bra, leaving it to fall free. I swallowed hard, thumbed my panties, and pushed them down.
“You can call me The Principal,” he murmured, staring between my legs. “Now shower…and don’t forget to shave…everything.”
My tears came as I slowly turned to the shower and hit the taps. The sting on my abdomen was instant, drawing me back to the pain I’d felt before when I came to. I looked down, and moaned. Black against my pale flesh. Panic roared as I touched the marking. A tattoo…
“No,” I cried and rubbed the red, raised flesh, whimpering.
H inside the O. I’d seen that marking before…seen that ugly fucking mark—I stiffened as the image of the Priest came rushing back to me.
Can’t have you messing up our plans. My mom’s voice slipped through the cracks of my mind.
The Priest. The wedding. The betrayal. I touched the tattoo on my skin and felt the bathroom sway. They’d marked me…they’d marked me. Like I was nothing but property. One they owned…
I lowered my gaze to the strap around my ankle, feeling their gazes on my ass. Don’t panic…just don’t panic. I stepped under the hot spray and tilted my head back. I used their bodywash and shampoo, then swallowed, sneaking a glance over my shoulder as I picked up the razor.
My thoughts turned dark as the memory of Vivienne’s desperation returned. How many girls had done this? How many had taken the razor to their wrists instead of their legs? I didn’t need to meet my captor’s gaze to know the truth.
So I set to work, taking the razor to my underarms, my legs, and finally between my legs. When I was done, I was smooth.
Whatever it takes.
I held onto that thought.
Whatever it takes.
I dried off and dressed in the soft white lace lingerie, fighting the wince as I slipped the sheer covering on and tied it. But I stiffened when the heavy footsteps of the guard sounded behind me.
“No.” I shook my head, drawing on that strength my stepbrothers had given me. The one who called himself The Principal was behind the guard. “I won’t go. I won’t do a damn thing you ask. Not until I know…” Nick. “Not until I know he’s alive.”
The Principal’s smile was slow and sadistic as he strode past the guard to stop in front of me. “I can make some calls, if you like.” He brushed my hair so gently, curling the strands behind my ear. “If that would ease your mind.”
Hope surged inside me, until he grabbed me by the throat and dragged me close. “But please don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.” His eyes searched mine. “Let me show you what happened the last time someone thought that.”
He let me go. I coughed and touched the ache his fingers had left behind as he turned and strode from the bathroom.
A heavy hand from the guard gripped my arm as he demanded. “This way.”
I followed without a fight, desperation burning inside me. My body twitched with the pounding in my ears. I had no choice but to follow The Principal as he led me to the double doors, then through. The lights dulled as I walked along the corridor. Shadows grew in the corners and spilled across my feet, which only increased the panic inside me.
The Principal stopped at a set of double doors and waited. When we neared, he pressed his card to the scanner and opened the doors. Darkness waited inside and with it came the low whimpers of someone in pain.
Not just someone. A woman.
Whack!
I flinched at the sound and jerked my gaze to him…to the devil with the ice-blue eyes as he stepped inside, leaving the guard to drive me forward. The guard shoved me into the barely lit room, leaving me to stumble.
But I didn’t fall. Not with his bruising grip around my arm. No, he just manhandled me, driving me deeper into the darkness. I bucked, yanked, then froze as a slap came once more.
The moan that followed from the darkness chilled me to the bone. The Principal’s footsteps stopped before the whoosh of something came. Those murky lights grew a little brighter behind what was a heavy black curtain. And in the sultry glow, I caught the panicked gazes staring back at me.
My heart punched into the back of my throat as I was shoved forward again. There were at least twenty of them. All dressed in the same hideous gown…only different colors, white, black…and red.
“Olivia,” The Principal called as he strode toward a woman who stood naked in front of the others. Her arms were chained and pulled out wide, her legs secured the same way. Heat rushed to my cheeks at the sight of her, bare and exposed. “She decided she’d rather try to end her life than to stay with us.”
A guard stood beside her, a long leather switch in his hand.
“The problem with that is…it’s not her life to take.” He turned that icy gaze to the naked woman. “Is it?”
A nod and the guard stepped closer, then cracked that whip through the air…and right between her legs.
Crack.
She bucked, her eyes wide, her skin glistening with sweat as she moaned.
“Her life belongs to me…as does her body,” The Principal declared, staring into her eyes. “I’m hoping you learn that lesson quickly, Ryth.”
My breath caught at the sound of my name.
I scanned the women watching the display. They all watched me. Familiar brown eyes met mine. Vivienne. They’d dressed her in white, in the same clothes as I wore.
“You are not your own person here. You’ve been sold.” The Principal swiveled to meet my stare. “To me.”
“No.” I shook my head and stepped backwards. “No fucking way.”
But I didn’t get far. The white-haired guard held me in place, those arctic blue eyes fixed on mine.
Sold…
My mom had sold me. Can’t have you messing up our plans. Her words came back to me. I bit down on my tongue, fighting the moan that pushed into the back of my throat. This was what it had come down to. They wanted to break me…they expected me to be meek and mild. They expected I’d do whatever they wanted. The chilling truth was, a few months ago they might’ve won.
But not now.
Nick, Tobias, and Caleb came roaring back. They’d rather die than see me fall at this bastard’s feet. That same power I’d felt that night at mom’s wedding came roaring back to me. The power I wielded. The power I controlled. I clenched my jaw as my power came back to me. “Fuck you,” I snarled. “Fuck you all the way to Hell.”
