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Chase growls. He actually growls, without saying a word.
Then everything goes quiet. For so long that I wonder if he’s still here.
“How did Graham treat you?” he asks suddenly.
I swallow away the lump in my throat. “He made me dance until my feet bled.”
“Damn …” he says through gritted teeth. When I wait, he adds, “Continue.”
“We had a tiny living space. No fresh air. Although we did have a shower and a bed, which was more than I had in the second cage. Still, I didn’t see the outside for months. And he didn’t feed us enough.”
“Us?” he mutters. “You weren’t alone in the cage?”
“I had … friends.” Just thinking about Cage and Ella makes me choke up.
I wonder how they’re doing.
“He made them do … things together.”
“I see …” he mumbles, but I can’t gage his feelings from his reaction, which is odd.
I’m almost always able to hear what someone feels just by listening to their voice.
But with Chase, it’s as if he’s concealing a part of himself.
“Do you miss them?” he asks.
I nod. “Very much. They … they don’t even know if I’m alive.” Tears well in my eyes again, but I push them away.
He takes a deep breath before replying. “Would you like to send them a message?”
“What?” My jaw drops.
I can’t believe what he just suggested. Is this real?
“Right now, I can’t get them out of there. But I can send Graham a picture of you and tell him to give it to them, so they’ll know you’re still alive. Just tell me what to write.”
“You’d … do that for me?” I’m completely stunned.
“Yeah. Just think about it for a while.” He caresses my cheek again and wipes away a tear that managed to escape. Damn. I didn’t want him to see me cry, but the thought of sending them something, anything, fills me with hope … which is something I haven’t felt in such a long time.
“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to,” he says, his voice dark but laced with regret. “Understand?”
I nod softly.
His fingers leave my face. “I’m bad, Syrena. You should know that.”
“But—”
Suddenly, he grabs my shoulders and says, “Call me a monster. Say it to my face.”
“What?” I mutter, surprised by the sudden change of his character.
“Say it!” he yells.
“You’re … a monster,” I say, confused as fuck.
The shaking stops, but his hands are still clutching my shoulders, his nails digging into me.
“You’re hurting me,” I say.
He immediately releases me.
“I’m sorry,” he says, and he gets up from the floor. “I shouldn’t have.”
As he stomps off, I call out. “Wait!”
His footsteps stop.
“Will I ever … be allowed out?” I ask.
He sighs softly. “Maybe. If you promise you won’t escape.”
No matter how hard I try, my mouth doesn’t open. My lips refuse to utter the words.
So he walks out and closes the door behind him.
Shit.
Accompanying Song: “Bad Man” by Esterly Ft. Austin Jenckes
Chase
Fuck.
I felt so bad for putting her through all that.
I had to get out of there before I succumbed. Before …
Fuck.
Every time I see her face, I just want to hug her. And those lips as she gulps down the food are … goddamn sinful.
I can’t stop thinking about prying them open with my tongue.
No.
That’s the last thing I should be thinking about right now.
She hates me, and she should. I did something horrible to her. She deserves better than this.
But fuck, I need her.
I need her more than she knows.
If I’d known she was in such a terrible place, that Graham was treating her so badly, I would’ve gotten her out much sooner.
I would’ve gone over to Graham’s and pulled her out without question. I don’t even care how much I’d need to pay just to have her … and her friends, for that matter.
Shit.
I run my fingers through my hair and pace up and down the hallway.
I knew he was fucked up for keeping them locked in cages, but I thought he was only selling them to others. I didn’t know he was using some of them for himself too. That changes the entire game.
Did he use Syrena too?
Did he touch her the way I can only dream of touching her?
“Fuck!”
The moment I pass the mirror, I stop in my tracks and stare myself down.
Fuck this man staring right back at me.
Fuck this man who doesn’t know wrong from right.
Fuck this man who did the unthinkable …
Just fuck.
In an instant, my fist slams into the mirror, smashing it to pieces.
Glass flies everywhere, littering the floor.
Some shards pierce my hand.
I stretch out my fingers and watch the blood run down my hand. Damn. That hurt. But it felt so good too.
Shaking the remnants of glass from my hand, I grab my cell phone and call Brandon.
“Hey. Have some new names on the list?” I hiss.
“Hi to you too. Yeah, I have some.”
