My brother lets Fallon get within touching distance of the door before his arms wrap around her from behind.
“Oh, Fallon.” He chuckles as she squirms to get away. “Thank you for that.” He deposits her on the bed, and I know any chance of getting her to talk without taking things further just vanished.
She flips her hair out of her face, not bothering to hide her fury. “Thanks for what, asshole?”
I follow behind Declan as we exit the room, shaking my head. “We’ve been taking it easy on you so far, Siren. You just gave us the green light to move things along.”
“We’ll be back,” Dec says. I catch her gaping back at us before he shuts the door in her face.
Chapter 7
Fallon
There aren’t any light switches in this room, so when the lights go off, I take that as my cue to get some sleep. Only, it’s not that easy. I’m not sure if it’s the visit from my captors earlier in the day and the threatening words they parted with that has me on edge, or if it's the overall kidnapping, but either way, my body takes a while to wind down enough to sleep.
Just as I’m finally dozing off, a high-pitched sound like a microphone screech jolts me awake. Sitting up, I look around the dark room, but can’t see much of anything.Really starting to regret breaking that lamp now.A few seconds later, a song I recognize asBig Bad Wolfby In This Moment plays over the speakers loud enough to wake the dead.Fucking great.
Cerberus is truly theatrical because just as the chorus hits, the overhead lights flip on, and I swear to fuck, they’re brighter than they were earlier in the day. The door swings open with a loudbangand three masked figures file into the room, heading straight for me.
I scramble out of the covers and jump to my feet, but they’re on me in seconds. I claw at the hands gripping my shoulders, my arms, my hair, but it’s three on one, and they have me effectively helpless in no time. Heart racing as they hold me between them, my mind flashes back to the way they cornered me in the club, then to the fantasy I pictured inmy bedroom of being completely at their mercy. My body quivers in anticipation of what they have planned for me now, and yet again, it’s not totally out of fear.
Something is so wrong with me.
The song blares over a sound system they must have rigged throughout the whole place because it follows as they muscle me from room to room until they deposit me in a concrete cell, a quarter of the size of the room they’ve kept me in and bare of any furniture other than a big mirror built into the wall. I take note of the drain in the middle of the floor, and mentally prepare myself for whatever torture Cerberus may have planned.
I push to my feet just as one of my masked captors enters. It’s the one with horns. He’s massive, tall, and bulked with muscle, so it’s no surprise when he overpowers me, shoving me back to the floor and straddling me so that his thighs keep my arms pinned to my sides. I breathe through my nose, trying not to focus on the fact that he’s got me completely immobilized right now. He yanks on the collar of my tank top, easily ripping the shirt in half.
“Hey!”Goddamnit, that top was my favorite. “Get the fuck off me!”
I buck my hips, trying to stop him from doing the same to my leggings, but it’s no use. He grips the material at my hip and tears my pants down the seam without a second thought, leaving me in just my sports bra and panties.
I roll my eyes. “How many ‘roids did you have to take to pull that one off, asshole?”
His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t say anything, just pushes to his feet, gathering the tattered bits of my clothes.
I roll to my feet and charge him before he can shut me in here. Stupid? Definitely. But I’m too pissed to care. He shoves me in the chest and my back hits the wall hard.
“I hope you’re ready to confess your sins, Fallon Helix. Because we’re just getting started.”
He leaves, slamming the door behind him.
Out of breath, I sink to the floor and curl my knees to my chest. Confess my sins? My stomach drops.Do they know about my secret? The one I hope stays buried in the field where Mom and I put him.
The song ends, and just when I think I might actually get some peace and quiet to gather my thoughts,Unstoppableby Disturbed blasts through the room so loud that I have to cover my ears for fear of bursting an eardrum. I drop my head to my knees and sigh. It’s going to be a long night.
I don’t know how much time goes by. Hours? Days? I lose track of how many songs they play. I can’t even hear myself think it’s so goddamn loud in here. And I’m so tired. So freaking tired. During a rare break when there’s no music playing, I try to sleep on the hard floor with my hands tucked under my head. But that's when the screaming starts. I don’t know if the screaming is real-time or recorded, but it’s brutal. If I happen to catch a few winks when the screaming starts playing, then I’m plagued with nightmares and I wake up in a cold sweat. I haven’t seen any of the men since they cut my clothes off and locked me in here, but I have a feeling that will change soon.
I’m sitting kitty-corner to the door, hands over my ears to block out the latest song they have decided to torture me with. Most of the songs they play are actually good, but they must be changing tactics becausenow they’re playingIt’s a Small World After All.Gag.If I have to hear this song on repeat for the next twenty-four hours, then I choose death.
The fourth repeat of the song comes to an abrupt stop.Thank fucking Christ. But then the door opens, and in walk three of my least favorite people. Thing One, Thing Two, and Thing…Dickbag because he’s the reason I’m practically naked.
I jump to attention, noting the one with the rune on his mask, aka Thing Two, holding a wooden chair. He sets it down over the drain and motions for me to take a seat like he’s just rolled out the red carpet. Yeah, hard pass.
Thing Dickbag doesn't give me a choice. He picks me up and plops my ass on the chair while another takes my hands and zip ties my wrists behind my back. Thing Two bends down and ties my ankles to the chair legs. I’m totally at their mercy now.
The three of them exchange a look before Dickbag steps between my legs. He grips my chin, forcing me to look up at him.
“When is the next shipment expected, Fallon?”
