Page 53 of Black Ledger

“Oh gosh, I am sorry.” My words came out a jumble, and it was getting much harder just to hold myself up and make it into the bowl.

My limbs felt like solid lead, weighted down and impossible to move.

“Something’s wrong.”

“You’re okay.” He rubbed a circle on my back, and I retched again.

Every part of me felt disgusting. A few minutes later, or an hour, I didn’t really know. Chad lifted me up and forced me to gargle mouthwash and spit it out.

“You got vomit on your dress. Let me help you take it off,” he purred, caressing my hair.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” I mumbled, and shut my eyes.

The next thing I knew, my dress was off, and he was carrying me to a bed.

“Here, you need to get some rest.” He petted my hair again, but he wasn’t tucking me under the covers. He was unclasping my bra, allowing my breasts to spill out.

“No,” I whispered, but my cotton-coated mouth barely worked.

Somehow, my underwear had also disappeared, and he was straddling me and spreading open my thighs, his clothing also gone.

My eyes drooped. They were so heavy. Then I felt a sting across my face.

“Wake up,” Chad seethed. “I want you to feel this.” He slapped me again.

“Wha—“ I tried to form the word, as he positioned himself at my entrance. “No.”

But then… nothing happened. I felt nothing. If anything, I felt a massive weight lift off of me.

I blinked hard and forced my eyes open. Someone… no, two people were punching the shit out of Chad. I tried to sit up farther to see more, but I collapsed with a whimper.

His eyes snapped to me, his bloody hand frozen in the air above Chad’s face.

“Sev…” I breathed.

And then his bloody hands were cupping my face.

“Tie him up and keep him alive. We’ll deal with him tomorrow.” Severin’s gaze latched on my failing one, his azure eyes dripping with concern. “I got you, Moy Oduvanchik.”

“I know,” I rasped, and went limp in his arms, darkness consuming me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Xeniya Morozova

Age 19

Warmth surrounded me, and the scent of bergamot and green tea lingered in the air. My head rested on his chest. My eyes slipped shut.

Time became a series of flashes. A car. A staircase. A shower. A T-shirt. Blankets.

All flashes. Nothing I could hold on to.

Then a void.

I drifted between consciousness and a fitful sleep.

“Should we take her to the hospital?” someone asked.