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Chapter sixteen
Dreams of being passed around like a rag doll the way Caspian had said tore me from sleep. I woke up breathless and covered in sweat. My mind was restless. My body felt like it was on fire, as if there was a woman inside me trying to claw her way out of my skin. A barely there voice whispered to me,Run.No matter how many times I told myself there was no escape, part of me had to try.
I’m going to fuck you, sweet girl. And four other men are going to watch.
There was no way I could handle that. Even if I trusted Grey, that was asking too much. Even after he pulled me from the bathtub and let Caspian tell me the truth about how and why I was here. Somewhere deep inside, I believed Grey when he said he wouldn’t hurt me. But what if this was only the beginning? What if he wasn’t given a choice?Either I fuck you or they do. Take your pick.What if they—whoevertheywere—asked for more? What if it wasn’t enough for them to simply watch?
The wood floors were cold under my bare feet, and the t-shirt I fell asleep in was no help against the crisp night air. Or maybe it was early morning. Apparently, Grey didn’t believe in keeping clocks on the nightstand.
I slipped my jeans back on and found a pair of shoes in the closet.
Breathe, Lyric. You can do this.
I’d snuck around Tatum’s house enough times to maneuver my way through dark hallways. I had an intimate relationship with the darkness. I was comfortable there.
I fought the urge to run, to dart down the stairs and through these halls as fast as I could. I tiptoed instead to keep my footsteps from echoing against the high ceiling. My heart hammered with every second that passed, every step I made toward the door that led outside—to my freedom.
I expected the stairs to creak under my weight. They didn’t. The only sign of life was the occasional shadow dancing on the walls downstairs in the moonlight. The only sound to be heard was my own breath leaving my lungs. Was there such a thing astoo quiet?
Every time I passed a door, I held my breath and waited for it to swing open. The closer I got to the kitchen, the more I anticipated strong arms wrapping around me from behind and carrying me back up to my room. The sensation of being watched made the hair on my arms stand on end.
Stop being dramatic, Lyric. There are no cameras, remember.Grey had no way of knowing I was awake.
I walked through the foyer, watching reflections from the large crystal chandelier bounce off the marble floor. The kitchen was right around the corner. Just a few more steps. My hip bumped the corner of a console table, making a porcelain vase wobble on the surface. I hurried to steady it with my hands, saying a silent prayer I’d stopped the noise quickly enough.
The dark kitchen made me think of the first night I was with Lincoln. My skin heated at the flashback of him leaning against the counter, popping M&Ms in his mouth while he stared at me with that hungry look in his eyes.
“I’ll be with you again soon,”I whispered to his memory.
I was in the pantry room now. Twenty more feet and I’d be at the side door. It was a heavy wooden thing with nothing but a deadbolt standing in the way of my escape.
I held my hand to the steel and steadied my breath. One turn. One click. That was all it would take.
And then what?
I didn’t have a plan. I ran on instinct and adrenaline. I always had. All I knew was that I had a better chance of figuring something out, outtherethan I did inhere. I’d find a way to reach my dad. We had money. If someone would just let me hide long enough for my dad to come get me, we would pay.
Yeah. That was it. Hide. Bribe. Pay. That was the plan.
You can do this.
I took a deep breath and turned the lock. It felt as if it were made of solid gold and weighed a hundred pounds. The sound of the click might as well have been the sound of a thousand gunshots ringing in my ears. Like the beginning of a race. My heartbeat kicked into high gear and my feet pushed me forward, not even bothering to close the door behind me. I just needed to run.
My skin bristled the moment it was touched by the outside air. A surge of energy bolted through me all the way to my toes. New breath filled my lungs as a gentle wind pushed me forward, tossing my hair in my face.
I made it.
The gravel crunched beneath my feet. The bright swell of the moon felt like a spotlight following me as I sprinted down the driveway all the way to the iron gates.
The gates.
Shit.
Instinct screamed at me to turn around and go back. There was no way I would ever make it over that gate. Maybe if I just went back to bed, Grey would never know what I’d done.
What if he did know? Would he punish me?
“Don’t cross me, and you won’t deserve it.”
