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He smirked. “Nah. Devil wanted to know if you had a change of heart.”
“It’s hard to have one when you don’t know anything about the subject,” I pointed out.
“You’re still going with that?”
I shrugged. “You can scoff all you want, but I don’t know shit. You’re wasting your time with me.”
“Good thing we’re not putting our eggs all in one basket.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Yeah, firecracker. I see that doubt in your eyes.”
Whatever. I didn’t bother to argue. “Any other questions? You’re disturbing my peace and quiet.”
His mouth twitched as he fought a smile. “Glad to know you’re still in here fightin’, ball buster.”
“Til the day I die,” I vowed.
Something fierce flickered in his eyes, a darkness rooted in pain. The kind of pain I knew too well. If I wasn’t his prisoner and he wasn’t my jailor, we could have shared a bottle of Jack and our miserable past.
I had a knack for finding lost and damaged souls. Amelia said they flocked to me inside the bar. I used to spend hours with some of the regulars, talking about their mistakes and how to move on. It helped me fight my own demons.
“Never stop,” he finally replied, shocking me with his gruff response before he left, shutting the door with a loud click. I heard the lock engage before his heavy boots disappeared down the hall. In the silence that followed, I wondered what kind of pain he endured and how it molded him into the man he had become.
Questions that didn’t matter because I didn’t intend to be around long enough to learn the answers.
Chapter 5
“Henrietta.”
The distorted voice filtered through the speaker above my head, the words falling like a blanket that trapped me on the bed.
“You’re such a pretty girl.”
A whimper escaped my mouth as I lifted my hands, tugging on the restraints that confined me. “Let me go!”
For two days, I had been stuck in this room with a jug of water, a bed, and a bathroom with a sink and toilet. In the center of the ceiling, a soft yellow light glowed. I cried and begged to be released. No one listened or responded.
“You’ve been chosen.”
“No!” I screamed, kicking at the mattress and flailing my arms. Desperate and confused, I didn’t understand why I was there.
Nothing happened as I tugged on the restraints. The leather cuffs that wrapped my wrists and ankles held tight. I couldn’t close my legs or reach my face. It was terrifying.
A whimper left my throat. How long would I stay in this room? When would I get anything to eat?
The door opened, and one of the hooded ones entered. I’d seen them when they brought me into this room. A black robe disguised his features, but he seemed oddly familiar. Without a word, he approached, climbing on the bed. He perched on his knees, lifting a knife.
Terrified, I screamed as the blade glistened in the light. The knife lowered, and the stranger slowly began to saw through my clothes, slicing away the fabric from my skin. When he finished, he closed the knife and tossed it to the floor out of reach.
On some instinctual level, I knew he would hurt me. I cried. I fought. Kicking, I managed nothing more than exhaustion.
My breaths came too fast. Panting, I tried to fill my lungs with oxygen.
Once my clothes were gone, the man stared at my naked body. A sickening murmur of approval fell from his lips.
“So young,” the voice whispered above my head. “A perfect virginal sacrifice.”
