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I feel Mackenzie’s eyes on me in the dark. I turn my head to hers, hating that it’s so dark in here I can’t read her face. Instead, I squeeze her hand in a silent gesture of solidarity.
My heart practically beats through my chest cavity when I hear the door click shut. Mackenzie buries her face against my shoulder, her body shaking. I rest my lips on top of her head, my eyes on the closet door while I send up a million silent prayers.
But when the door flies open, revealing the irate expression on Orpheus’s face, I realize that God has once again forsaken me.
Just like he has for the past eight years.
19
MACKENZIE
After ripping us from the closet, Orpheus stands guard by the door, a murderous expression on his face. He rubs a hand over the eye Chase stabbed, the redness causing a sense of deep satisfaction to course through me because Chase hurt him.
But then it fades as I imagine what lies ahead.Apparently, salt and a butter knife in the eye aren’t enough to stop this ungodly ritual.
I quiver uncontrollably as Rosario enters the room, her eyes bloodshot from the salt I threw in them. Her arms are laden with a white dress and a black robe. Regally, she glides across the room, silently handing the robe to Chase. Her eyes meet mine, but she doesn’t hand me the dress. “Put the robe on, boy.” Her voice is firmer than I’ve ever heard. Her dark brown eyes swing to mine. “I’ll help you get dressed.” Removing it from the hanger, she musters, “I don’t trust you.”
As Rosario dresses me in the long, ugly, white-lace gown that hits my feet, I’m not at all cooperative. I’m like a limp rag doll, shutting off my emotions and trying not to think about what lies ahead, focusing on the damned devil whose head swivels between me and Chase, watching us like a predator staring at his prey. The rage on Orpheus’s face is palpable as his massive body guards the door so we can’t attempt another escape.
“Turn around.” My gaze slides back to Rosario. When I don’t move, she shakes her head. “So I can zip you.” I refuse, standing firm in my resolve.
She sighs, the frustration on her face obvious since she’s no longer wearing the veil she hides behind. Tonight, her face is heavily painted, complete with an upside-down cross. Her eyes, which are bloodshot from the handful of salt I dumped in them, search mine before she grabs my upper arms, spinning me around and zipping up the white lacy dress.
The butter knife and salt were all we found when we searched the attic. It wasn’t enough to escape these deranged cult members, but we had to try.
Our plan was simple. We assumed Orpheus and Rosario would think we ran for the door and would go outside, searching for us. With miles of woods surrounding the house, Chase and I planned to hide out in a room until we thought it was safe enough to sneak through the house, then take our chances out in the woods. I’d rather die outside than in here with these two freaks.
Obviously, we failed miserably.
I meet Chase’s sullen eyes and am disheartened when his expression immediately changes to dejection. He drops his gaze to the floor as he puts the robe on without a shred of resistance. I want to cry and scream at him not to give up. Even though we failed, that won’t deter us from trying to get the hell out of here.
But I can’t say a word. Not with the two crazy cult members in the room, watching and listening.
My gaze drops to the ugly, virginal white dress, cringing.Virginal. What an awful word to roll through my head, considering?—
Movement from the corner of my eye draws my attention. Orpheus’s massive frame flies toward Chase, striking him with his large fist, knocking him onto the bed. “This is for the knife, boy.” The sickening crack of his fist against Chase’s skull makes me feel ill. I struggle to get to him, to find a way to stop Orpheus’s cruel beating, but Rosario holds my arms behind me. Her hold is inescapable, leaving me no choice but to watch helplessly. Orpheus strikes him again. Chase falls back on the bed, unmoving, even when Orpheus shackles his wrists and ankles.
Fear and horror course through me.Oh, God. Is Chase dead?Screaming like I’m possessed, I finally break free of Rosario’s grip. As I run toward Chase, I’m stopped by the sensation of fire coursing through my skin, my muscles seizing. I collapse on the floor, the most excruciating pain I’ve ever experienced coursing through my body.
“Goddamn it,” I hear Chase yell, his breathing ragged and heavy. “You fucking tased her, you bitch.”
Oh, thank God.He’s alive. My eyes water and my body quivers from the excruciating pain before it finally stops.
“Watch your fucking mouth, boy.” The sickening crack of Orpheus’s fist against Chase’s face is gut-wrenching.
Agony courses through me as I rasp out, “Please. Stop. Hurting h-him.”
Orpheus strides over to me, rage etched onto his face. Reaching down, he lifts me as though I weigh nothing, carrying me to the bed and tossing me beside Chase.
I shake uncontrollably as he leans over me, his soulless eyes glittering dangerously. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to him,girl.And toyou.”
The malicious grin causes beads of sweat to break out all over my body, even as a chill runs down my spine.This cruel bastard is going to rape me tonight. I can’t even fathom the thought.
“Leave her alone, asshole.” The rage and possessiveness in Chase’s voice is palpable, giving me hope.
Good.Chase hasn’t given up.The dullness in his eyes worried me. It was as though the fight was draining out of him.
“I’m going to have so much fun defiling her while you watch, boy,” he hisses before slapping the heavy shackles on Chase’s ankles. I extend my leg and try to kick him but Orpheus easily catches my foot, twisting my ankle until I wince and howl.
