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I nod. “Always.”
His lips crash against mine, and everything fades away. Including the nightmare we find ourselves in.
When we finally pull apart, our chest heaving from our ragged breaths, demanding oxygen, our eyes locked together, silently communicating. “Chase, I?—”
Suddenly, the ever-present light bulb goes out, plunging the room into darkness. I tense, my bound hands gripping his fingers. In the blackness of the attic, I see his outline. “What happened?”
“Either the bulb blew, or Orpheus somehow turned it off.” I hear him audibly swallowing, his breaths quickening against my skin. “Stay quiet.”
I nod, though I’m unsure if he sees it. My muscles are so tense my entire body aches from trying to stop the tremble of fear running rampant. My ears strain, listening for any sounds to indicate Orpheus has snuck inside the attic. But the only thing I hear are the sounds of our breathing mixed in with the ever-present breeze blowing through the ancient windows.
“I don’t hear him. That doesn’t mean he’s not here, though,” Chase whispers.
We remain quiet for several beats before Chase says, “Maybe a fuse blew. Or maybe a storm close by knocked out the power.”
“I’m scared.” My lips quiver, my voice a high-pitched squeak.
He pulls me closer. “How about we play two truths and a lie until we fall asleep? See how well we know one another.”
I feel his smile in the dark and it relaxes me. The tension in my body dissipates as I nod, a smile curling my lips. “Okay. But prepare yourself. I don’t like losing.”
Chase chuckles. “Neither do I. Especially when it comes to a game where I can learn more about you.”
30
CHASE
Lying in the dark, Mackenzie’s small body against mine, my heart rapidly thuds inside my chest. The worrisome thoughts plaguing my mind won’t allow me to sleep. I’m certain the light going out was no accident, but I didn’t want to scare Mackenzie more than she already was, so I brushed it off. Usually, a bulb gives some signs it’s about to blow, but this one didn’t. And we stayed awake for a long time, playing two truths and a lie until her lids became too heavy to stay open any longer.
My gaze drops to her long lashes resting against her cheek. I have no idea what time it is, but the sky outside the barred windows is growing lighter as dawn approaches.
Even though my back still hurts from being whipped and my face doesn’t feel much better after being the cult’s punching bag, I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything in the world. I’d endure a thousand hells to have her beside me. Watching her sleep, breathing the same dusty air as her, trapped inside this hellish dark attic might be most people’s idea of hell, but it’s my personal heaven. Every heartbeat inside my chest belongs to her.
Her usual raspberry, amber, and rose scent isfaint on her skin, replaced by the pungent scent of the antibacterial soap we used earlier. To me, she still smells incredible because she’smine.
My eyes grow heavy as I stare at her peaceful face. Long lashes rest on her slightly flushed cheeks. I wiggle closer when she shivers, awkwardly trying to tuck the blankets tighter around her, which is hard to do with bound wrists.
As I lay my head back on the mattress, I make a vow to her as she sleeps.I’ll makeOrpheus pay for every damn thing he did to you, especially for raping you. Then I’m taking you out of this hellhole and back to your warm bed.
Sleep beckons me, and I close my eyes, imagining the blissful life I’d have if Mackenzie were my girlfriend.
A loud bang causes my eyes to fly open. I sit up, my blurry, tired eyes focusing on Orpheus looming above us. The early morning light shines through the barred windows, signifying another day of hell to endure.
“It’s time to face your punishment, boy.” The gleeful tone of his voice causes bile to rise in my throat.
Mackenzie sits up, her eyes wide with fear as she stares at Orpheus.
Before I can react, Orpheus’s massive fist connects with my stomach. He follows it up with a hard kick in the ribs as Mackenzie screams beside me.
Then he grabs me, easily throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me across the attic. While we slept, a metal bolt was drilled into one of the rafters. A thick rope hangs from the metal circle, which Orpheus uses to quickly tie around my bound hands so I’m hanging with my arms overhead, my feet dangling from the floor.
I’ll bet the asshole drugged us. There’s no way we wouldn’t have woken up from him drilling this into the rafters.
“Mackenzie.” I grit out her name, my heart twisting in agony as Orpheus stalks closer to her.
Once he’s within striking distance, Orpheus grabs her ankles, yanking her across the floor. She screams as my T-shirt that she’s wearing rides up, exposing her naked pussy since she has no panties to wear.
"Go ahead and scream, girl." Orpheus pulls something from his jeans. For the first time, I realize that's all he's wearing. Tattoos cover every inch of his back. I stare at them as I kick my legs, trying like hell to get free. My shoulders ache, and my back screams from the pain, making it hard for me to focus. The edges of my vision blacken from the pain coursing through me.
