The Camp (Chateau Book 2)

by Penelope Sky

  I pulled out my knife and freed her wrists.

  She moved off the bed and onto the floor, her wrists red and scarred because she’d tried so hard to get free. Tears still fell down her cheeks because she wouldn’t stop sobbing. She heaved like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.

  I watched her…getting sucked right back in.

  Her arms covered her chest even though she was clothed from the waist up, and she shivered as if she were cold when she was just traumatized. Her tears glistened in the light, and she rocked herself gently, having a complete breakdown.

  It was so fucking painful. My jaw clenched to keep a stoic expression, to keep all sympathy outside my body. But it was a fight I couldn’t continue anymore. I hadn’t thought this woman was capable of breaking like the others…and it was disturbing to see it happen. “I won’t let them do that to you.” My voice escaped as a whisper in an attempt to calm her.

  Her eyes finally shifted to me, red and puffy. “I knew you would save me…” She crawled across the space between us and moved into my chest, her arms circling my neck and her face pressing into my shirt. Her eyes soaked the material instantly, and her fingers yanked on the shirt as she tried to pull me closer, like I was the only thing in the world that could put her back together.

  My arms wrapped around her, and I cradled her close to me, sitting on the hardwood floor next to the bed, listening to her cry against me. My hand moved up her back, feeling the bumps through her shirt from the scars I’d given her. “I’ll always save you.”

  Nine

  One Problem, All Problems

  After she wrapped her bottom half in a towel, I took her out of the communal cabin, walking past the men whose favor I had just earned a week ago, and back to her cabin across the camp.

  Sniffles still sounded behind me because even though she’d calmed down, she still wasn’t herself, with her steely gaze, an unbreakable posture, a woman who believed in triumph in the face of defeat.

  I knew the tormenting would never stop.

  If Alix didn’t try again, it would just be someone else.

  She was the woman who’d cost us the lives of men we used to know, and the torture had escalated from physical pain to something much more sinister. It would just keep happening until they completely crushed her spirit.

  I unlocked the door, and we stepped inside.

  She immediately took a seat on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the towel from the bathroom. Her arms crossed over her body like she was still cold, and her gaze was downcast, her eyes open and still, as if she was reliving it all over again.

  “Grab your things.”

  She slowly lifted her chin to look at me. “What?”

  “I said, get your things.” I kept my voice controlled and soft since she was sensitive right now. What I really wanted to do was snap my fingers and get her to move quickly, so no one would see what was about to happen.

  “Why?” She got to her feet and looked at me, her face so puffy from her tears, she looked like she’d just taken a beating.

  “Because you’re going to stay with me. Now, come on.”

  She inhaled a deep breath when she heard what I said, like she couldn’t believe it.

  “If I leave you here…” I didn’t need to finish the sentence to make my point. “Do as I ask.”

  She nodded then dropped the towel, not caring that I could see her naked bottom half. She pulled on her underwear and her pants then gathered what few possessions she had. It was just a couple items that she stuffed into her pockets. Then she turned back to me, emotional all over again, but for a different reason.

  “I can’t let you go, but I can keep you safe while you’re here.” I walked out.

  She followed behind me a second later.

  I locked the door even though there was no point. Just a habit.

  We crossed the camp until we reached my cabin. I unlocked the door and let her go first.

  She stepped inside and looked around, seeing the small desk against the wall with a laptop, the TV on the stand against the wall, the twin bed in the corner under the window, and the bathroom.

  I didn’t want to share my space with her like this, but I had no other choice.

  She moved to the chair in front of the desk and took a seat. She was in a dreamlike state, like she was still in shock. She glanced at her hands before she raised her chin and looked at me again.

  I stared back.

  The moonlight came through the window and made her eyes shine. “Now what?”

  It was late, and I had a long day tomorrow. “We’ve got to sleep.” I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it in the hamper in the corner. My jeans came next because I couldn’t sleep unless I was in my boxers. If it made her uncomfortable, that was too bad. “You can stay up and watch TV if you want. Just keep it on low.” I pulled back the sheets and lay on the small bed, which was already too small for just me. I missed my king-size in Paris, having all the space I could need. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling.

  She stayed in the chair, her eyes looking out the uncovered window.

  I was tired, but I couldn’t sleep, not when she was sitting in that chair, looking out the window. Someone had just tried to rape her fifteen minutes ago. It would be impossible to wind down and drift off so quickly. “Do you want to talk about it?” I could see her face turn slightly in my peripheral to look at me.

  She stared for a while. “No.”

  “Touch my laptop or my phone, I’ll throw you back to the wolves. I may have helped you, but I won’t liberate you. I built this place to make it impossible to escape, so I suggest you don’t bother.”

  She was quiet.

  “Do you understand?”

  Her voice came out quiet, afraid. “Yes…”

  I turned my head to look directly at her.

  She shifted her gaze away, like it was too hard to look at me. “Should I sleep on the floor?” She stared at the hardwood at the foot of the bed. There was a rug, but it would still be rock hard against her sore body.

  “No.” I pushed the sheets back.

  She turned back to me. “You want me to join you?”

  “If you sleep on the floor, you’ll hurt your back. And I’m not sleeping on the goddamn floor.”

  She gave a slight nod before she got up and started to undress. She turned around and pulled off her shirt, revealing her bra underneath…and the scars.

  I quickly looked at the ceiling again.

  She dropped her pants next and stood in just her underwear. “I don’t have anything to wear…”

  “Take a shirt out of my top drawer.”

  She moved to the dresser and grabbed the one on top. It was a short-sleeved gray cotton tee. She pulled it on, and it fell down her body to her thighs, covering the scars that made me sweat with disgust.

  She approached the bed and looked at me, as if she expected me to move over.

  “I sleep close to the door.”

  She got on the bed then crawled over me, settling into the narrow spot right against the wall.

  The bed was not made for two people.

  There was no way for us to lie together without touching each other. I couldn’t lie flat without being on top of her slightly, so I turned on my side and faced my desk, the sheets around my waist, my eyes open and looking at the light and shadows in the room.

  She was still after she found her position. Based on her breathing, she was wide awake and alert.

  So was I.

  She sat up and closed the curtains over the window, bringing the bedroom into darkness. “What will happen to you tomorrow?”

  All the damage I’d finally fixed was gone. I had to start over…because I was weak. “That’s my problem, not yours.”

  “Your problems are my problems…just as my problems are your problems.”

  I walked her to the clearing—like I was her guard again.

  I was her guard again.

  She didn’t speak to me or look directl
y at me. She was submissive, which was completely unlike her. She was always strong and fierce, but all those qualities had faded. She shone in bright colors, but now, she was muted gray.

  I didn’t like it. “Nothing will happen to you.” I looked at the side of her face, seeing her eyes down. “I promise.” I’d never made a promise to anyone in my whole life, but I made one to her…and she didn’t even ask me to.

  She slowly turned to look at me. “I know.”

  When we reached the clearing, she walked away and headed to work, keeping her head down, like if she were small enough, quiet enough, no one would notice her.

  Alix walked up to me right away.

  My eyes glanced down to his hands, expecting to see a blade.

  He carried nothing.

  He stopped in front of me, getting so close to my face that his breath fell on my cheeks.

  I didn’t back away because I wasn’t intimidated. Even if he had a knife and I had nothing, I’d still kick his ass.

  He kept his voice low so everyone else couldn’t hear, but the threat was unmistakable. “The boss is going to hear about this. What will you do, then?”

  “She’s a prisoner all the same. But now, she’s my prisoner.”

  When he was this close to me, it was easy to see his features inside his hood. He gave me an incredulous look. “It doesn’t look like you treat her as a prisoner.”

  “What I do with her is none of your business.” I was concerned what would happen when Fender came to the camp for a visit. He would see what I’d done—and he’d definitely have an opinion about it. “Guards keep prisoners for themselves. What I’m doing is no different.”

  “It’s different if you let her go.”

  “I’ll never let her go.” She may have softened my heart once again, but I would never allow her freedom. My life would be forfeit if I did. When my brother made that threat, I knew it wasn’t idle. Because he honored every threat he made. It didn’t matter if I was his brother. That wouldn’t be a strong enough reason to keep me alive.

  Alix studied me, like he didn’t believe me.

  “We continue our truce—and you stay away from her.”

  He gave me a glare before he stepped away. “Whatever you say, Romeo. You found a woman who’s happy licking one ball instead of two…” He returned to his post.

  My eyes shifted back to Raven.

  She was staring at me, like she was afraid for me.

  I’d survived this long. I’d be fine.

  I found any excuse to stay out of the cabin.

  When the workday was over, I locked her inside then found something else to do. I had dinner alone in the communal cabin, did my evening checks at the camp to make sure everything was in order, and then I went back to the communal cabin later in the evening. There was a living room with a TV, so I sat there and watched it, a scotch in my hand to wash away the aches from the long day.

  Footsteps sounded on the other side of the wall as the guards filed in. Chairs scraped against the hardwood as they got in their seats around the table to play a few rounds of poker.

  I didn’t make a sound. The TV was on, so they obviously heard it, but they probably assumed it was someone else on the couch.

  Beers were opened, a bag of chips popped as it was ripped open, and then the poker chips clattered on the table.

  “What are you going to do about Magnus?” Eric’s voice was easy to recognize. It was raspier than the others, like he always had a sore throat.

  Alix took a long time to answer. “Nothing.”

  “That’s a first,” Nathan said with a laugh.

  “The boss will take care of him.” Alix wasn’t his usual jovial self. He was quiet, as if the mention of my name made him simmer with anger.

  “You think?” Eric asked. “Magnus burned this camp down to nothing, and the boss let him live.”

  “But he mutilated him,” Nathan said. “I think I’d rather take death than the knife.”

  “He won’t let him off easy again,” Alix said. “She’s supposed to live here forever, to be tortured every day, to work until her body gives out. She’s not supposed to receive special treatment.”

  “She’s still working every day,” Eric said. “So, I’m not sure if she’s getting much special treatment.”

  “I can’t fuck her, can I?” Alix snapped. “That’s special treatment.”

  “Must be jealousy,” Nathan said. “Because Magnus never cared about the beatings we gave her.”

  No, not jealousy. It was just fucking disgusting.

  “Or maybe it’s because she took that knife for him,” Eric said. “She may have saved his life. Of course, he’s going to feel indebted to her.”

  That wasn’t it either.

  Eric spoke again. “If he tells the boss you tried to kill him, he’s going to kill you.”

  It was quiet.

  For a long time.

  The game continued, poker chips clattering as they were thrown in the center pile. A hand dug in a chip bag. Obnoxious munching sounded from teeth.

  Alix spoke. “Magnus is a lot of things, but he’s not a snitch.”

  Did I catch a tone of respect in there?

  He spoke again. “But she killed our guys. She let our prisoners go. She humiliated us. She doesn’t deserve to sleep soundly in that cabin. The boss knows that. He won’t let it slide.”

  When I entered my cabin, she was on the floor against the bed, watching TV. She was still in her work clothes because she didn’t have anything else. Her knees were up and against her chest. Her eyes immediately darted to me once I stepped inside.

  I locked the door behind me then carried the tray of food to her.

  She eyed it before she took it.

  She didn’t get her dinner until late in the evening because I stayed out of the cabin until bedtime. I didn’t want her to be raped, but I didn’t want to spend any extended time with her. I moved to the desk and opened my laptop. Since she was blocked by the bed, I used my fingerprint identifier to see if she’d touched my laptop while I was away. I did it every single day—and she hadn’t touched it.

  I would hide my laptop, but there was nowhere I could put it without her being able to get to it anyway.

  I was surprised she hadn’t tried to use it, but I also would have been surprised if she did anything to jeopardize my generosity. She’d broken my trust, and she could never earn it back now. My guard would always be up.

  She ate quietly in front of the TV, not making conversation with me, like she knew I was avoiding her.

  I shut the laptop then stepped into the bathroom to shower. I locked the door behind me, got under the hot water, and took my time, hoping she’d be finished with dinner and ready to go to sleep.

  So we could not talk.

  I dried my hair afterward then returned to the bedroom in a new pair of boxers.

  She was in bed like I hoped she’d be. Her hair was styled now because she’d been using my comb and hair-dryer, so she looked more refreshed than the other girls. She probably couldn’t resist it, having nice hair. In a horrible place like this, you needed any little thing to make you feel better.

  Even I hated this horrible place.

  I turned off the lights then got into bed beside her.

  Now, I was perpetually uncomfortable, sharing the bed with someone when it was designed for a single person. Our cabins had AC, so it kept it cool. Without it, this would be unbearable. I was at the edge, trying to stay as far away from her as possible so her body heat wouldn’t touch my bare skin. I hated listening to her breathe, but I’d have to get used to it. A week had passed, and I still wasn’t used to it.

  But putting her back in her cabin wasn’t an option.

  Her voice broke the silence. “Magnus?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “You should just send me back to my cabin…”

  I stared at my desk.

  “Because when you leave, they’re gonna get me anyway.”

  I released a lo
ud sigh because it was true. Why suffer this proximity when my absence would expose her to all the cruelty again? Now that I’d taken her away, they’d want her even more, just out of spite. I felt like a lone wolf trying to protect a pup from an entire pack. The second I was gone, they would rip her to pieces. “Then I won’t leave.”

  She was quiet.

  That sounded like a terrible plan too, but I didn’t have any other option.

  The mattress shifted as she came closer to me, her chest pressing against my back, her arm wrapping around my waist. Her face moved to the back of my neck, her warm breaths falling on my skin at a quickened rate. Then she kissed the back of my shoulder, pulling me closer to her.

  I pulled her arm off my body and pushed her away. “Get off me.”

  She stilled, stung by my reaction. “You don’t want me?”

  “No.”

  She was quiet again.

  I just wanted to go to sleep…and do this all over again tomorrow.

  Emotion cracked her voice this time. “He didn’t… He didn’t rape me.”

  I threw the sheets off and sat at the edge of the bed, wiping my palm across my face in irritation. “You think that would matter to me?” My arms moved to my thighs, and my bare hands rubbed together. “Don’t misunderstand my intentions. I helped you because I couldn’t abandon you. But I don’t desire you anymore. I desired the woman that I trusted. You are not that woman anymore.” I rose off the bed and stepped away, needing space so I wouldn’t throw my fist through a wall.

  “I am that woman—”

  “You fucking humiliated me.” I turned back around and stared her down, seeing her eyes well up with new tears. “You have no idea what they did to me. You have no fucking idea how they tortured me! Why the fuck would I want you when you sent me to the guillotine? Why the fuck would I want you when you weren’t there for me when I was there for you?” My shouts became so loud that the guards in nearby cabins probably heard them. “A man protects his woman against everything—but she also protects him. You fucking abandoned me.”

  Tears dripped down her cheeks, and she bowed her head, like she couldn’t look at me.