She hadn’t heard from Kennedy in five days. Five long days, which meant she was probably gone. Just like Mom. Just like so many other people.
Just… gone.
A huge demonstration had resulted in violence just a few miles away the day before, people demanding the return of loved ones, demanding answers — but the Divine Ops had only answered with tear gas, and batons, and hoses. Hundreds had been arrested or hospitalized, although only two of the five local hospitals were still operating. The world was falling apart, and Dad wouldn’t let either of them leave the house.
It was Sunday now. If Mom were home, they’d be at church. Their church, not The Church in any of its incarnations around the city. Although even Father Thomas had been struggling to create inspiring sermons in the face of so much horror. The congregation had shrunk, people abandoning the Catholic church for the monsters orchestrating the horror around them. A mockery of what she’d been raised to believe, a devastating reality that seemed to never end.
Dad walked around the house like a ghost, carrying the cordless phone like a lifeline, and Danielle did her best to keep Mary out of his way. When she couldn’t stop crying the night before, Danielle had opened a bottle of wine and given her a glass, promising it was their secret, and then her sister had finally slept.
But Danielle hadn’t.
There was no sleep to be had when every creak of the house felt dangerous, when every buzz of her phone seemed like it would be another death knell meant to break her. Christopher had come by every day, but he couldn’t fix this any more than she could. Her dad had called the number multiple times, each time giving the same information, and on the last call they had only asked him if he had other women in the home.
Dad had hung up on them immediately.
Now, he was just empty. He’d found her grandfather’s gun in the attic, along with an ancient box of bullets, and it sat fully-loaded on the table beside his chair. She’d already lectured Mary to never touch it, to leave it alone, but it also meant she was afraid to walk away from her father. Losing their mom had broken something in him, and he hadn’t quite come back. He sometimes surfaced if the phone rang, or if Christopher asked him if he could take her to his house, but after he refused… he just faded away.
Not like she’d leave anyway.
She wasn’t married, although Blake had pointed out that didn’t seem to matter anymore. The Divine Ops would do what they wanted, and it was that thought that made it so hard to sleep. The ideas that skittered through her mind when she tried to close her eyes, when she thought of what they might be doing to her mom, to any of the women they had taken, it all made her sick.
Re-education. Punishment.
Words that carried a different kind of weight now that The Church seemed to be in charge.
Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it, grabbing it when she saw Christopher’s name on the screen. Giving one last glance to her father in his chair, she took the phone call in the kitchen. But, as soon as she accepted, her stomach twisted.
Christopher was crying, unable to catch his breath as he tried to talk. “They came— they were here. M-mom opened the door. I told her not to, I begged them to leave her alone. She hadn’t left the house at all in over a week!” Another sob, a broken sound she’d never heard that shattered something deep inside her as she slid down the kitchen cabinets, but he wasn’t done. “They asked me if she was under my protection, and I didn’t know what that meant! I didn’t know what it meant!”
“What happened?” she whispered, trying to stay calm.
“They said I could join them, fucking join them and put her under my protection.” Christopher groaned. “She said no. My mom told them no! She said that I was engaged, and they asked me if it was true, and I said yes! I — Jesus — I said yes.”
“They took your mom?” she asked, trying not to betray the tears in her voice as she bit down on her lip.
“She told me it was fine! She told me to stay, to go to you, but you have your dad! Why did she do that?” Christopher was panicking, and she tried to take enough breaths to manage a steady voice.
“Christopher, where did they take her?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” he shouted, another sob breaking in before he sniffed harshly. “They said if I joined I’d know. If I joined I could protect someone.”
“A-are you?” she whispered.
“What?”
“Are you going to join?” she asked, trying to sound neutral, trying to ignore the heavy weight of the golden band on her finger.
“NO!” he shouted. “I can’t— I… do you think I should? Should I?”
There was so much uncertainty in his voice, and she clenched her jaw tight so she wouldn’t let a sound slip past her lips, fighting the urge to cry as she sought the right words. “Y-you should protect your mom.”
“Oh God… I can’t. You, I can protect you.”
She laughed, a bitter, hollow sound as she stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t think you can, Christopher.”
“WHY!” he shouted, but she felt it in her bones. Knew it was true the moment she’d said it.
“They don’t want your mom, Christopher. They want you. They want me. For completely different reasons, obviously… but that’s what they want. You should join to keep your mom safe.”
“I can’t do that, I can’t—”
“You can,” she urged, nodding and sniffling back her own tears as she pushed herself against the cabinet. “You can do this. Your mom doesn’t have anyone else to stand for her. Just you, and they’re not going to let you protect me.”
“But I love you,” he replied, a harsh edge to his voice. “We’re supposed to get married. It’s supposed to be okay!”
“I know.” She nodded, looking at the kitchen table where she’d had that same conversation with her mother. “I know, baby, and I love you too. I love you so fucking much, but you know—” Her voice broke, and she tried to hold back the tears as she dug her nails into her thigh, through the pajama pants she’d been wearing for two days.
“Danielle…” he whispered, and she could hear that he was crying, and it hurt, but she forced herself to keep talking.
“You know they’re not going to let you protect me. Not from whatever this is, not from wherever they’re taking us.” She sniffled, swallowing so she could talk. “My mom already told them about me, about Mary, and all I can hope now is that Dad can protect Mary, and—”
“NO!” Christopher shouted, a roar tearing out of him that made her pull the cell phone away from her ear as she tried not to lose it. “No! Fuck that, I’m not losing you. I won’t—”
“You can’t stop them. Not with me, and if you think about it… if you will stop for just a minute and think about it… you’ll realize you know it too.” She nodded even though he couldn’t see her, her eyes searching the cabinets and the brightly colored towel hanging off one of the handles. “You know that the only good thing that can come out of this is if you join, which they might make you do anyway… but if you do it now, you might be able to save your mom. Get her on a list or something.”
“That’s not what’s supposed to happen,” he whispered, and he sounded as broken as she felt.
“I know…” She had to bite her cheek to hold back the tears for another minute. “I know, baby. But, no matter what, I love you, Christopher. I’ll always love you. No matter what.”
“I love you, too. I swear I love you, Danielle.” He groaned, another choked off sob breaking across the line before he returned. “I will find you. I don’t care what I have to do, but I will find you.”
“Okay,” she answered, because it was the only thing she could say when they both knew it was a lie. An impossibility. She didn’t know when they’d come, when her house would be the one they knocked on, but… it would happen. Sooner rather than later. And, if she were lucky, maybe they’d let her father protect Mary. Pulling in a hitched breath, she spoke, “I love you, Christopher.”
“I love you too,
Danielle,” he replied softly, and for a moment they just sat there. Listening to each other breathe in hiccups of air as she twirled the golden band around her finger.
“Goodbye,” she forced out before she hung up and tossed the phone away from her. Not caring a bit as she screamed into the dark of the kitchen and broke down.
Sometime later, she felt Mary’s arms around her, pulling her towards her as she sobbed, fist clenched tight around the ring that had almost been a wedding band. And that thought only made her cry harder.
* * *
Two Days Later
There was an explosion next door, loud and disorienting, and Danielle stumbled from her parents’ room with Mary on her heels. Her father was already holding the gun, looking out the remaining windows as he swiped at the air, wordlessly telling them to get down.
Screams and shouts came in through the new hole in the wall, echoed from next door. The Bells’ house. Both their kids were grown, but Danielle hadn’t been outside in so long that she couldn’t even remember if their daughter had come home or not.
Had she?
Mary grabbed onto the back of her shirt, weighing her down as she guided them to the side of the staircase, hidden behind the couch from the hole in the wall, while their father marched from room to room.
Finally, he walked back to them, dragging Danielle upright with a rough grip on her arm. “Go down into the basement, I’ll tell them you’re not here. I’ll tell them you’re with Christopher—”
“No!” she argued, but he shook her, pushing her back into the wall, which made Mary squeak in fear.
“I will tell them whatever I have to so that they leave, Danielle.” He let go of her arm and cupped the side of her face, the anger leaving as he suddenly looked infinitely sad. “I can’t lose you two. I can’t.”
“Dad, please…”
“I don’t want you to come up, no matter what you hear. Okay?” He looked between her and Mary, yanking them both into a fierce hug, planting kisses on their heads before he pushed them back. “I love you both more than anything. It doesn’t matter what happens to me, if you can run… you run. Do you understand?”
Danielle nodded, trying not to cry, wishing her mom was there, wishing that none of this was happening. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay, Dad,” Mary echoed.
“I love you,” he repeated.
“I love you too,” they both whispered, voices broken by tears as he grabbed the door of the basement and gestured inside.
“Hurry, downstairs. Don’t make a noise.” Their dad watched as they both moved onto the dim stairs, holding onto the rail as he leaned on the door. “Your mom and I have loved you so much. Remember that, okay?”
“Dad!” Mary shouted, but he shut the door, and a second later they heard the turn of the key.
Her sister started crying, but Danielle shushed her quietly as she moved her down the stairs, letting her sit on the floor at the bottom of the steps as Danielle stared at the door. Off to the side she saw the baseball bat, and she knew what she needed to do if anyone came down. She knew she’d fight, even kill to protect her sister. Just like her mom had, just like her dad.
All they had was each other and, in the end, that was all that would matter.
She had a family that loved her. She’d had Christopher, and Leann, and Kennedy.
It didn’t matter what they took away, because they could never take them. Not really. Because that kind of love was permanent, even if it was buried deep.
Even if they hurt her, she’d remember that she was loved.
The End
Afterword
Not much to say after that, is there, lovelies? All I will say is that I really do want to hear what you think. I left off the short story right as she was taken so that you can use your own wicked minds to fill in the blanks that happened between that moment and the moment Danielle awakes in Eden for the final time. I wish you all the best in what you picture.
Want to share it?
Come by the Dark Haven on Facebook, or send me a message / email so we can chat about it. I really do have lots of other ideas in this world and I want to hear if that’s something you’d want to explore with me! Thanks for giving this book a chance, lovelies!
About the Author
Jennifer Bene is a USA Today bestselling author of dangerously sexy and deviously dark romance. From BDSM, to Suspense, Dark Romance, and Thrillers—she writes it all. Always delivering a twisty, spine-tingling journey with the promise of a happily-ever-after.
Don't miss a release! Sign up for the newsletter to get new book alerts (and a free welcome book) at: http://jenniferbene.com/newsletter
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You can find her online throughout social media with username @jbeneauthor and on her website: www.jenniferbene.com
Also by Jennifer Bene
The Thalia Series (Dark Romance)
Security Binds Her (Thalia Book 1)
Striking a Balance (Thalia Book 2)
Salvaged by Love (Thalia Book 3)
Tying the Knot (Thalia Book 4)
The Thalia Series: The Complete Collection
Dangerous Games Series (Dark Mafia Romance)
Early Sins (A Dangerous Games Prequel)
Lethal Sin (Dangerous Games Book 1)
Fragile Ties Series (Dark Romance)
Destruction (Fragile Ties Book 1)
Inheritance (Fragile Ties Book 2)
Redemption (Fragile Ties Book 3)
The Beth Series (Dark Romance)
Breaking Beth (Beth Book 1)
Daughters of Eltera Series (Dark Fantasy Romance)
Fae (Daughters of Eltera Book 1)
Tara (Daughters of Eltera Book 2)
Standalone Dark Romance
Taken by the Enemy
Imperfect Monster
Corrupt Desires
The Rite
Deviant Attraction: A Dark and Dirty Collection
Reign of Ruin
Crazy Broken Love
Appearances in the Black Light Series (BDSM Romance)
Black Light: Exposed (Black Light Series Book 2)
Black Light: Valentine Roulette (Black Light Series Book 3)
Black Light: Roulette Redux (Black Light Series Book 7)
Black Light: Celebrity Roulette (Black Light Series Book 12)
Standalone BDSM Ménage Romance
The Invitation
Reunited
Reign of Ruin Page 13