I stay put as he continues to barge through the room, rubbing his forehead as though he’s thinking about it. I hope so.
Suddenly, he stops, his gaze falling onto me.
“Fifteen minutes. That’s it,” he says.
A breath of hope enters my lungs as I tread forward to get closer. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t finished yet,” he barks, and I quickly take a step back again. “The room will be shut off completely. No exiting until I allow you to.”
I nod. I can agree to those terms.
“You know you will be locked inside with four other girls, right?” he says.
“I’m not afraid,” I say.
“You won’t be alone.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” He takes a step in my direction. And another one. And the next, slowly but surely coming ever closer until he’s right in front of me. I swallow as he tips up my chin while towering over me. “Soren will watch over you. And if you do anything he doesn’t like …”
His finger slides up my chin, across my lip, and dips into my mouth, only to drag my own saliva across my chin again. His eyes bore into mine until my lips begin to quiver, and my skin feels cold to the touch.
“Well, I think you can imagine what he’ll do.”
Chapter 26
Amelia
When the doors to the common room open, I suck in a breath, my dress feeling uncomfortably tight even though I chose the least constrictive one. Four girls stand and sit scattered throughout the room—one on the lounge chair, one near the windows, one checking out the books on the shelf, and one pacing around the couch. But none of them is Anna.
I swallow hard as the doors behind me close. I glance over my shoulder, straight into the dirty dark eyes of Soren, his face still as unmoving as ever.
He glares at me without saying a word, and I return the favor.
Then I turn to face the ladies.
“Hey …” one of them, who wears her blond hair up in a bun, says.
I take in a deep breath and reply, “Hi.”
They all look at me like I’m supposed to know what’s going to happen, as though I’m going to tell them what to do. But I have as few ideas as they have, maybe even less. Who knows how long they’ve each been here. What they’ve been through. If they deserved what they got.
I swallow as my stomach almost turns inside out.
Why did I want to do this again? Is there even any point with Soren watching my every move? I know I agreed to him being here, but maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.
Still, I’m here, so I might as well give it a try, even if I don’t know these women, and they’re all looking at me like I’m the messiah for organizing this get-together.
The girls all walk away from where they were positioned and flock around me.
“Hey,” the girl with the bun says. “My name is April.”
“Amelia,” I say.
“I’m Jane,” another one with a long brown ponytail, big brown eyes, and a big smile says.
“Olivia,” another girl says as she tucks her long blond hair behind her ears and blinks her bright blue eyes.
“Nice to meet you all, finally,” I say, sighing. Then I look at the girl still standing by the windows. She has only glanced at me once, then looked away again, as though she’s waiting for something … or someone.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
April turns to look at her. “We don’t know. She won’t say her name.”
“She hasn’t said a word since we all came here,” Olivia says.
“Strange, if you ask me,” Jane adds, shrugging.
“Maybe she’s just scared,” April says, looking away. “I know I was when I first ended up in one of their houses.”
“One?” I frown. “There are more?”
Her eyes widen. “You don’t know?”
I quickly glance at Soren, who is still watching our every move.
April leans in and tries to whisper, “I came from—”
“No whispering.” Soren’s gruff voice overwhelms the entire room, causing everyone to look at him. In particular, April, whose eyes bore into his as much as his bore into hers. She swallows hard as he refuses to take his eyes off her.
“We’re allowed to talk,” I say.
“No whispering,” he repeats.
I roll my eyes and take the girls to the couch where we sit down, crossing our legs underneath these lavish dresses in defiance of our captors.
“I came from a cult,” April says, this time out loud. “One that forced women to marry men whenever they were chosen.”
“Why?” Jane asks.
April looks down at the floor. “To please the men who ruled it. They called that place the Holy Ground and the people who live there ‘The Family.’”
“How strange,” Jane adds.
“Tell me about it. I was taken from my regular old life straight into a cult,” she says. “And then to imagine girls were born into it, thinking it was normal.” She shakes her head in disbelief while staring at the floor. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen.”
I grab her hand and squeeze tight. “That must’ve been rough.”
Tears well up in her eyes as she looks up, gazing straight into Soren’s eyes. Silence overcomes her, filling the room with nothing but unsaid words. “But I refused to bow to their rules. And then they sent me here to punish me or something.”
Soren never takes his eyes off her, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s just glaring at her like he’s a mechanical robot keeping watch or if he’s taking some of her words to heart. Maybe both. Wish I knew what he was doing in this house because there must be something else he’s good at besides watching people. Or more specifically … girls.
“But anyway, we’re all here now. How did you all get here?” April says, clearing her throat as she looks away from Soren.
“Ah … prefer not to tell,” Jane says, looking away with a blush on her face.
“I’m not,” Olivia says, raising a brow. “My father sent me here after I gave away all his money.”
April’s eyes widen while Jane’s jaw drops, but me? I’m just grinning like crazy.
“Wow,” Jane says, almost choking on her words. “I did not expect that.”
“I’m proud of it,” Olivia says, leaning back against the couch. “He gave me a choice. Jail, death, or be sent here. So you know what I chose.”
“Chose?” I raise a brow.
“Yeah …” Jane presses her lips tightly. “Same.”
I frown. “So you all … actually chose to be here?”
They both sigh and roll their eyes as if it’s the most normal answer in the world.
“But what about you, Amelia? What did you do?” Jane asks.
I gulp and make a face, clutching my hands close to my knees as sweat drops roll down my back. I look up at Soren whose eyes are still on April, but the occasional look thrown my way does not go unnoticed. I have to be careful of what I say or else.
“I … don’t know. I was taken.”
“But you chose this, right?” Olivia mutters. “I mean, we all did.”
“Not me,” April chimes in.
Unsure of how to answer, I reply, “But I don’t know what I did.”
They all look at me, and it makes me even more confused, more uneasy about myself. So I get up from the couch and pat down my dress.
“Do we deserve this?” I mutter to myself. “Maybe. Or maybe we’re all just sinners in this room. Even him.” I point at Soren. “What makes him better than us?”
He narrows his fiery eyes at me almost as a warning sign not to go too far. But I’ve already long crossed that line.
I march over to the girl standing near the window, grab her shoulder, and force her to turn around. “You’re not here because you wanna be. That’s why you don’t talk, right? You never asked for any of this, just like me.”
Her lip quivers while her eyes fill with tears.
&
nbsp; “Why do you let them do this to you?” I ask. “Look at how afraid you are.”
“Enough, Amelia,” Olivia says.
“No,” I growl back.
“She was already damaged when she came here. She never talked. Don’t you see?” she replies. “She can’t handle your questions. So leave her alone.”
“So what, you all agree with how they treat you?” I scoff.
Jane’s brows rise. “I don’t … think I’m being treated that badly, to be honest. I mean, we get lavish rooms, lots of food, plenty of attention.”
“Because that’s what’s important in life,” I retort, rolling my eyes.
“Maybe not to you, but to us, it’s a blessing when compared to jail or something worse,” Olivia says.
We look each other in the eyes. “And I think this has gone on far too long,” I say, trying to stand tall even though these girls make me question my own resolve.
“We don’t get to decide that,” Olivia says.
“No, I think I agree with Amelia,” April says through gritted teeth. When I look back at her, she’s stood too.
“See?” I say, trying to inspire something in the other girls, but neither of them seems impressed. In fact, they’re both just sitting there, looking at me like they wanna beg me not to start anything. And it fucking hurts.
I march over to Soren, huffing and puffing, but he just stands there near the door, arms crossed, glaring at me like I’m an ant he can squash at any moment. I’m not afraid of him. I’ve seen death, looked it straight in the eyes and spat in its face.
“I’ve seen enough,” I growl at him.
His nostrils flare. He looks away, and I follow his gaze right toward April. The moment she notices his penetrative stare, she gulps again and immediately sits down on the couch, clutching the armrest like she hopes it’ll protect her.
“Let me out,” I growl. “Do you hear me?”
All he does is raise an eyebrow at me, and it’s infuriating.
“I want to speak with Eli,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Amelia, c’mon … let’s talk about this,” Olivia says.
“No,” I reply, without even looking at her. “I want to know where Anna is. Now.”
“Anna?” Jane mutters.
“The other girl,” I say, and in the spur of the moment, I clutch the door handle and jerk it until the door opens just a tiny bit, enough for me to stick my fingers through.
Soren suddenly grabs my wrist, lifting my arm in the air while grunting at me.
“Let me go,” I growl at him.
He narrows his eyes at me and then fishes in his pocket and presses something, I don’t know what, but a beep goes off.
Within seconds, guards burst into the door.
“Party’s over,” one of them says, and he grabs me and pulls me out.
“Fine,” I retort. I don’t even fight as they drag me away from the room. The women continue to glare at me up until the door is shut again. While they stay inside, I am hauled up the stairs. While they get to continue their conversations, I get to go back to my room.
And I’m not even sure if I mind.
The next day, Mary comes to my room. She doesn’t say much. “C’mon.”
She turns around and walks toward the door, so I follow suit.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
She doesn’t answer. She simply walks down the hallway.
“Is there something important I need to see?” I ask, prodding her again. I don’t care what she says.
We go downstairs, and she pauses near the dining room. The guards pull the doors open. Eli sits at the dining table. Alone. My feet are frozen to the floor.
Why did Mary bring me here?
What is going on?
Mary nudges me forward, pulling me from my thoughts. “Go on. Don’t make him wait.”
I swallow as I approach the table. All the seats are empty except for the one Eli is sitting in. Who would have so many seats at a table without inviting the guests to fill them? What’s the point?
I sit down on my usual seat, far away from him.
Eli merely stares at me, his palms on the table as he cocks his head. One rough growl leaves his mouth. “Closer.”
I suck in a breath and contemplate my options, but when I glance over my shoulder and spot all the guards standing in line, I know there are none. So I scoot my chair back and get up, shoving it aside as I walk beside the table, gliding my hand across every chair until his eyes rest upon one of them, the one nearest to him.
When I sit down, he says, “Good girl.”
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask.
“I’m just curious what you thought about that get-together you had,” he says, cocking his head.
I make a face. “Fine.”
“Really?” He snorts. “Doesn’t look like it went fine to me.” He adjusts his tie. “In fact, I think you didn’t like the answers you heard.”
I place my hands on the table in front of me, but it doesn’t stop the tension from building.
“Those girls are here because of what they did, and they all know,” he says.
“They’re lying,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve brainwashed them.”
“That’s what you’re telling yourself to feel better about your own decision. But you know just as well that you too chose to come here.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “You couldn’t stop yourself from trying to create another uprising, could you?”
When I don’t respond, he smiles at me and snaps his fingers. Out of nowhere, the servers come in with trays of food. And it’s at that moment that I realize …
Mary normally always brings food to my room around this time of day.
My eyes briskly flash from the clock to him. “What are you doing?”
“Having breakfast,” he replies.
Plates are pushed in front of me while my hands begin to shake violently.
Breakfast.
That same breakfast we already shared this week.
My lips quiver. “But it’s not my turn.”
His eyes narrow. “Not your turn?”
He eyes me while my hand hovers over the fork and knife near my plate. For a second there, I contemplate actually picking them up and throwing them at him.
Because all of this … feels like I just ran straight into a trap.
“Why do you think you’re here?” he says.
“I only eat with you at this table once a week,” I mutter, staring blankly at him.
Whose turn is it? And why aren’t they here?
“And now you eat with me twice a week,” he replies, grabbing a piece of bread. “Rules change.”
“No, they don’t,” I retort. “Not with you.”
Right before he shoves the bread into his mouth, he pauses. “What do you really want to ask me? Spill it.”
I hold my breath, my heart pounding so hard it feels as though it’s about to explode from my chest. There is only one thing that changed. One person who could possibly cause him to suddenly deviate from his regular schedule.
Anna.
“Where is Anna? What did you do with her?” I ask, grinding my teeth as my body begins to shudder. “Why isn’t she here?”
He takes a big bite from his bread and swallows it down before answering. “You don’t have to worry about her.”
My eyes widen.
She didn’t talk to me for days, and I thought it was because of something I said. But maybe she’s been gone all this time.
Nausea overtakes me, and I scoot back my chair as far away from the food as possible.
What if they punished her for trying to escape with me?
For trying to kill herself?
Eli gazes at me as though he’s waiting for my response, but there isn’t any.
None of this is right.
This is all a test.
My pupils dilate as the realization of this simple truth hits me. It’s as if all the blood leaves my face.
&n
bsp; What if they hurt her?
What if she’s dead?
My hand covers my mouth to stop the squeal from spilling out.
It’s my fault. I made her run.
And as I get up, Eli doesn’t take his eyes off me. Not even as I stumble away from the table toward the door. Not even when his guards block my way, their arms folded, stance menacing.
Eli raises two fingers into the air and snaps them.
“Let her go,” he says, his voice guttural … almost like that of an animal. “I’ll catch her soon enough.”
Chapter 27
Eli
When she gets up and flees the room, I let her go.
She’ll be allowed to dwell on her thoughts. But not for long.
I intend to follow suit, the beast inside me getting hungrier by the second. I admit, I enjoy the hunt more than I should, but it’s a weakness of mine. So I take one more bite, pat down my mouth with a napkin, and get up to pursue her. My guards immediately step aside for me. They know not to meddle in my affairs, even if I break the rules. I can change them how I see fit.
As I leave the dining room, Amelia has already rushed to the top of the stairs. She pauses near the banister to take a peek over her shoulder. When our eyes lock, it’s as if the world ceases to exist, and all that’s left is her and me.
“You can run, Amelia …” I say as I slowly go up the stairs while she storms toward her room. “But I will always win.”
With a devious smile on my face, I fish the key to her room from my pocket and swirl it around my finger until I get to her door. When I open it, she’s in the corner, busy with something behind a curtain.
As I close the door behind me, she jolts up in shock and backs away against whatever she was doing there. I wonder what else she hasn’t told me. Because I sure do wonder how she ever managed to escape and take Anna with her.
She grows rigid as I approach, her body tense while she leans against the table. But her eyes are skittish, searching for something, anything. I warn her with a deadly look, and our eyes connect in fury. The flames can almost be felt from across the room.
Dark Wish (A Dark Romance) Page 18