by K. B. Saint
My peppermint is long gone, but the sweetness still remains on my tongue and as the door opens I open and close my dry mouth, desperately hoping whoever is walking in has some water. I’m not surprised when there’s no water in her hand, but I am surprised to see the girl from earlier walking into the room alone.
The door closes behind her, but she doesn’t lock it and she comes all the way to me and sits down next to me.
“You’re wearing my clothes from like eighth grade,” she tells me, eyeing the clothing I’m wearing.
“You’re Salem?”
“They told you about me?” she asks, sounding surprised.
“No, they just told me you would be upset when you saw me in your clothes,” I tell her, with a sneaky grin on my face. She doesn’t look mad, but I could be reading her wrong since I don't know her. I don’t care either way. I needed clothes and I doubt she can even fit the clothes anymore.
“They’re shit starters,” she says, wiping her mascara running down her face like she was crying before she came up here. “I’m not mad. I should’ve cleared them out a while ago. If they all fit you, you can have them.”
“Really?” I ask, not believing she’ll just give me so much clothing and not expect something in return. I mean, Preston definitely expects things for helping me, so I feel right in assuming she’ll be the same way. “There’s a lot out there.”
“I don’t fit in it anymore, so I don’t care. It’s not like I bought it anyway,” she says, but her smile is hollow like she knows it’s not something to smile about.
“Preston?”
She nods, “Yeah, or whoever he sent to get it.”
“How long have you been here?” I ask her, but in the same second I utter the words I want to take them back.
I don’t think I want to know if I’ll never leave if being stuck here forever my fate. I’ll never believe it, so hearing it will only be aggravating. There’s a way out of every situation, I just have to pay attention enough to learn the way. Thankfully, she doesn’t tell me, but what she does say, doesn’t settle my stomach in the slightest.
“How long I’ve been here doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is tonight. It is going to be …” she looks around like she’s going to find the right words written on the red hued black concrete walls around us. “It’s going to suck. I don’t know you and I don’t know how strong you are but survive tonight okay? Because the guys say I’m going to like you and if you break tonight then I won’t get to see if they’re full of shit or not.”
I sit here assessing her style. She has her long hair tangled and going everywhere like she hasn’t brushed it in days but somehow she still manages to be effortlessly hot. She’s got the whole grunge look mastered well, if you ask me, but the words are pouring from her lips are enough to make me curious about what’s happening to me tonight. It doesn’t sound like a party at all.
Messiah let me think it’s going to be some kind of party, but he did say I wouldn’t like it. There haven’t been many parties I’ve been to I didn’t get some form of satisfaction from, but my standards have always been inherently low in this respect. It could go in any direction, honestly, but I don’t have high hopes it will be something I enjoy.
“The pay is incomparable,” she offers with a half shrug, “but I hear you’re only staying because you need last night erased.”
I nod, but don’t say anything. It is one of the reasons I’m staying, but the money won’t hurt. I’ve had to work my whole life and have never made over twelve dollars an hour ever. Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t living. From what I’ve been able to tell, no one here I’ve met seems to be struggling for anything monetary.
“Are you not supposed to tell me about what’s going to happen tonight?” I ask her, shifting on the couch and tucking my legs beneath me.
“Not unless you ask,” she tells me, widening her eyes some with her dark eyebrows raised.
I don’t waste time. “What’s going to happen to me tonight?”
“Preston will start off by giving everyone the option to fight you or fuck you. We all have to choose one,” she starts, watching my reaction closely. When I don’t react she continues. “And after we choose, your final test will be up to Preston, but I’m pretty sure he already has what you’re going to do. I heard him talking about it, but he’d already sent me up here to you and I couldn’t linger.”
“What did you hear?”
“You’re going to have to kill someone else.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
MESSIAH — PRESENT
I stand in front of Preston and watch as he walks back and forth slowly, trying to find the words to ruin me more. I did what he wanted, I fucked with Ruby’s head, but I didn’t count on her fucking with mine back. It was not a part of any plan of mine.
“I gave you orders, Messiah,” he starts and his eyes meet mine as he stops walking. “You aren’t one to not follow through.”
“I got her ready for tonight,” I tell him. “I fucked with her head.”
“Well share with the class how you achieved fucking with her head, because if I’m not mistaken, Salem is up there cleaning up your fucking mess!” He’s not shouting, but his voice booms.
Everyone is standing around the library and I don’t want to tell him what I just did upstairs with Ruby, but I know he’ll only force my way in some way if I don’t tell him, and if I’m not graphic enough he won’t think I did enough.
“I fucked with her before cutting the lights on and she found me somehow,” I tell him chuckling. “She fucking tackled me, and the coffee table is broken. She was already begging me to fuck her. I didn’t give her what she wanted, instead I cut the lights on and fucked her with my fingers until she was just about to come and then I made her wait again.”
“She enjoyed this just as much as you did,” Preston says to me, his grin wicked. “Continue.”
“I rubbed her wetness all down my dick and made her suck it off,” I tell him, and he nods for me to continue. I don’t dare look at Hollis because I have no idea how he’s taking any of this. I’m sure I’ll find out later. I doubt he’s happy. “I fucked her face and then her pussy and came all over her stomach.”
“Did she come,” Preston asks and I shrug.
“I didn’t give a fuck what she did, and after I fucked her I sat on the couch in silence pretending to be on my phone. It drove her fucking crazy and she got mouthy and I left before I strangled her ass.”
Preston doesn’t look mad anymore and it makes my stomach roll. Him being pleased with my work means I’m one step closer to being just like him and why would I want that for myself? Preston is worse than the boogeyman and everyone knows it. “Good job, Messiah. You shouldn’t have left her, but I would’ve preferred you leaving than killing her so you handled things well up there.”
I’m not mad I fucked Ruby and I doubt I even fucked with her head like I think I did because she’s always been stubborn. Her attacking me in the dark only tells me she’s gotten more feral with time—which doesn’t surprise me—and her mental strength, I assume, is greater too. Ruby has always been strong and I know even though she will be changed after tonight she’ll make it out alive. I do want Preston to underestimate her so he takes it easy on her, but even hoping for him to misjudge isn’t a guarantee.
I stand in front of Preston and he looks right in my eyes for a while until Elijah clears his throat from across the room. We both look over at him but in the corner of my eye I see Hollis watching me closely. I don’t look at him.
“Maybe we should send someone to go get the girls, it’s getting late and we need to head out soon,” he says to Preston mostly, but I know he’s giving me the only out he could afford. The only one Preston would go along with.
“I’ll get them,” Hollis says before anyone else can, but Preston narrows his eyes in Hollis’s direction.
“I actually need your help with something,” Preston tells him. “I’ll need you and Elijah both.”
He glanc
es back at Elijah before leaning over some to see Nicholai where he lounges in one of the chairs. Nic isn’t paying attention, but Hollis hits his knee and he looks up.
“You’ll go get the girls, since we all know how good you are with the whores,” Preston tells him, and I see his jaw clench, but he doesn’t say anything. Something clearly happened while I was in the Red Room with Ruby but there’s no way I’d ask about it right now.
Nicholai stands without a word and leaves to get the girls. Preston pulls the attention back to himself when he closes the book on his desk. We’re all watching him and waiting for the next order from his lips to fall. They always do.
“Messiah, I want you two to ride with Nic to the House on Lombardy. He’s driving the girls too. Go wait for them in the font,” Preston tells me. I don’t mind riding with them but I’m more curious about what he needs Hollis and Elijah for. I wanted to talk to Hollis on the ride over, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen now.
I turn and head out into the hall silently, but I catch the look Hollis gives me. He is completely unreadable and for me, which is never good. I don’t stop and when I’m out in the hall all I can think about is trying to figure out what the hell happened when I was in the Red Room with Ruby. It was clearly something big. Salem was crying when I came down after leaving Ruby, but at the order to go keep Ruby company her tears died up quickly.
I come to the front of the house and it’s empty. I know there are guards on the other side of the front door because I can hear them talking through the door, but I lean up against the long wooden table on the wall. I don’t know what all happened with Salem and Nicholai but I’m either going to have to say fuck it or just ask him about it once we get the car.
Chapter Twenty-Five
RUBY— PRESENT
Despite the news Salem brought me, she seems pretty cool to be around. I can tolerate her which is more than what I can do with a lot of other girls. Tasha and Lucky were it for me after Crystina died but even with them I’ve always kept my distance. They’ll always be my sisters, but some things are just better left unsaid between us.
It made things easier for me.
But with Salem, it’s easy to talk and I just met her, which is weird and not okay with me at all. They probably sent her up here just to get information on me, so I’ve been vague when we’ve talked but I can tell she notices.
“Are you nervous?” she asks after a good amount of time passed with nothing but silence between us.
“No,” I tell her truthfully. “I’ve had to survive my whole life. Tonight is just more of the same bullshit I’ve been going through.”
“My life under Preston might be weird, but I’ve never had to kill anyone,” she tells me as she looks at me in my eyes. “My brother has. He’s killed a lot of people.”
“Is he here too?” I ask and her eyes soften a little when she nods.
“Yeah, he’s downstairs,” she says as a creak from the hallway travels through the room.
We both look to the door and a beastly man walks through the door. I let my eyes drift to Salem's smile before she stands.
“He must’ve known we were talking about him.” She chuckles lightly.
“Why were you talking about me?” he asks her, stopping in front of her. She’s tall and he’s still a good head above her and he trains his eyes on me as he waits for his sister to answer.
“She asked if you were here too. Is it time to go yet?” she asks, and he nods as he looks at her in the face. Almost like he’s worried about her and is checking to make sure she’s in there.
“Go get cleaned up in the bathroom and we’ll meet you in the hall.”
“Don’t be mean,” she warns as she turns to go through the wide open door. “I like her.”
Once she’s out of sight he swoops his eyes back to me and even though there’s more than just the red light now thanks to the door being open, his features are still darkened. His hair is cut short, he has tattoos all over his arms, and I can see some under the neckline of his shirt too. He has the blankest stare I’ve ever seen from such a handsome face and it's absolutely unnerving but an absolute turn on.
“So, you’re Salem’s brother … I didn’t catch your name. I’m Ruby,” I tell him, standing from the couch and walking toward him. He keeps his eyes glued to me as I move and when I stop in front of him his lip curls into a snarl but I think it might actually be a smile.
“Nicholai,” he says, his voice deep, strong, and raspy as hell like he smokes too much. I hear a slight accent in his voice but it’s not heavy enough for me to tell where it’s from yet.
He doesn’t say anything else before turning around and leaving the room. I follow him out into the hallway just in time to see Salem coming out of one of the white doors across the hall. She smiles when our eyes meet and she comes to stand next to me.
“He wasn’t mean was he?” she asks me before looking over at him with a glare.
“I wasn’t mean,” he tells her, and she looks back at me to confirm.
I shake my head. “He wasn’t mean. He even told me his name.”
She laughs. “Ohh, he’s moving pretty quick with you.”
I look over at him and he’s already staring back at me. I hold his stare for a few seconds before focusing on the hall we’re walking down. I can still feel his calculating eyes on me as I walk, but I ignore him.
“Don’t worry, I couldn’t get much else out of him.” I chuckle.
“He’s secretive,” she tells me with a nod.
“Stop talking about me like I’m not right here, you know I hate it, Say,” he gripes.
I grin to myself deciding I like their brother sister dynamic already. To the point and no bullshit. “Sorry, now I know you’re secretive, I won’t pry, Nicholai.”
He doesn’t respond but he gives me a look resembling something like appreciation, but not quite. I don’t say anything else as we walk, just listening to the many questions Salem has for him, most of which go unanswered. When we get to the top of the large steps in the front of the house I spot Messiah down by the door. He looks up when he hears Salem talking and my cheeks tingle when his eyes meet mine. I hold my expression impassive but I can’t help but to think about how hard I came with him just a few hours ago.
I want to hate Messiah more than I do but my hate seems to fly right out the window when he’s close enough to touch. Or smell. Or taste. Whenever he’s near me I just want one thing and he gave it to me damn good earlier. He pushes off from the long wooden table he was leaning against and walks closer to the steps.
“Preston says we’re riding with you to the House on Lombardy,” Messiah says to Nicholai and he nods.
“Are we leaving now?” he asks.
Messiah nods and shrugs, “I guess so. Preston needed Elijah and Hollis to do something for him, but I didn’t get the impression anyone was staying here.”
“All right,” Nicholai says as we get to the bottom of the steps. He walks to the door but Messiah doesn’t move from where he’s propped. He is just looking at me. Salem notices and steps in front of me quickly, pushing Messiah in the shoulder, making him turn to the door.
“We have a job to do,” she reminds him as she pushes him on and something in him seems to click and he doesn’t look back at me again. I walk behind them all, taking whatever the hell all of this is in, and as I make it out behind them I notice two men about the size of Nicholai. They’re twins and they eye me, but don’t say anything as I walk by them.
“We aren’t taking the truck,” Nicholai announces, and I look around at the parking lot of cars parked out in the front of this stupidly massive house.
“Why?” Salem asks, slowing some and falling behind the guys to walk by me.
“Because it's parked in the back,” he tells her, “and I want to take the jeep anyway.
“My supplies are still in the Jeep anyway,” Messiah tells him as they all start walking towards an all back Jeep five or six cars away from us.
> I follow Salem to the driver’s side of the Jeep and she opens the back door and lets me get in first. I slide across the seat as Nicholai gets into the driver's seat and our eyes meet in the rearview mirror. It seems like he tries to come off so hostile but all I see in his eyes is exactly what I see in Hollis’s eyes when I look at him. Hollis hides it better, though, because I can see right through to the pain Nicolai holds in his stare.
He is the first one to look away this time as Salem slides in next to me and I look over at her before I hear the passenger door opens. Messiah gets in and settles before pulling his door closed, and I look back to the rearview mirror, but Nicholai is messing with the music now.
Nothing is said as Nicholai cuts the music up and when “Mask Off” by Future pours into the car I glance around the car and see everyone’s already bobbing their heads to the music before the beat even drops.
As Nicholai drives and the music plays all of what’s all about to happen settles in but I stay calm because no matter what I’m about to have to do, there’s no turning back now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
RUBY — PRESENT
The house on Lombardy is nicer than I thought it would be. There isn’t much inside of the house but it’s functional. There’s seating built into the room we’re in and it almost puts me in the mind of those outside amphitheaters zoos have sometimes. There are seven levels and I’m sitting at the top with Salem next to me, but at the bottom sits the guy who was apparently spreading it around he saw me shoot Benzo.
He’s a young guy, probably around my age and his eyes are glued to me. They have him gagged and his face is all bloody and bruised. From the way he looked at Messiah when we walked in I’m guessing all of the blood is courtesy of Messiah himself. He’s always had a thing for leaving people broken like that. When the front door opens, the man’s eyes finally leave me and they grow wide when they see Preston.