She moved through the crowd, desperate to find the edge of the mass again, needing air. A sea of faces and voices swirled around her, disorienting her as to which direction was the quickest way out. Her breath started coming in short gasps. Shit. Not now. Please.
“Ooh, look, we have a shy one,” a man said next to her. “Have you lost your master, pretty girl?”
She whipped her head around to meet his amused brown eyes.
“Don’t be bashful, sweetie,” the woman with him offered. She slid her fingers along Brynn’s arm and teasingly tugged the one strap holding her toga up. “Join the fun.”
“Hey!” Brynn said, batting her hand away.
Before she realized what was happening, the man hooked a finger in the loop on Brynn’s collar and brought his mouth down on hers in an ambrosia-laced kiss. She fought to pull away but her strength was no match for his. Smooth hands glided over the thin material covering her breasts and she realized the woman had joined in.
Fear ripped through her, and her knee jerked upward, landing squarely in the man’s crotch. He doubled over, wincing and cursing. “What the hell?”
“Texas!” Brynn stepped back but only ran into more people, more exploring hands. Flashes of her rapist’s hands on her pressed against her mind, threatening to unhinge her. She turned frantically in the other direction and shoved her way through the horde using her safe word like a machete in the jungle. “Move! Please. Texas, Texas, Texas!”
Thankfully, the crowd begin to ease back to let her through. She just needed air. Space. By the time she reached a break in the mass of people, her mind was buzzing with terror. Trying not to draw attention to herself, she forced herself to walk at a calm pace until she was outside the ring of firelight. Then, when cloaked in darkness again, she bolted toward a nearby tree and collapsed onto the bench beneath it.
She leaned forward, her eyes squeezed shut, and tried to breathe past the invisible band that seemed to be tightening around her chest. God, when will this go away? Not everyone is out to hurt you. You’re acting like a fucking lunatic. Stop!
“Not your kind of a party, huh?”
She jolted upright, and a hand clamped over her mouth from behind.
“Shh. Don’t want to disturb anyone’s good time.”
She screamed beneath the grip and attempted to jerk out of his grasp, but the muffled struggle was just a whisper compared to the thumping music coming from the party.
“Better calm down and listen. I have what you want. And she’s safe, for now. But if you don’t cooperate, I guarantee she won’t stay that way.”Author: Roni Loren
She stilled, her blood running cold.
“That’s right. Good girl.” He ran his other hand over her bared shoulder, the scar. “So, have you missed me?”
TWENTY
now
Jace bent at the waist, hands on knees, and wheezed with yet another fit of laughter.
Reid gritted his teeth. “Are you done yet, asshole? Because I could use a little help here.”
Reid had tried unsuccessfully to free himself from the cuffs Brynn had secured him with. But all he had to show for it was a whole lot of sweat and a bent sofa bed frame. Jace had been his last resort before calling staff. Now, he wondered if staff may have been a better option.
Jace coughed, trying to get a hold on his laughter. “Dude, I’m sorry. But this is funny as shit. At least she only cuffed you and didn’t stick a plug in your ass or something. What the hell did you do to inspire this?”
Reid laid his head on the pillow and stared at the scattered papers in front of him. “She went through my bag. Saw that I’m working on an appeal for the guy who’s in jail for her mother’s murder.”
Jace’s tone turned serious. “And you didn’t tell her?”
Reid craned his neck and shot him a lethal glare.
Jace raised his palms. “Okay, okay. Not my business. Let me look for the keys.”
After a few minutes of searching, Jace found what he was looking for and released Reid from the bed. Reid wrapped the sheet around his waist and rubbed his reddened wrists. “I seriously fucked up this time, man.”
“Well, that’s obvious.” Jace straddled one of the dining room chairs and frowned. “What haven’t you told me?”
Reid sighed, then spilled the whole story. He hadn’t told Jace from the start about the appeal because he knew his friend would’ve never agreed to get him into the club under those pretenses, but he needed to come clean now.