No one bothers with a response and that only infuriates me more, but I guess they don’t need to. They were testing me and I failed. Though I have no idea what the fallout is going to be or why they chose the topic of my period to test me on.
Roman nods toward my plate. “Are you finished?”
“I was finished before I started.”
His lips twitch just a fraction and he nods to Levi. “Get her out of here. I think we’ve endured enough.”
I stand, clenching my jaw, not ready to be thrown back into that shitty little torture chamber. “No, please. Don’t send me back down there. Please. I don’t like it.”
Roman just stands and strides out of the room as though he hadn’t even heard me begging, and before I can call him out on his douchebag behaviors, his brother is at my back, his hand pressing against my skin and pushing me forward. “I’d suggest that you move that tight little ass a bit faster,” he tells me. “I’d prefer to not have to drag you down the stairs.”
A hollowness sits in my chest, and while I’m thrilled to be getting away from the three brothers, I’d also give anything to not have to go back to the dark, haunted dungeon.
As we move back through the house, I don’t miss how he leads me through different rooms and different hallways, keeping me disoriented and confused about the layout of the big-ass castle. Only when we reach the big ballroom, my senses come back to me and I know exactly where we are.
I hit the top step and the pressure from Levi’s hand against my back has me moving faster down the steep concrete staircase. As I go to take the next step, I slip and tumble, rolling forward and smacking the back of my ribs against the sharp edge of the step.
I cry out, the pain almost too much as I tumble down the steps and come to a devastating stop at the bottom, but before tears can fill my eyes from the pain, Levi is there, gripping my upper arm and yanking me to my feet, his hold like a steel vice, bruising and determined.
I pause, trying to catch my balance as I test my weight on my feet, mentally mapping out the damage from my fall, but as I look around myself, a dark shadow at the top of the stairs catches my attention.
Marcus is slowly following us through the big castle and a shiver sails down my spine. We’ve been walking for at least three whole minutes and I haven’t noticed him once. What happened to women’s intuition? If a man is following me on the street, I can feel it. I know to be cautious, but with the DeAngelis brothers, there is no warning. They’ll stalk you until you’re bleeding out in their hands.
“Move,” Levi snaps, not thrilled about my fall or the few extra moments I’ve taken to check on myself. His hand comes back to my skin and he pushes me harder, forcing one foot in front of the other to keep up with his long strides, relentless in his mission to get me back inside my cell. I can’t help but look back over my shoulder and watch how Marcus continues, even after being caught. He doesn’t fucking care.
With each passing step that plunges us deeper and deeper into the darkness of the tunnel, the dread settles over me and I find my strides getting smaller as Levi’s hand presses harder. “Please, no,” I whisper into the darkness as the cell door approaches. “Please, I swear. I’ll behave. Not there. I’ll play whatever fucked-up game you want me to play. I don’t—”
My whines are cut off when Levi tugs hard on my arm again, pulling me into him until I’m stumbling. He catches me with his strong arm around my waist and throws me over his shoulder like a ragdoll. He picks up his pace, moving at a speed that I would never be able to keep up with, and before he allows me a chance to plead my case, he’s already at my door, opening it wide and tossing me in.
My body crashes against the bed at a weird angle, and before I can catch myself, I fall straight down to the cold stone beneath, hitting the same hip that I’d landed on when they threw me in here the first time.
The cell door slams shut and the noise of the heavy lock sliding into place haunts me. The familiar callous laugh echoes down the long hallway, and somehow I know that it’s Marcus. I guess being taunted and stalked is something I’ll have to get used to if I’m going to survive this, but I already know I’m not cut out for these conditions.