“What’s the matter, Pet? You don’t like my hands on your cunt? You only like it when my brother touches you?”
I elbow him in the ribs. He gasps for breath, clutching a hand to his chest while his mouth gapes open. I’ve winded him, and I use the precious seconds to spring free of the bed. “What the hell are you doing here? Where is Ares?”
His eyes blaze with anger as he recovers. “He’s out running errands.”
My face pales—I feel it. All the blood drains away at once.
“That means you’re all mine for the next hour, at least.” He stands, towering over me.
“I’m not yours; I’m his. I belong to Ares.”
His laughter is loud, cutting, biting into my flesh, my ears, like a knife. “He hasn’t told you yet, has he?”
“Told me what?”
“You, princess, are a means to an end.” He tucks the hair back behind my ear. “You’re nothisslave; you’reaslave. You’re to be sold.”
My gut clenches, my mind reels, and my vision starts to spin. I back up against the armchair and heavily fall into it. Nausea rolls through me. I’m dizzy, and my heart must be cracking in two, because that’s the only reason I can explain the pain in my chest.
“No,” I sob.
“Yes.” He laughs again, but the pitying look he sends me has tears pooling in my eyes and falling over my cheeks unchecked. He crouches down in front of me and cups my face. “Did you really believe he would go to all of this trouble just to keep you? This room? You’re just one of many girls who’ve occupied it. What makes you think you’re any different? I bet he made you think you were special. You’re not. You’re a commodity, a pretty pussy to sell off to the highest bidder.”
I swat him away. “Don’t touch me. You’re lying.”
“If I’m lying then why are you shaking right now? Come on. You can’t possibly be this stupid, can you? Of course he was going to sell you. Ares can have any woman on her knees, but he’s spent months training you. You think that was just for his benefit? Don’t be so naïve, little girl. You’re nothing but a fuck toy who’s going to fetch a pretty price for us at market. That’s all.”
I swipe at the tears on my cheeks and swallow the lump in my throat. Hermes’ eyes widen a fraction, and a cunning smile so familiar, so intrinsically Ares, plays across his face. “Oh, you sweet, stupid cunt. He doesn’t love you. My brother doesn’t give a fuck about you beyond getting paid. If he did, he would have let you go by now. Maybe he would have told you so you could be prepared. Either way, you’re nothing but a hole to fuck with a million-dollar price tag.”
His words are like a slap in the face. Didn’t Ares prove as much at The Ranch? Maybe he didn’t disclose the fact that he planned to sell me, but I should have known with Israel,his Achilles.
“You best get some rest, sweet pea. We can’t have you looking ragged, now can we?”
“Fuck you!”
He simpers again. “You wish, though I have to say, shoving my cock down your throat when you thought it was him was a whole lot of fun. We should do that again before you’re sold off.”
He stands and walks toward the door, and presses his hand into the key pad. It lets out a strangled beep and opens. He walks through, and the door snicks softly closed behind him.
I bow my head and sob into my hands. I was an idiot. To fall for my captor, a man who only cares about the price tag on my head. He let me fall in love with him. He let me think he felt something for me too. Not love—never that—but affection, certainly. He made me feel as if in his arms was the safest place in the world for me. Stupid, now that I think about it. How wrong that I should find comfort in the arms of the man who stole my life from me.
I have to get out of here. I have to find a way out.
I glance up at the ornate ceilings and know there’s no chance of escaping from this room, but perhaps in my closet, I might find a way into one of the ducts. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of that before now, but then, I guess I didn’t have a reason to leave before now. Ares made sure of it. I was fed, cleaned, clothed, and pleasured often. I had every one of my needs met. Every one. Sexually, he’d turned me into a masochist. Someone who not only enjoyed pain but who craved it. Every second, every blow, every lash. I loved what he did to me. I loved the way he destroyed me, and made me whole again.
I sniff back my tears and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, glaring at the room around me. The light by the door, the one that keeps me awake at night with its blinking red eye, is green.Green.
I scramble off the chair and tiptoe as quietly and hurriedly as I can toward it. There’s no handle on the inside, but I dig my nails into the edge between the door and frame, and it swings back. I must stare at it for a full minute before comprehension sets in. It didn’t close. When that door closes, and the locks slide into place, it’s a heavy metallic sound, final, and despairing. I glance at the keypad. It’s blank where usually it emanates a soft blue glow.
I take a deep breath, trying to process this new information. At any second Hermes or Ares could come walking through the door. There isn’t time to think. There’s no time to put on clothing or shoes. Or to set my birds free. I hate that my heart feels crushed by this weight. They’re just birds, and yet for the second time I pause so long on the precipice of freedom, I’m not sure I really want it at all. Hermes could be lying, but deep down I know he’s telling the truth. I think I knew the second I saw Israel.
“Did you mean to leave me, Pet?”His voice in the car on the way back from The Ranch echoes through my mind. I’d never heard Sir sound so strange, so desolate, and the way he woke me last night, with needy hands and kisses? He was saying goodbye.Well fuck him! I will not be sold off like chattel.
Just as I’m about to take a step forward, Hermes walks past, a phone pressed to his ear. He’s talking loudly, engrossed in an argument. He hasn’t noticed me or the partially open door. He thunders down the hall like a man hell-bent on silencing the person on the other end of the line with his fury alone.
I tiptoe after him. I’ve only seen this hallway once before. I remember the darkness, how I ran right into Hermes and struggled for my freedom. Not this time. As silently as I can, I pick up a vase from the console table and follow quietly behind him. Then I leap through the air, smashing the vase over his head. He crumples to the floor. My hands burn and sting with the impact. I glance down at them. Cut to pieces. Red rivulets of blood mar my pale forearms. My whole body shakes from shock, fear, and adrenaline.
He’s not dead. Get to the door, my mind screams, but I stand still. I can’t do anything but stare at his inert body. A creaking sound comes from the other end of the house, and I glance up. The hall is empty save for Hermes’ unmoving form. My feet propel me forward and I rush towards the front door. The one I almost reached in my first escape attempt. Sure enough, it’s armed with another of those fucking key pads. I glance up the hall. I need Hermes’ hand, but there’s no possibility that I could drag him all that way. I yank on the door handle, slamming my fist against it.