Devlin claps, causing me to jerk back. There was something there, the way his eyes zeroed in on mine. The sick twinkle that swirls in them as he says, “If that’s all settled, let’s begin.”
“Time to close your eyes and show us you trust us.” Amiyah’s soft voice caresses my ears.
I don’t trust them, not even a little, but if I want to figure this out, and protect Prim, I have to obey. So my eyes flutter closed.
My ears strain to hear footsteps, but if there are any, they’re silent. I feel a warm, demanding presence in front of me and I have to squeeze my eyes tighter to fight the urge to open them. A soft cloth is placed over my eyes, draping to my chin. I feel the strong fingers tie the cloth behind my head. The smell, clean and woodsy, intoxicating my mind with false security.
“Now,” Beckett’s voice comes from directly in front of me, causing goosebumps to prick my skin, “when we tell you to open your mouth, you do so without protest. You follow every direction without question. Prove your trust.”
I swallow, wondering if I’ve lost my mind getting involved in such cult fuckery. I hear low commands around me, but Beckett says nothing. But I feel it, his penetrating dark gaze. I try to relax, but the longer I sit here, bowed before him, the more my body wants to move.
“Open, Rabbit,” he commands.
It takes everything in me to not resist. My natural response is to rebel, but instead, I part my lips. I feel the thick, rough pad of his finger slowly pushing down on my bottom lip to coax my mouth to open wider. My tongue, against my will, swipes over his finger. It’s small, teasing, and most may think it’s an accident. I hear him make a low noise in the back of his throat and it causes a deep satisfaction to wash through me.Empowerment.
He slides something in my mouth, it’s thin and smooth with no real taste. “Chew.”
My mouth shuts, my teeth crunching over sharp pieces of… something. Egg shells, maybe? I control my reaction as I crunch the disgusting texture, hoping it doesn’t cut up the inside of my mouth.
“Swallow.” I do. My throat catching and wanting to spit it back up, but I push it down. I hear Prim laugh beside me, knowing there was no way we had the same experience.
“What a good little rabbit,” Beckett praises, and it does something to me. Something I’ll learn to control. “Keep your eyes closed until I say otherwise.”
The cloth slips off my eyes for a moment and then he commands me to open them. His bandana is back on, his eyes like melted jewels as he stares at me. I wonder if maybe I affect him like he does me. Like I want to hate-fuck him with a knife to his throat.
I blink, where did that come from? I’m not violent. Ever.
A commotion breaks out beside me. I look over to see a boy, his mouth bleeding as he spits blood on the floor at Amiyah’s feet. “You fucking bitch,” he screams, his body rustling against the restraints. My body shifts, blocking Prim’s view. “I’ll fucking kill you,” he spits at Amiyah.
She tilts her head, nodding. Madden pushes Amiyah back, blocking the boy from getting any closer. “You need to calm down,” Madden tells him. And then he bends down close to his face. “Speak to her like that again, and she’ll get a new purse made out of your skin.”
My lip twitches a little, but I school it. I shouldn’t be siding with these psychopaths. What the hell is going on with me?
Madden throws the bag over the boy’s head, dragging him by the collar of his shirt out of the church. I turn back to Beckett. I can’t see his full face, but the way his eyes twinkle, I think he’s smiling.
“Congratulations, fuckers,” Vance speaks. “You’ve made it through the first trial. Time to go home and cry into your pillows. But hey,” he smirks, “you did good. The next trial will be harder. Don’t worry about finding us when it’s time.” His voice drops low, sinister. “We’ll find you.”
The bag is slipped back over my head and my body is tossed over Beckett’s shoulder. “If you lead me, I could just walk.”
He says nothing, continuing to carry me to what I’m guessing is his car, because I land on soft leather. Feel the purr of the engine under me. The car moves and it’s quiet. Without my sight, the drive feels as if it takes forever. I feel the car stop, then the bag being pulled off my head roughly.
“Out,” Beckett barks, and my eyes glare toward his.
“You have to untie me.”
Beckett smirks. “I don’t think I will.”
“Then I won’t be leaving your car. I can’t open the fucking door.”
He reaches over my lap, shoulder brushing across my nipples as he opens the door for me. He stops, face so close to mine as he whispers, “Get out.”
“You’re a prick, you know that?”
“Out of my car, Rabbit.”
I move, climbing out of the car, and mumbling, “Stupidest name ever.”
I don’t close his car door. I walk to the dorms instead, sliding down the building as I wait for someone, hopefully Prim, to let me in. I watch his taillights as they disappear out of the parking lot, a pair of headlights taking their place. The car stops at the entrance, both doors swinging open. I sigh when I see Prim’s white-blonde hair. I hear her grumbling when Vance insists walking her to our room.