Do I have to accept this mission is a bust?No.Not yet.Whatever they plan to do to me, I have to beat them here inside the cabin and carry out my plans on them first.How, I do not know.
I get up off the floor, anxiety and fear rumbling through me like a bullet train.I bite my lip hard enough to quell the frustrated scream brewing inside me.
Then I notice what’s lying on the bed.
Oh god.
They went through my things.My personal things.They touched my clothes while I was busy in the kitchen helping cook dinner for them.Ugh, if I had a vial of poison, I would have seasoned their portions with it.
Laying on the bed is the only dress I own.A frivolous luxury I allowed myself.Something to make me feel feminine, where I can be a girl in a dress enjoying her life.I so desperately want that life.
I packed the dress because it became a beacon of my freedom.I envision myself wearing it on the beach, dipping my toes into the warm water, a gentle breeze in my hair, the sun comforting on my face.And all the while, my father is with me, safe and happy.Doing his crossword puzzles and making his famous mac and cheese dish, the one I grew up eating, perfect for any emotion, happy or sad.
How dare they touch my things?
I grab the note lying on top of the dress, my hands shaking as I read it.
Wear this for dinner.Nothing underneath.Nothing on your feet.
Play along or die.
Bastards.Bastards.Bastards.
Are they fucking serious?They want me to wear a floral strapped mid-thigh dress in the middle of a snowstorm in a cabin surrounded by their family.
Have they lost their ever-loving minds?I’m going to freeze my nipples off.Is that what they want?I stop myself from shredding the dress to pieces with my bare hands and force it down their throats.I can’t keep up this mind game.Worse, it’s only begun.
I frantically search the secret compartment in my bag.They’ve confiscated the vials and the canister I’d placed there for safekeeping.Shit.
If they had any suspicions, going through my bags and finding handcuffs, zip ties, tasers, sleeping gas, truth serum, a hazmat suit, and a mask, there’s now no mistaking my reasons for being there are nefarious and not some kinky sex party.
I clench my hands and scream on the inside.They’re going to kill me any which way I look at it.I’m an intruder on their property.My reason for being there?Villainous.They kill people out to get them.And I’m sure sometimes for lesser offenses.
I blow out a breath.I don’t have a choice.There are too many people here for me to deal with them.I’ll do as they say.They win this hand.This battle.But I’m going to win the war.I will get my father back, and they’re the ones who are going to deliver the ticket for both mine and my father’s freedom.
Still quivering with rage, I step into the shower and angrily scrub my skin until I think I’ve taken off a layer of my dermis.
The dress will never have the same meaning to me now, not aftertheyinstructed me to wear it.I’m going to burn it when I’m done with them.
With brisk strokes, I apply lotion to my body and don’t even bother with makeup.I gather my long hair into a messy ponytail, and then I’m done.
I’m going to shiver my ass off in this.Fine.They want to play; I’ll play.My nipples stand erect from the cold as I swing the bedroom door open and make my way to the open-plan living areas.
Everyone stops talking.Their eyes are glued to me as I stand there shivering, barefoot in a short floral summer dress.But in my mind’s eyes,theyare the only ones who exist.
My gaze flips up to them.Gods amongst mortals.I swear I don’t know how to be anymore.How on earth did I function before this?I miss a breath, which starts an entire chain of torment of me catching up to my next breath and my next.
Their gazes slid down my body, incinerating the flimsy fabric keeping me from being naked, only to come to rest on my face with such intensity a new quiver sails down my spine.My nipples are so hard they’re aching now.And the need to press my thighs together becomes so overwhelming, tears prick at my eyes.
I’m the first to look away, and when I do, I’m reminded of the rest of their family, who must all think I’m certifiable.Everyone else is dressed reasonably warm, in slacks, sweaters, socks, and boots, as they should be because it’s freaking winter and it’s snowing like crazy.And then there’s me.
How much longer are they going to torture me?
**Chapter Eight
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Madisyn
