A dark laugh fills the space, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. My eyes quickly scan the kitchen. Lords rarely come alone. They’re like wolves and travel in packs. They’re known for their numbers. They like to improve their odds. Even if they don’t need the help, they get off on having an audience.
He takes two more steps closer, and I fling the knife, knowing it’s my only option. The last thing I need is for him to take it from me and stab me with it.
The knife lands in what I’m guessing is his upper right arm by the way the cloak hangs, forcing him to come to a stop.
I spin around, taking the opportunity to run toward my bedroom. I slam the door shut to give me an extra second to yank open my top drawer in my nightstand, grab the gun, and turn to shoot. But the sight of him rushing in tells me he’s faster. The door hits the interior wall as I fire the gun. The safety is off, and there’s one already chambered just as my wrist is grabbed. Though I’m momentarily going deaf from firing the gun, I’m slammed into the wall next to the nightstand. The hand gripping my wrists tightens to the point I scream and drop the gun.
His free hand jerks the knife out of his shoulder and holds the tip to my cheek, making me whimper. I try to push myself into the wall, standing on my tiptoes to get away.
“I like to play with knives,” he whispers darkly.
“Pl-ease,” I gasp. “I haven’t seen your face. You can leave…”
He pushes the mask off, and my breath catches in my lungs. It’s far worse than I could have ever guessed. “Haidyn?” I ask wide-eyed.
“Surprise, doll face.” He yanks me from the wall and drags me back to the kitchen by my hair.
I fight the best I can, grinding my teeth at the sharp pain in my scalp. He shoves me into a chair at the kitchen table. Leaningover my back, I rub my head as he taps the bloody knife on a stack of papers sitting in front of me. “What…what is this?” I read over it, and my stomach drops. Tears fill my eyes, making the typed-out words blur. “How did you…?” I swallow, unable to finish the sentence.
“Find out you’re a fraud?” he questions.
I can’t speak. My tongue is heavy all of a sudden. The consequences of him knowing what I’ve been hiding is horrific. I might as well die because my life means nothing now. No purpose. It’s over. The Lords promised me this wouldn’t happen. That as long as I did my job, they’d protect me. Now I’m as good as dead.
He goes on. “It’s very unfortunate for you, I may add. But not for me.”
I know where this leads. This is what the Lords do. They find something they can use against you. “What do you want?” I whisper, my stomach sinking at the possibilities.
“You,” he answers simply.
“No.” I shake my head. He doesn’t even need to elaborate. The answer is no.
“Well, see, now that is also unfortunate for you.”
“You going to kill me?” I laugh nervously. I’ve seen people plead for their life when they knew they had nothing to bargain. I never understood it until now. I’d rather die in a fiery car crash than by Haidyn’s hands. Lords pride themselves when it comes to torturing someone. I don’t want to be his next victim.
I go on when he doesn’t answer. “Bury me at Carnage? Put me in a cell? I have a life,” I yell, pointing at my fake name and fake age. “Friends. People will know that I’m missing.” It’ll be on news outlets. Today, women who go missing are seen everywhere, thanks to the reach that social media has. Most women in my world go missing and Lords are paid off, butthey’ve had me establish a life outside of them. Wesley alone would make a big fuss if I just up and vanished.
“There are break-ins all the time.” He pushes the glass bowl on my kitchen counter onto the floor, and the apples and bananas in it roll across the tile when the glass breaks into a million pieces, making me jump. “Say like last Tuesday. After you left the gym, someone could have followed you home.” He grabs my purse off the island, unzips it, and removes my wallet. He pulls out my credit cards and ID and puts them in his pocket. I can’t see if they’re my fake or real ones from where I sit, though. “Monday, someone could have seen you enter your gate code.” He picks up a picture off the wall and drops it, shattering it as well. “Or after you left the vet…how is Muffin by the way? Is she feeling better?”He’s been following me.Watching me. I never suspected anything since my mind has been elsewhere. I should have been paying attention, but I’m not even sure I would have noticed. “And then your morning runs…you’re not very observant when you wear your earbuds. Anyone can take advantage of that.”
I jump from my chair, taking a step back. “What do you want? Me to go to Carnage with you so you can lock me in the basement and torture me? Rape me?” I’m trying to act like it’s impossible, but my mind says he has it all figured out. At any time, he’s got a plan to make sure I’m wiped from this world. No one will know where I am. And when I’m not found after days, weeks, and months, they’ll just give up. No one is dragged into Carnage and then allowed to walk out. Plus, no one willingly visits Carnage either. Like I did. So no one will think to look for me there. The Lords will give up and move on to someone else. I’ll be a lost cause. They’ll assign him another therapist to get whatever they want from him while he slowly tortures me to death.
And that makes me wonder…if the news puts Charlotte on TV, will the Lords shut it down because Charlotte will lead them to Annabelle. People will see that I’m missing, but it will also show the world that I’m two very different people.
He gives me a cruel smile that makes my already racing heart skip a beat. Reaching out, he cups my chin and runs his thumb over my trembling lips. The small act paralyzes me where I stand. “I won’t have to rape you, doll face. You will crawl to me and beg me to fuck your mouth all on your own.”
My breath hitches, and I feel my insides tighten at the thought. Because I’ve dreamed about him. Giving him what he wants—my body. And imagined what he could do to it if given the chance. But I won’t let him see that. Because he wants to make me a prisoner. “Fuck you, Haidyn.”
He grabs the back of my neck and shoves me down into my seat. “Either you willingly give yourself to me or I kill you right now. What’s it going to be?” He picks up the bloody knife and holds it to my neck. I lift my chin, my eyes downcast as the blood rushes in my ears. The tip pushes into my skin, and I suck in a deep breath, trying to make space, but it just pushes harder as it punctures my skin.
“Fi-fine.” I manage to get out. What choice do I have? This is my only bargaining chip.
“Use your words,Charlotte. Fine what?” he asks, arching a brow.
Taking in a shaky breath, I whisper, “I’ll go with you.”
“That’s my good girl.”
His good girl?Why does that make my shaking thighs clench?
