“I’ll see you soon,little rose,” he mocks, and my eyes flame. “Try not to lose too much hope; it’s far more fun to shatter it in person.” With a cruel smile, he steps out into the hallway, replaced almost instantly with several of the mansion’s guards.
“No! No! No!” I shout when they go to unlock the door to the cage.
Two of them grab me, and I fight them, clawing, kicking, biting, but it’s over in seconds. They have me pressed hard up against the bars as more guards drag a sobbing Lily out of the cage.
I scream blood-curdling screams, thrashing in their hold, but I can’t get them to budge. I can’t stop them from taking her, and our eyes meet just before she’s dragged out into the hall.
And no matter how many times I scream her name,she doesn’t come back.
90
GOOD GIRL
BRIAR
I pace the cage.Trying and failing to formulate a plan to save us. The cage feels smaller without Lily in it.
It starts to feel like I can’t breathe.
I scream—begging,pleading—for them to let me out. I fall down to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees where I hyperventilate, panic taking over.
The door opens, and I hear Seamus’ voice from outside the cage, but I don’t look up; just continue to cry, keeping my head buried in my knees.
“Pathetic. She’ll be lucky if she lasts a day with Volkov.” He pauses and then speaks again, “Get her bagged for transport. The auction is about to start, and herwhiningis going to disturb the other clients.”
The door closes, opening again a short while later, and I steal a peek, seeing a single guard enter, prepping a needle. He unlocks the cage and steps closer, taking his time given my current state, and just when he leans down to jab the needle into my neck,I move.Snatching the needle right out of his hand.
We stare at each other, shock on both of our faces, before I drive the needle full force into his neck.
“Fuck!” he curses, shoving me off of him, succeeding in flinging me against the bars. The back of my head slams hard against the metal, but he stumbles, and in another breath, he goes down entirely.
Keeping one eye on the door, I quickly search him. He’s got a gun, a knife, and a set of keys. I’m still only dressed in my underwear, so I grab the gun and the ring of keys and stand up.
“Yeah, how do you like it?” I say to the guard passed out on the floor before I kick him. My feet are bare, so it hardly suffices. I kick him one more time— this time in the balls.He’ll feel that when he wakes up.
Taking a few steadying breaths, I open the door to the hallway and peek out. There’s no one standing immediately outside, which is reassuring, so I peer out further.
The sound of male voices down the hall draws my attention, and I duck my head back in, listening carefully before ever so slowly peeking out again.
Seamus stands at the end of the hall, addressing a couple of guards. Shaking his head in irritation, he heads back down the hallway towardme.
Panicking, I draw back, my heart pounding in my chest. Looking around the room, there’s nowhere to hide, and while thereisa window, we’re on the second floor and it’s a straight shot down to the stone patio below. I don’t even know if he’s coming in here, but at the last second, I dart behind the door, just before it opens.
Seamus steps inside. The door closes fully behind him before he notices the guard’s body in the cage.
I point the gun at the back of his head. He must see the movement out of the corner of his eye because he turns to look at me, giving me a quick once-over, a slimy smile creeping up his face.
“Get in the cage,” I warn him, trying to hold the gun steady.
“Briar, darling…” he starts, but I pull back the hammer.
“I said… Get. In. The. Cage.” I jerk my chin toward the metal cage next to him, lifting the gun higher, training it on his forehead. He’s not far from me, so even if I’m a bad shot, it would bereallyhard to miss.
His jaw flexes, reminding me of Koen, before he starts to do what I’ve told him to, backing up toward the cage, while lifting his hands in front of him. “Listen, your friend?—”
“Where is she?” I demand, my voice shaky, but it’s making me appear more unhinged. Seamus' gaze turns wary as he finally backs fully into the cage. I follow him, quickly slamming the door shut once he’s inside.
“She’s downstairs. Now listen here, I can help you?—”
