“I was six.” Teal’s voice carried from the hallway.
“Walls are thin,” Pierce noted mildly.
“Fuck all of you,” came Teal’s muffled response.
Flynn waited a beat, then said, “Don’t worry about Teal, he might be a big softy, but he’d never put a woman before us.”
Chapter
Four
HAVEN
Alone in the room—the cell—I gave myself a few minutes to fall apart. I huddled on the hard cot, with my arms wrapped around my knees, let tears roll down my cheeks, and tasted their salt on my lips. What had happened to my life?
When we’d arrived, I’d gaped. The guards’ headquarters was four stories of honey-colored stone. Imposing. A building designed to impress, to inspire awe. Or fear.
I lifted my head and took note of my immediate surroundings. No warm-hued, honey-colored stone for the shields. Everything in the room was gray—the metal bed frames, the blankets, even the sheets seemed dingy and gray. There wasn’t much else. Just a table and lockers at the foot of each cot, presumably for our belongings. Not that they’d let me bring anything.
A wave of homesickness washed over me. I missed my grandmother. I missed the girls. Who would read Elody, the youngest girl in our care, her bedtime story? Who would comfort Tatiana when a nightmare left her shaking with fear?Who would take the time to braid Flora’s impossibly long hair?
How was I ever going to survive without them?
The door swung open, and two girls walked into the small room. The first was tall and dark. The second was petite and blonde. They both stared at me.
I stared back. I’d spent years caring for girls who pretended to be hard. These two actually were. I could see it in their deadened eyes: they’d given up on the future and accepted life was a brutish loop of pain. I hated that this place—or the men in this terrible place—had stolen their light.
“Who are you?” asked the tall one. Her voice was sharp, as if she’d sensed my sympathy and wanted no part of it.
“My name is Haven.”
She gave a brief nod. “I’m Alina, and this is Sara. Who brought you in?”
“Grayson.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
I sensed she had more to say. I kept my mouth shut and nodded.
“You’ve met them all? All four of them?” Sara asked.
Another nod.
“They’re gorgeous.” Sara’s tone held no emotion; it was almost as if she were commenting on the weather.
“Gorgeous is as gorgeous does.”
“Especially Grayson.” Sara ignored my excellent point as her expression softened slightly. “The dark hair. The blue eyes. The muscles. Did you meet any other guards?”
“No. Grayson brought me straight here.” He’d marched me through the halls, offering curt nods to other guards as his grip on my arm tightened to the point of pain. If I didn’t heal so quickly, I’d have finger-sized bruises in the morning.
“They’re keeping you.”
“I don’t understand what that means.”
“Usually when Grayson’s unit brings in a girl, they give her to another team.”
They gave her? Like she was a possession?
