“Close your eyes, Joanna,” Mel coaxes. “Tell me where you want to wake up, and I’ll ensure that you do.”
“Philly.”
“I thought so. Now sleep.”
I sigh and my head lolls as I get dragged under.
Chains attachedto my limbs spread me across the four corners of the iron frame in the secret room. The damp cold creeps along my naked flesh and sinks deep into my bones. I’m not sure I will ever be warm again.
A shadow moves across the wall, eyes of blue flames gliding over my vulnerable body. Gideon tsks. “You have been disobedient, Honor. This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Not fucking likely. “I have been too lenient. But you have to learn.”
I close my eyes. I can’t be here. It’s not possible. I’m on a bus going to Philly with a kind woman called Mel who makes the best cheese and ham sandwiches. Did someone drug me and bring me back here? I wouldn’t put it past Gideon.
The walls shift and close in, shrinking the room as my husband steps out of the shadows. His nostrils flare as he clenches his jaw and tilts his head, popping the bones in his neck. He narrows his gaze over my naked body.
“Gideon, please,” I whisper, knowing it’s pointless to beg the monster for mercy.
“At least you didn’t remove the trainer. That’s one less thing we have to redo. No more respite for you. You lost that right when you ran. It’ll stay on for at least a month.”
That’s not the end of the world. He stalks to the bottom of the bed and braces his hands on the frame as he leans forward to look between my open thighs.
His lips twitch. “I had the doctor check you over while you were out of it. He confirmed you are still intact but with some gentle persuasion, he added a few more stitches to make you extra tight. It didn’t have to be this way, baby. I was going to take my time with you, ensure you enjoyed it as much as me. Now, all that awaits you is pain. But it’s no less than you deserve for trying to run.”
I shake my head in horror at what he’s done to my body while I’ve been unconscious. “Gideon, I can’t?—”
He smashes his hand against the metal, the vibration rattling through my prone body. “You gave up your rights to pleasure. I warned you, Honor, never run from me. You took the risk, and now you are dealing with the consequences.”
“I want to be free.”
“You will never be free of me, Honor. I am in your heart, your mind, and your soul. Wherever you go, I will shadow your every waking thought and haunt your nightmares. There is no escape. No freedom.”
He grows larger, his head almost touching the ceiling, or is the ceiling moving closer? “Oh my God,” I whisper.
“That’s right. I’m your god, Honor.”
“Wake up,” a female voice whispers. “Come on, lovely, open your eyes for me.”
I gasp. My eyes fly open and collide with Mel’s concernedgaze. “That is a hell of a demon you are running from,” she says as her eyebrows draw together.
“Not a demon, the devil,” I whisper. “And I have to hope he never catches me.”
She pulls me into a hug. I freeze. I don’t get hugged. It’s never been a feature of my life as a child or an adult. My arms come up, and I hook them around her as I draw in a whiff of her lavender-scented hair.
Mel releases me and swipes at a tear from her cheek. She waves a hand in front of her face and drags in a breath before handing me a piece of paper. I glance at the block lettering and numbers.
“Top one is my cell phone. If you need me, if you need help, call me, no matter the time of day, I will pick up. Only those closest to me have that number.”
I press my lips together and swallow a sob. Mel is the ray of hope I needed.
She points at the next number under an address. “That’s the details of a bed & breakfast my friend owns in a town outside of Knoxville. Head there, then call her. She will come and collect you. Her name is Louise. She’ll take cash and won’t ask you for ID. I called ahead to let her know you’ll be dropping in within the next few days. When you get there, take a breath. She won’t pry, but she has been through something similar. You have friends, Joanna, you just have to find them. I put an extra sandwich and two bottles of water next to you. Take them, because I doubt you are going to stop long enough to eat.”
“I don’t know how to repay you.”
She shakes her head with a sad smile. “Life isn’t about repaying people, it’s about paying kindness and compassion forward. One day you might be in a position to help someone, and that’s how you move forward. Put out into the world what you want to receive.”
CHAPTER 9
HONOR
