Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
I’m ushered from the room right after Lexi leaves. She goes left, following the red-haired staff member, and I go right, following the brunette female assigned to me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, pulling my filthy flannel tighter around me to stave off the frigid breeze in the stark white hallway.
The brunette turns down another hallway, ignoring my question entirely.
I haven’t decided whether or not to hate her.
On one hand, I understand that sometimes your job makes you do things you’d never have chosen to do.
On the other hand, what kind of person just goes along with locking people up in cages and standing aside as they kill each other?
“You need to shower and get dressed. We don’t have much time before dinner, so you need to hurry,” she instructs as she pushes me through yet another white door. “I’ll be back in half an hour to fetch you.”
The room turns out to be a bathroom. It looks the same as every other room here: boring and undecorated.
Lexi would have a cow if she saw this place.
There’s a mirror on one wall with the sink, and a standing shower on the other, next to the toilet.
It reminds me too much of the bathroom in the lighthouse.
Swallowing hard, I push the vision back.
I can’t let myself relive that right now.
I pull my disgusting clothing off and toss it into the corner before hopping into the shower.
I quickly wash my hair and lather my body with the soap left for me.
Vaguely, I wonder if there is poison in it.
Or if cameras are watching me right now.
That’d be right on track with Pierce’s house of horrors, wouldn’t it?
The shower runs cold much too soon, forcing me out and back into the real world.
On a hook next to the sink, there’s a white towel waiting for me that I swear wasn’t there before.
I dry off and turn to see a deep plum V-neck dress hanging on the back of the door, along with sharp heeled silver stilettos that are much more Lexi’s style than mine.
My makeup bag has been left on the sink.
Someone was definitely in here while I was naked in the shower.
I roll my eyes and get dressed in a hurry—no need to give these creeps a longer peep show.
There’s not much I can do with my hair, so I guess I’m just going to have to let it air dry.
I dab a bit of makeup on and finish putting on my shoes when the door opens.
The brunette looks me up and down. “You’ll do. Follow me.”
I narrow my eyes and follow her out. We turn down several more white hallways before she stops in front of a door at the end of the hall and holds it open for me. “Mr. Pierce has a surprise for you,” she says, nodding into the open doorway for me to enter.
“What if I don’t want any more gifts from him?” I spit out, gesturing at the dress.
The woman sighs. “I’m afraid you don’t get a choice here, Teagan.” Her following sentence comes out in a low whisper. “None of us gets a choice when it comes to his wants and demands.”
“What’s your name?”
Her dark eyes meet mine, and she flashes me a polite smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “Allison.”
I step through the door, then turn on my feet back towards her.
“If anything happens to me in there, Allison,” I say through a condescending smirk.
“Just remember, I’ll come find you, and you’ll get exactly what you deserve for playing your part in this.
” I glare at her, running my eyes up and down her body, memorizing everything about her in a way that would make Lexi proud.
Her shocked expression gives me the strength to enter the room without a glance back. She shuts the door behind me, leaving me in pure darkness and silence so loud I hear the hairs that raise on the back of my neck.
I stick my hand out, taking small steps into the room. “Hello? Is anyone here?” My fingers brush something cold. I jump back, falling into someone’s arms, letting out an earth-shattering scream before light fills the room from a rectangular window. That must be the cold thing I touched.
“Hello, there, Teagan. You look beautiful. That color suits your skin tone.”
I jump away and turn, finding myself trapped in a small room with Mr. Pierce. He’s blocking the only exit, and the smirk painted on his lips makes me see red.
I lunge at him, but he side steps and evades me much easier than I would have liked.
He purses his lips. “Now, now. There will be no more of that. You try it again, your friends pay.” He points toward the window and winks.
Nausea and disgust roll through my body as I turn and see Capri and Quinn trapped in the same type of room Lexi and I were in.
Pierce presses a button on the wall, and their voices flood the room.
Capri is shouting at Quinn, calling him a monster. I stand as close to the window as I can, listening to their conversation with bated breath.
I’m both confused and shocked when Capri mentions having a daughter—and even more floored when Quinn says her daughter is his niece.
My eyes shift over to Pierce. “Are you—” I struggle to find the right words as the realization hits me.
Pierce rolls his eyes and scoffs. It’s the first thing he’s done that seems remotely human.
“Please. I don’t need to attack young women to get them into my bed, Teagan.
I’m not like my father, or my brother,” he seethes.
“I know Quinn told you about his relation to me, but I assure you I’m not the child’s father.
And before you ask, neither is Quinn. His very presence may irritate me to no end, but he’s not a rapist.” He grimaces like he sucked on a sour lemon before he continues.
“Alas, we have another brother. He’s the real black sheep of the family, but that’s a story for another time.
” He gestures toward the window, and I shift my attention back to Capri.
The rage on her face dissipates before my eyes as she walks over to the glass wall separating the two of them.
Oh, how I wish I had the power to snap my fingers and shatter glass with my mind.
Capri pulls something out of her pocket and shows Quinn. My heart pinches when I see the wistful smile he gives her. Then I notice Paws at Capri’s feet and can’t stop the onslaught of tears that trickle down my face.
I’m shouting their names as I bang on the window.
Pierce steps into the small space next to me, his hands behind his back.
His navy blue suit makes my dress feel less ridiculous in this tiny room.
“They won’t hear you. It’s soundproof,” he explains in a bored tone before pulling a chair out from the corner.
I watch his every move as he sits, folding his leg over his knee in that way men do.
“There’s a chair on your side, as well. Might as well get comfortable.
You’re in for a show.” His blue eyes flicker with mirth as his lips twist into a knowing grin.
I pull the chair out and sit as far from him as I can in this small, claustrophobic room, just as Lochlan steps into Quinn’s side of the room.
“Lochlan is working for you? Has he been in on this the entire time?” I gasp in shock. Pierce winks at me before turning his attention back to the window.
I can do nothing but watch and listen as he repeatedly beats Quinn. Lochlan rears back to kick Quinn once more, and something snaps in me. I stand, grab my chair, and slam it into the window.
Capri briefly looks my way, then goes back to watching Quinn and Lochlan. She screams and beats on the glass wall separating them until Lochlan finally stops.
Pierce shakes his head, then snaps his fingers at me.
“Pick it up and sit down. I won’t ask again.
” As much as I want to fight back, I’m worried for the safety of my friends if I don’t do as I’m instructed.
“Now for the fun part,” Pierce says, pulling a small radio from his suit pocket. “You stay quiet, or they all die.”
I don’t need to be told twice. His presence is domineering enough to scare me into submission. I suddenly feel sorry for Allison. If I had to work for a tyrant like Pierce, I’d do anything not to have his ire turn my way. I wonder if Lochlan is being forced to do these horrible things, too.
Pierce gives instructions over the radio to Capri and Quinn. I have to forcibly hold back a gasp when Lee and an older woman are dragged into the room.
What does this monster have planned for them? I look at all my friends and the older woman, and pray with everything in me that they all stay safe. Though I know it’ll be another unanswered prayer.
Pierce laughs into the radio. “Now, for your next task. One of them has to die. You have two minutes to decide who. If you don’t choose, you all die. Aren’t games fun!”
The radio goes silent, and Pierce turns toward me. “Who would you pick? Lee, Capri’s dear husband? Or Rebecca, Quinn’s mother?”
No, no, no. I’m not doing this again. My head spins, and my stomach rolls.
“Tick, tock,” Pierce mockingly teases into the radio. “Tick, tock.”
“Why are you doing this to us?” I ask, my voice shaking with barely restrained fear and anger.
Pierce cocks his head, bringing his hand to his chin, deep in thought. “You know, I wish I could tell you. But for now I’ll just settle with…” he pauses, then gives me a creepy, overly large smile. “Because I can.”
He shifts his attention back to the room, and I can do nothing but follow suit.
Capri throws herself at Lee the moment Pierce’s staff leaves the room. My heart cracks as I listen to her tell him how much she loves him. It breaks even more when Lee apologizes for bringing us all here.
Rebecca walks over to Quinn, holding her head up and standing tall with her shoulders back. She whispers something in his ear, and his expression cracks before my eyes, then he falls into his mother’s arms, sobbing. She kisses his cheeks and holds him tightly.
The anger I had toward Quinn’s betrayal starts to dissipate slowly. He was only trying to keep his mother safe. How can I hate him for that?
“What are we going to do?” Capri finally says once Quinn straightens himself. He grabs his mother’s hand, and they both turn to face Capri and Lee.
Lee steps forward, clearing his throat. “I volunteer.”
Capri’s answering wail rattles throughout the room, shaking me to my core. “No! You can’t play the martyr here! I need you! We both need you, Lee!”
“Both of you?” Lee asks, his face contorting in confusion as he looks from Capri to Quinn.
I look at Pierce. “He doesn’t know about Capri’s daughter, does he? That’s the big secret you wanted her to divulge in the escape room, wasn’t it?”
“Look at you, Teagan, putting it all together. Bravo, my darling,” Pierce answers, his voice filled with pride.
He can take that pride and shove it right up his—
There’s a loud gunshot from the room. When I jerk my head back to the window, all of them are on the floor now. Lee is shielding Capri, while Quinn has thrown himself over his mother.
“Time’s up, my friends,” Pierce coos into the radio. “You have three seconds to choose, or you all die.”
How can this man be so calm and collected while he ruins people’s lives?
There’s nothing I can do as Quinn gets to his feet. “Kill me. It’s about time you got on with it. I can’t wait to watch you write your own books from my grave.”
Pierce mutters something under his breath. I turn to see his face twist into rage as he glares at his younger brother. He brings the radio to his lips again as my entire body vibrates with nerves. “So be it.”
“No!” I shout, slamming my hand against the window at the same time Rebecca stands and screams, throwing herself in front of Quinn.
The gun goes off, and I see the front of her shirt turn the brightest shade of red before my eyes. Tears fall from Quinn’s eyes as he cradles his mother until she finally slips away.
Pierce clicks his tongue. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.
But so be it. I was getting rather tired of looking at my father’s trash every time she came into Windermere to clean.
” He stands and claps his hands together.
“Now, Teagan. I have one more gift for you. Don’t say I’m not on your side.
Allison will escort you to the dining room now.
I’m sure what you find there will be very… informative.”
He leaves the room, and my head spins in confusion, while the heartbreaking sounds of my friends crying continue behind me.
My soul shatters as I look at them. Capri holds Rebecca’s hand as Lee places a hand on Quinn’s shaking shoulder.
He has his mother’s lifeless body in his arms, whispering to her, knowing she’ll never hear those words.
I wish there were something I could do to take their pain away, even though I know it’s pointless.
We are never getting out of here alive.