11. Chapter 6
You don’t discover how loud the silence is until it’s all you can hear. I haven’t seen them since they brought me a tray of food last night and sat with me until I ate it all. I’m still surprised I could even eat, but I guess some things the body can’t deny. Even though I asked questions, they didn’t answer any of them and just waited patiently until the bowl of warm soup and the sandwich was gone. Then Breaker and Striker took the tray and left, locking the door with what sounded like a sliding bolt.
Somehow, I slept. Again, the body just wants what it wants. Granted, I was still groggy from being drugged and mentally exhausted from being violently kidnapped. I ended up falling into a deep, dreamless sleep. Now the sun is up and I’m sitting at the end of the bed, trying not to hear the quiet all around me. I’ve tried to hum, but it just brought back terrible memories, so I had to stop that.
Focusing on the distant crash of waves isn’t helping either. I’ve sung a few songs in my head, but memories flooded my mind, refusing to leave.
Darkness. Sharp pain under my nails. Wet streaks on my face and neck.
The sensations flicker through me, and I can feel the dark memories tickling the back of my mind, scratching like I did, wanting to break out. The tips of my fingers ache, a phantom pain, and I squeeze my hands into fists, letting the nails bite into my skin to distract myself. It doesn’t work. Sitting up, I walk to the window and shove the curtains open. At least it’s not dark.
I hate the darkness.
She lives there.
Pressing my face to the cold glass, I try to peer to the left. It’s just more house, and a massive ruined garden lined with empty planters and brown patches, broken up by pathways and stone arches on a wide lawn. I think the edges of what may be marshland peek around the side of the window, but I’m not sure. Beyond that, way in the distance, a line of trees cuts across the landscape, wrapping around to the other side of the house. I hear the ocean but it’s faint, so it must be far away. It reminds me of the country house my parents took me to some summers, but on a much larger scale.
Rune like’s the city, not this endless countryside. From what I can tell of the landscape, we’re in the same state, or at least near where we had the country home. Just knowing I’m somewhere near there is making my hands ache. My heart flutters painfully like the bruised wings of a caged bird. I feel caged. I am caged. Locked in a room.
Like what she used to do to me.
My nails cut into my skin again as I try to push down the memories, but they slip through. A flash of blackness. My underwear and pretty dress daddy bought me soaked with piss. Agony in my hands. Splinters of pain cutting through me as I scratched at the door. Blood smearing on my face, mixing with the endless tears as I screamed, raking my nails over the door then my cheeks, trying to break out of my head.
My head was always a far worse place to be trapped than the small closet where she put me.
I’m not there now.
Even if I hear no sounds, I’m in a large room with daylight and a window.
And a locked door.
And the quiet. Except for the memories of my screams breaking through, echoing in my head, haunting in its clarity.
Like I’m screaming now.
Bile rises in my throat, and my knees give. I slide down to the floor, covering my ears, and I’m back there. Her cruel smile, the last thing I saw before she shut the door. The sound of voices and then harsh, heavy breathing. Then nothing. Nothing for so long.
A hand lands on my shoulder and I jerk sideways, my mouth closing as I uncover my ears. I turn to see those beautiful winter eyes. My hands latch on to him, anchoring me to the room.
“Little Red,” Breaker says, shoulders heaving like he’s been running. “What the fuck is happening inside your head right now?”
“I’m trapped,” I breathe, realizing I’m panting and tears stream down my face, my entire body racked with tremors. When I see my hands curled into fists around Breaker’s forearms, I drop my them, placing them on my thighs to stop the shaking, but it doesn’t help. Gulping down air, I say, “I’m not there. I know I’m not here, but I’m trapped. Like she did. I can’t get out.”
I know I’m not making sense. My words, a jumble of sobs and nonsense.
A shadow passes behind Breaker’s eyes and he leans down and scoops me up like he did last night, placing me on the end of the bed. Viper sits next to me, brushing my hair back from my shoulders.
“Who?” Breaker asks gently, crouching down in front of me.
A hysterical giggle bubbles in my throat. I swipe the back of my hand under my nose, suddenly aware I’m talking to the men who have kidnapped me about fearing being locked in a room.
“Where’s Delly?” I ask.
The two men exchange a look.
“Can I see her?”
Viper taps his foot and slides his hand over his head, making me wonder what his hair looks like. None of them had hair down there and I wonder what color his hair is. What he looks like.
Breaker stands up, gripping my hand, pulling me from the bed. “Are you hungry?”
My free hand moves to my belly, like I’m testing to see if it hurts from hunger, and confusion swirls in my head. “Papa is going to find you, and when he does, he’ll fucking slice your balls off.”
I don’t know why I called him Papa. It just came out. I fucking hate the name he insists I call him. He’s not my father. My father was sweet. Loving. My real father gave me kisses and hugs that didn’t hurt. He actually loved me, even if he allowed what she did. He was just scared of her, too.
“Hate to break it to you, Vixen, but your Papa doesn’t know how to find you.” Viper grabs my arm and yanks me toward the door. “And until we decide otherwise, you’ll stay here and cooperate. Now let’s go eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” I snap, jerking away. “I want to see Delly.”
“If you want to see Delilah, then you’ll listen,” Breaker says, placing a hand on the small of my back. “And eating is part of listening.”
My eyes gravitate to the window. “Are we going outside?” My heart skitters. “I’m I going to get locked in here again after I eat?”
Breaker’s body goes rigid, and he shoots a look at Viper, the to the open doorway.
My eyes dart to the door. Striker’s large body fills the space. I step toward him, trying to peer past him to the empty hallway that looks just as neglected and worn as my room. “Are you here to make sure they feed me and lock me away?”
Striker crosses his arms, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. “Who’s Prissy, and why did she shut the door?”
My chest tightens, and I look at the floor. “Yes. I’m hungry.”
***
It’s cold outside in the garden and Breaker slings a huge wool coat over my shoulders as we step outside. My shoulders are warm, but the cold, dry air slips up my dress and goose bumps break out, but I don’t care. I breathe it in, letting it coat my lungs.
Before we left the room, they blindfolded me. Then they took me down a stairwell, and we walked for a long time. I heard doors open and locks clicking and it seemed like forever before we stopped and they removed my blindfold.
I stood next to Viper in the center of a large kitchen with tile floors and old appliances, watching numbly as Breaker made a sandwich. Once I ate the food they gave me, Breaker grabbed my hand and led me to a door located in a mudroom of sorts behind the kitchen, and we’re now outside in a little garden with dying herbs and wilted vegetable plants with yellow and brown leaves.
It’s hard to tell the scope of the house, other than it’s massive. Most of the house is blocked by a tall stone wall, limiting my view. It”s more like an old mansion than a house. Like those huge country homes people in old movies would travel to so they could marry off their daughters.
A bird calls from over head. I lift my face, letting the sun warm my cheeks. The sound of waves is more distant here, again reminding me of the house I went to in the summer with my parents.
“Do you guys live here?” I ask, my eyes closed, my hands gripping the black peacoat to keep it from sliding off. “Or do you just bring your victims here?”
I hear Breaker sigh to my left.
“Do you fuck all the people you kidnap?” I ask, lowering my head to glare at Viper in front of me, who’s watching me with an intensity that reminds me of the other night. “Or do you just make them suck you off first?”
His eyes narrow, but he remains quiet. They didn’t talk while I ate. Just sat me down and pointed to the sandwhich. It was an odd feeling, having three men who saw me naked and made me come standing around me like onyx gargoyles while I took bites of a dry sandwich. But really, all of this is weird.
If Rune doesn’t know how to find us, I hope Clyde can figure it out. He’s smarter than Rune. And even crazier.
My socks stick to the stones as I walk over to the rows of wooden boxes holding the dying garden. I pinch off a mint leaf and crush it, bringing it to my nose, letting my eyes travel around the enclosed yard.
Striker leans against the doorway of the house, and I feel his eyes travel with me as I walk around. I wonder where the fourth one is, Reaper. Delly was so focused on him. I wonder if he’s with her now, making her eat and taking her for a walk outside like a dog.
“So, who’s the cook and who’s the gardener?” When I don’t get a response, not that I expected one, I say, “Or do you all come here and play house together, sucking each other’s dicks and—”
My words snap off, teeth clacking together when Viper grips my arm and drags me to him. I crash into his chest, my hands landing on the hard planes of muscles.
“Get one thing straight, little Vixen,” he growls. “If you keep sassing off like a brat, there will be consequences.”
I keep my voice even, though my insides twist up tight with fear. “Scary Viper,” I snarl. “I’ve seen worse men than you.”
Breaker chuckles. “Little Red, there are very few men worse than Viper.”
Viper’s eyes darken and I swear he smiles under his mask, like Breaker was paying him a compliment. Maybe with these guys he was.
I grind my teeth as his fingers dig sharply into my arm. “Scary men, scary threats,” I mock.
“Keep it up and you’ll learn quickly how he got his name,” Breaker warns.
“Do you always resort to violence?” I ask sweetly, curling my lip into a vicious smile as I glare at Viper. “I thought I was here because you wanted to fuck me while I sucked Breaker off this time.”
Viper’s other hand snaps up and grips my hair, jerking my head back. My fingers weave into the thick material of his tight shirt. “Next time we fuck you, we’ll be taking turns with all our cocks in every tight hole.”
I swallow the panic all mixed up with some fucked up form of arousal and say, “Sounds like fun, boys. Do I get Striker in my ass or my mouth? I never got to taste him.”
“Your pretty cunt,” Striker says from the steps. “Then your mouth.”
“Good hygiene practice. We don’t want to do ass to mouth.” I wink, my heart fluttering with nerves, pressing my breasts to Viper’s large body. He growls, tossing me off and I stumble back. My eyes land on Breaker. “Gives me something to look forward to while I’m waiting for Rune to gather his army and hunt you down.”
I spin on my heel, my socks catching on the white rocks, and stalk toward the door with my head high. I shove past Striker and walk to the center of the kitchen, feeling him follow.
When he ties the blindfold, I know Delly is okay. It’s obvious they will not hurt us. They wouldn’t be so concerned with feeding me and taking me outside, much less storming into the room when I was overcome with memories if they planned to cut off body parts and send them to Rune.
As Striker shuts the bedroom door behind me, I really hope that the last part is true.
And I really, really hope Delly is okay because they looked dead serious about there being a next time.