45. Forty-Five
45
FORTY-FIVE
MILA
“ W ake up.”
A sharp poke in my ribs jolted me awake.
Maddie’s voice, cold and cruel, whispered in my ear, “Wake up, virgin girl. Time to play.”
“Leave me alone.”
I tried to ignore her and go back to sleep, hoping to wake up from this horrible nightmare, but then she delivered a brutal kick to my stomach, making me double over in pain. She pulled me up by my hair and slammed my head against the wall, stars exploding behind my closed eyelids.
“You think you’re so special, don’t you?” she sneered, her grip on my hair tightening painfully. “Do you know how long I had to pretend to enjoy fucking that asshole Kai because Archer was too preoccupied with you? Not that he was a bad lay, but still. I was promised Archer, and you came in and ruined everything.”
“You need to put a mint in that dumpster, Maddie,” I retorted before her open palm connected with my cheek in a searing slap.
“Maddie!” a familiar voice shouted from behind her. “Alex needs you upstairs.”
I looked past her to see Haven standing in the doorway, her arms crossed as she leaned against the frame.
“I’m not done,” Maddie protested, her blue eyes filled with hate.
“Okay, I’ll tell him you are busy leaving bruises on his plaything. It’s your funeral,” she scoffed, turning to leave.
“Wait, wait. I’m coming,” Maddie sighed before releasing her grip. “We’ll continue this later, Mila.”
“I won’t bother waiting up,” I responded, struggling to hold myself up against the wall, my arms still tied behind me.
Maddie shot a menacing glare my way before following Haven out of the room and slamming the door shut behind them.
I slid to the ground, letting out a defeated breath. I only wanted to see Archer come through that door and rescue me. But each time the door opened, my hopes were crushed. Why hadn’t he come for me yet? Was it because he couldn’t find me? No, he was too smart for that. He knew Alexander had taken me. What was he waiting for?
The door opened again, and my eyes shot up to see Haven approaching me, moving at an alarming pace. She wore a bright red dress that clung to her body and sparkled as she approached me. “Stand up,” she said urgently.
“What?”
“Stand up. We have to be quick before Maddie comes back.”
She pulled me to my feet and turned me around, holding onto the ropes binding my wrists as she loosened them. Once they fell free, I pulled my arms around to my front, my shoulders aching from the position they had been in. Rubbing my wrists, I watched as she ran her hands underneath Alex’s desk, smiling when her hands found what she was looking for.
A handgun.
“Wait, please don’t shoot me,” I pleaded, in panic, as she checked the magazine, sliding it back into place with a click.
“I’m not going to shoot you, you idiot. It’s just for protection,” she explained while waving it back and forth. “Stay behind me, and stay quiet. I move fast, and you need to move faster. We only have five minutes before the cameras reset and alert the entire compound that I helped you escape. ”
“You’re helping me escape? But why?” I asked, confused. “You’re his sister. Why would you help me?”
“Kai told me you’d ask a lot of questions. It doesn’t matter right now,” she answered impatiently.
She grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the door before opening it cautiously and peering into the hallway. The sound of loud music reverberated through the dark halls as we moved stealthily, hiding in the shadows whenever guards passed by. We climbed some stairs and made our way to a red metal door.
“Hey!” Maddie’s voice shouted behind us. “Don’t fucking move, or I’ll shoot you.”
Shit.
Haven turned around first, and I followed suit. Maddie has her gun pointed directly at me.
“Maddie, put the gun down,” Haven said calmly.
“Haven, shut the fuck up,” Maddie responded angrily. “Wait until your brother discovers you tried to help his little pet escape.”
“It’s not what it looks like,” Haven insisted, positioning herself between Maddie and me.
“The way I see it, I get to knock out two birds with one stone,” she chuckled darkly. “I get to kill the bitch that took Archer from me, and I get to quiet the annoying cunt of a sister that is always getting special treatment from her brother.”
“Alex will kill you when he finds out.”
“Not when I tell him about this little escape plan of yours. I think he will reward me for murdering his traitorous little sister,” she sneered while keeping the gun pointed in our direction. “The real question is, who should I shoot first? Any volunteers?”
“Maddie, you don’t want to do this,” I pleaded with her.
“Oh, but I do, though,” she smiled at me, a glint of madness in her eyes.
The next thing I knew, gunshots were ringing out all around us, and Maddie fell to the ground with a pained yelp. Haven grabbed me and pushed me towards the door .
“Stay close to the fence until you reach the hill. Archer is waiting for you there.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?” I turned to look at her but saw that she was holding her side, blood seeping through her fingers. “You’re hurt. Come with me, and we’ll get you to a hospital.”
“I can’t go with you.”
“But you’re hurt.”
“I’ll never make it before the cameras turn back on. I’ll be fine. You need to go. Now.” She shoved me out the door and gave me a small smile before slamming it behind me.
Fear gripped me as I ran as fast as I could, following her instructions. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, drowning out any other sound as I put as much distance between myself and the building as possible. With every step closer to the hill, I knew I was running towards my salvation. As I reached the steep hill, I dug my heels into the ground and pushed myself harder, ignoring the burning ache in my muscles.
Then there was Archer.
He stood by the fence, and it took all my strength not to collapse into a puddle on the ground. Instead, I flung myself into his waiting arms, clinging to him with all my might, tears streaming down my face as sobs wracked through my body.
“Oh, thank god. I thought I’d never see you again.”
He pressed his lips against mine, tasting the salty trails of my tears. “I’ll always find you. In this life and the next,” he whispered between kisses.
“We need to get out of here,” Theo spoke up—the sound of yelling scattered in the distance.
“Where is Haven?” Kai asked, scanning the area with his night vision goggles. “I don’t see her.”
“She’s not coming,” I told him.
“Is she alive? We heard gunshots.”
“I don’t know. She was bleeding badly. She told me to go.”
Kai’s expression dropped, and he stared into the dark, waiting to see if Haven would pop up over the hill .
“She killed Maddie before Maddie could kill me,” I said, touching Kai’s arm. “She saved my life.”
“We need to get out of here. The cameras are back on,” Archer interjected, leading me toward the razor parked at the bottom of the hill.
I followed him into the backseat while Theo and Kai sat in the front. Archer pulled me close while Theo drove us away, speeding through the darkness, far away from Alexander Benson.
When we arrived home, my legs were on autopilot as Archer led me upstairs to our room. He helped me out of my clothes and into the shower, his naked body a sight to behold, with water cascading down his toned muscles. He moved behind me, gently washing the remnants of my captivity away. His hands sent shivers down my spine, and I turned to face him.
“You’re safe now,” he whispered, kissing my forehead, letting his lips linger on my skin.
“It’s because of her,” I said weakly.
“Haven?”
I nodded. “We can’t leave her there. He’ll kill her.”
Archer sighed, a look of concern crossing over his face. “We don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“But what if she is? I never got the chance to thank her,” I said tearfully, covering my face with my hands.
"She didn't do it for a thank you," Archer told me. "She wanted to be free, and in order to do that she made me promise to help her get rid of her brother. She knew the risks and still chose to help you escape. I promised the both of you that I would take care of her brother, and I will. Whether she is alive or not, I will keep my promise. But, right now, the important thing is that you are safe."
“You’re right,” I agreed sadly, hugging him tightly.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he vowed. “Two feet apart, max.”
“Two feet is pretty far,” I teased.
“I can get closer.”
“How close,” I asked playfully .
Archer pulled me closer by sliding his hands under my butt and pressing our bodies together. "Like this?"
"Not close enough."
He shifted his knee between my legs and pushed them apart before pressing himself against my entrance. "What about now?" he whispered against my lips.
"Still not close enough."
With a slow thrust, he entered me, and I gasped at the sensation. He moved slowly, savoring our reunion but also taking care of me in my fragile state. I wrapped my legs around him, wanting to be as close as possible.
"And now?" His lips trailed hot kisses down my neck, making my heart skip a beat.
"Now," I gasped, "I want you to erase every memory of him from my body."
"I'm going to consume you until all you can taste is me, ravish you until you forget any other touch, and love you until there's no trace of him left,” he promised. “Tell me, little rabbit, how about now?”
" Now , it's enough."
The devil isn’t a mythical creature with horns and a tail. No, he is a flawed man who walks alongside his demons. He prowls through the shadows, standing on the precipice of darkness and light, and shares a dance with temptation at every turn. He devoured me slowly, tearing away at my very being until I danced in the darkness with him. Our love story is one of tragedy and triumph, of betrayal and redemption, and of free will and fate. And at the end of it all, I stand proudly by his side—his one true love, his queen—and willingly venture into the abyss, hand in hand with him. My love. My king . My devil .
Vivamus, moriendum est.