Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
FRANKIE
Fuck, I’m hard. I knew this would be good, but now my darkest fantasy is playing out for real I’m invincible.
The other guys are hooded and masked and waiting in their individual cells, and when the last girl has crawled into the tunnel, a centurion will release us from our cages.
I watched Kennedy and her friends walk down the dark passage, complaining the dirt would scuff their heels and groaning about the possible destruction of their clothes. I almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous they look, wondering if they really thought short skirts and heels were the best attire for running from the enemy. I wish I could have seen their faces when Santi hooded them and spun them around, effectively disorientating them, stacking the odds in our favor.
I was never going to play fair. Why would I? I play to win and I have zero honor to uphold. I’m a bastard and I don’t care who knows it.
My attention shifted when Cassie and Siri arrived, passing by without knowing the identities of the caged centurions watching them.
Ben, Amos and River have been suitably warned not to attempt to chase Cassie or Siri. The last thing I want is any of them near my cousin and definitely not my girl. Jack, however, is a different problem and I’m hopeful he will do as we agreed.
If he claims Siri, it will be on a friendship basis only, which honors my agreement with Uncle Ivan. When I explained my predicament to Jack, he readily agreed to keep it platonic. He’s an honorable guy and I respect that, however, Siri is a desirable girl – verging on a woman and I’m guessing that honor may soon be tested.
My nerves are on edge because nothing is guaranteed, and the clock is ticking interminably slow.
A voice from beside me whispers, “Fuck, I’m excited. This challenge is a stroke of genius, Frankie.”
I recognize River’s voice, a guy with dark morals and a sense of competition that barely scratches the edge of mine. I’m aware he has his sight set on Autumn Cavill, and I know he won’t have much of a challenge there.
Amos Sams is creepy as fuck and I was almost in two minds whether to allow him into the challenge at all. Once again, it’s my twisted sense of depravity that allowed it, because I told him it would be in his best interests to chase Kennedy James. Call me an evil fucker, but it’s nothing she doesn’t deserve. Seeing her with that creep will be vengeance at its darkest, and I can’t wait to see the results of that.
Kennedy is in for a depressing semester because under the rules of the competition, she will belong to him. If she attempts to break the code, she will find herself in one of these dungeons as a punishment and, knowing Kennedy, she would hate that more than she would hate him.
The door opens and Santi moves down the passage, the bolts of the cells dragging against the wood as he frees each centurion.
As he reaches me, he chuckles softly, “Five blind mice have scattered and are terrified of the cat. Enjoy your evil game, Frankie, and sign me up for the next one.”
Jack is already in the chamber and so, with a sigh, I nod to Santi and set off, hoping like hell my familiarity with this place will give me an advantage over him.
Cassie
The first thing I do is rip off the hood before turning my attention to Siri and as I crawl after her, she squeals when I touch her. “It’s me, Siri,” I remind her and whisper, “Okay. Keep a clear head and keep crawling until you reach a dead end.”
It doesn’t take long before she collides with one of the others and a muffled voice yells, “There’s nowhere to go. The bastards have sent us to a dead end.”
I call out, “Whoever is at the front, reach to your right.”
“I’m not touching any part of this place. Ew, it’s rank.”
I roll my eyes as I whisper, “Let me through. I’ll do it.”
I move as quickly as I can. Edging past the other four girls until I reach the dead end and as I fumble against the wall for the loose stone, I push it aside with racing breath.
“Follow me.” I yell, “Keep up with the girl in front of you!”
As I crawl through the narrow hole, I reach up, noting the head clearance, and as I stand, I help each girl through the opening, helping them off with their hoods so they can at least see where we are.
“Where are we?” Kennedy asks, her voice edgy and afraid, and I whisper, “There are five tunnels that lead off this room. Four lead nowhere and one leads to the river.”
“Fuck that.” Kennedy snarls. “I’m not getting wet. It’s frigging freezing, and I didn’t enter this thing to end up without the prize and right where I started.”
Abigail and Autumn agree, and I sigh inside.
“Then take the tunnels to the left. They lead nowhere.”
“How do you know?” The accusation in Kennedy’s voice registers with me.
“I cased the joint, obviously.”
“Why?”
Siri interrupts. “Because, unlike you, we want to get the hell out of here.”
“We’re wasting time.” I interrupt and grasp Siri’s hand as Kennedy says with excitement.
“There’s a door! It could be the way out of here.”
I say nothing. We don’t have long because movement in the tunnels we came from is too damn close for comfort.
I tug Siri toward the fifth tunnel that lies to my right and as I touch the damp edge, I whisper urgently, “Crawl through until you reach the end.”
As she disappears down the tunnel, I am soon following behind and then a loud scream behind me alerts me of danger. One of the girls has been caught already. They are close.
Siri gasps and crawls faster and then cries out. “Fuck, that hurts.”
“What?”
“Something tore at my arm. It’s fucking painful.”
Another scream from down the tunnel means they are closing in and Siri gasps, “It’s so painful, Cass. I feel sick.”
“Take a deep breath, Siri. You’ve got this. It’s not far.”
“I can’t breathe.” She is sobbing as she gasps deep ragged breaths of stale air and I’m afraid she will faint.
“Please, Cassie, leave me. I can’t make it to the river. I won’t be able to swim.”
“I’ll help you. It’s not far.”
I sense danger closing in behind me and as a hand grasps my foot, I yell, “Go, Siri. I’ll hold them off.”
Her terrified scream rings in my ears, as I’m dragged backward through the tunnel, the dirt and stones scraping against my knees. I kick out, desperate to dislodge the hand gripping me, but there is no space to maneuver. I am trapped.
I attempt to claw at the walls, anything to help me, but I have no chance against the strength of the person dragging me down the tunnel. I know it’s not Jack, he wouldn’t be this vicious and so I kick out, not caring if I catch the bastard in the head.
With a whoosh, I’m pulled from the tunnel into the open room and I try to get my bearings so I can fight. A hood is pressed down hard over my head and I struggle hard, but the bastard secures it effortlessly.
Before I can deliver a resounding kick upwards, something metal closes hard around my ankle.
“What the fuck!” I yell, as I’m flipped over onto the ground, my hands held behind my back as more metal chains them together. Once again, I kick out, landing a direct hit, judging by the grunt of pain from the man holding me and then he grasps my ponytail and pulls me back, so my back is arched and the chilling tones of my captor wash over my soul like the dark smoke of hell.
“You’re mine, baby girl, and there is nothing you can do about that.”
A movement around me alerts me to more bodies and a low, “What the fuck?” brings tears to my eyes.
It’s Jack, which means he’s not the one holding me, and then he curses as he disappears through the tunnel, following Siri, which despite my situation, brings a smile to my face. She’ll make it. Jack won’t claim her. He’ll help her and even though my pride is dented, it doesn’t change the fact that I won in the end.