“Keep him talking for me, Emily.” Nick encourages in my ear.
I smile and shake myself out of my stupor before reaching for his hand. “Of course, Mr. Benedict, how…” I trail off the moment my hand connects with his and a memory slams into me, stealing the breath from my lungs.
I run through the woods as fast as my legs will carry me. Tears blurs my vision and my heart pounds in fear from the men chasing me.
“Someone help me. Please!” No one hears me screaming, no one comes for me.
I’m no longer fast enough and I’m grabbed. I get spun around and stare up into the face of Mr. Benedict, the man who just shot that nice lady. He raises his gun at me and I scream louder than I ever have in my life, then suddenly everything goes black.
I snap back into myself with tears streaming down my cheeks, blurring the man in front of me.
“Em, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Ryder asks through the wire.
Archer watches me, knowing that I know, but I try to compose myself as best as possible. “Excuse me, I was on my way to the restroom.”
He doesn’t believe me but he releases my shaking hand. “Of course.”
I rush out of the dining room and head down the deserted hallway that leads to the bathroom on the opposite end of the house. “Oh my god, Ryder, it’s him. It’s him,” I whisper frantically. “He’s the one who shot that lady. He…” I gasp when, out of nowhere, I’m grabbed from behind. A hand slams over my mouth with bruising force and drags me through a door I didn’t even know existed.
“Em! What the fuck is happening?” Ryder shouts.
Terror robs me of breath as I kick and fight against whoever has me. They squeeze me painfully and bring their mouth to my ear. “I tried to warn you, Emily, but you didn’t listen.” I whimper in fear at the sound of Kyle’s voice.
“Stop, man, you need to calm the fuck down.” I hear Nick shout through the wire. “Get your head screwed on and use your fucking training. You can’t go in guns blazing or everything will fall to shit, and you could end up hurting her more.”
Panic pounds in my ears as I try to comprehend what’s happening. Is Kyle pulling his normal shit or am I in serious trouble here? I feel like it’s a safe bet to assume the latter.
“Take her down. I’m going to make sure the boyfriend is taken care of then we’ll meet you there before heading to the cabin.” I can’t see the person speaking but I register it as Vincent Prescott, Kyle’s father.
When Kyle starts moving again, I fight harder for escape, scared of what will happen if I let him take me. Suddenly, a sharp blade presses against my neck. “Stop fighting or I will slit your fucking throat right here, and don’t think I won’t.”
A terrified sob slips free but Ryder’s voice quickly breaks through my hysteria. “Em, baby, stop fighting. Just do what he says. We’re coming, I promise.”
I stop struggling and follow his instruction. Kyle drags me through another set of doors and down cement stairs. His hand stays over my mouth with so much pressure I have a hard time breathing.
“Pay attention to your surroundings, baby. I want you to hint to me where you are, but only do it when you’re speaking to him. Do not let him find out you’re wired.”
I feel Kyle’s hot breath in my ear that’s opposite of the wire and I’m terrified he’s going to hear them. I know Ryder said no one could but I don’t think he anticipated someone being this close to me either.
I try to see as much as I can, but it’s difficult since I’m being dragged backwards. I have no idea where the hell we are, or that any of this even existed. I still don’t even know where he jumped out from.
Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, Kyle finally eases the pressure over my mouth. “I’m going to remove my hand, Emily. Do not scream, or you will regret it. Do you understand?” I nod. “That’s my girl.”
I ignore his my girl comment, and when he finally removes his hand I suck in lungfuls of much needed air. I look around the long, dark hallway, seeing a row of closed doors on either side of it. “Where are we?” I ask shakily, trying to figure out how I’m going to get information to Ryder. “I’ve never been down here before.”
He pushes me to keep moving. “No, you haven’t, but you will see everything soon enough.”
I wrap my arms around myself to ward off the chill, the cool temperature and the terror coursing through my body has me shivering uncontrollably. I hear lots of ruckus and shuffling through the wire but the guy’s voices are mumbled.
We reach the end of the hallway and enter into a massive open area. When Kyle flicks on the lights I take in my surroundings. The room is plush, fancy and looks like it’s used to entertain. There’s a bar off in the corner and a stage in the center with a microphone standing in the middle of it. Spotlights hang right above it and seats circle it at all angles. My stomach drops when I realize this is where they bid on the girls.
I turn to see Kyle smirking at me. “What is this place? I don’t understand how we got down here. I was close to the bathroom when you pulled me through a door I never knew existed.”
“Good girl, Em. Keep talking, baby. I need more.”
Before I can continue, Kyle cuts me off. “Never mind that.” His gaze sweeps down my body, and the look in his eyes has bile rising in my throat. “I have to say, Emily, I love the dress. It’s going to be so easy for me to get it off, or maybe I’ll leave it on while I fuck you.”
I grind my teeth, feeling more anger than fear now. “You’re not going to get away with this.”
He smirks. “No? And who’s going to stop me? Your boyfriend?” He chuckles when I keep silent and then shakes his head. “No one can help you. If you would have just listened to me I could have protected you. Instead you had to be a self-righteous bitch and spread your legs for that fucking piece of trash.” Fury ignites in his eyes as he steps closer and I’m completely caught off guard when he slaps me, the blow so powerful it knocks me back.
“Motherfucker, I’m going to fucking kill him!” I barely make out Ryder’s roar through the pain pounding in my ears. My cheek throbs violently, making my head feel like it’s about to explode.
I have no time to get my bearings before Kyle yanks me back to him by my hair. “You’re so fucking stupid. I warned you to stay away from that loser, but you didn’t listen. You let him fuck what was always supposed to be mine, and now you’re going to pay for it.”
I stumble forward as he starts dragging me across the room, his grip still tight in my hair. “Stop it, let go of me.”
He opens a door at the far end of the room and pushes me through it. I land on my hands and knees on the cold, wet, cement floor. A dim light glows from above, barely lighting the dark cellar that reeks of something awful.
“Em, baby, you still with me? Where are you now?” Ryder asks. I can hear pounding footsteps as if they’re running.
“A cellar,” I mutter without thinking. I’m just about to mentally kick myself when a noise draws my attention to the corner of the room.
I gasp when I see a young girl gagged and chained to the wall, her face a swollen, bloody mess. She sobs uncontrollably and screams behind her gag. “Oh my god!” Getting up, I rush forward and drop to my knees next to her. I quickly realize the foul smell consuming the air is coming from her. She’s so dirty I can’t tell if she’s seriously injured, and the sound of her cries completely breaks my heart. “Shhh, it’s okay, everything is going to be okay.” I try to ease her, but know I don’t do a good job since I’m so terrified myself.
I look back at Kyle through my watery gaze. “What have you done to her?”
He smirks. “Emily, meet Cassie. She, like you, has been a very bad girl.”
“Holy fuck!” I hear both Nick and Ryder curse.