Page 32 of Sacrifice

Vincent slumbers next to me as questions run wild through my mind. I think about what we did.

Why do I want to be with him so much?

Why do I lose my mind every time we touch?

What does it make me, if I don't feel bad because my brother is dead and I crave his killer?

Sighing, I get out of bed. There's no way I can think while still in bed with Vincent. Stretching, I go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face.

As the droplets drip down my face, I assess myself. There's no way I can live with myself if I stay here. If only to show my angertoward Vincent for killing Carlos. A small rebellion. I'll leave, go to town, and ... And then what? My brain mocks me.

Running isn't the answer, but I also know that even if my body is in a constant state of need for Vincent, I cannot bow down. Walking into the closet, I change into some jeans and a T-shirt. Using a hoodie, I cover my head and pick up Espresso from the edge of the bed.

Taking one last look at Vincent, I sigh.

"Mi pequeña reina, te amo." His words cause a lump in my throat. His snore is the only sign he's still asleep. Slowly, I leave the room and expect to run into some of his guards. When I don't, I feel myself getting antsy. Why wouldn't Vincent be guarded?

"Snap out of it," I tell myself, and open the front door. No alarm goes off, and the back of my neck tingles with worry. A chuckle startles me and I look up to see a robust man with a sack headed my way.

"You made my job easy. Thank you." He laughs and I bolt out the door. God, was Vincent right all along? I'm not safe out of this house. No, he forgot I'm not safe inside either. Espresso clings to me as I dash through the gate house off the side of the garage area.

I make my way through the garden and get lost within the rose bushes. If I wasn't panicked, I'd take time to enjoy the smell of the roses and the beauty of them. As it is, time seems to stand still as I run for my life. I can hear multiple booted feet clunking behind me against the gravel.

This was not what I thought I'd be doing. I was going to run to town and clear my head. To find some kind of semblance of peace, then come back to Vincent. I'd take my punishment, get an orgasm, and promise not to be bad again.

"Girly, if you don't stop running, I'm gonna hurt ya."

Shivers run through me at the man's threat. There's nothing to lose at this point.

"Vincent!" Screaming his name, I dash to the left, hoping this will take me back to the house.

"Fuck, if he wakes up, we're all dead," one of my pursuers says, and I continue to scream. The house comes into view and I breathe a little easier. A man steps out in front of me and I halt, almost dropping Espresso.

Gulping, I move toward the right, but he's taller and faster. The panic I had begun to feel has completely taken over and I feel the way my head swims.Please, not now. Don't do this. Think, Aribella. Think!

The man grabs my hair and tugs me to a stop. Espresso hisses at him as another stranger comes up and takes him by the neck.

"No. Please don't hurt him." All the men show up huffing and puffing. There has to be at least twenty of them. The one in the house comes forward with the bag. He throws it over me and something sinches around my neck.

Black floaters begin to cloud my vision, along with white ones, causing the dizziness to suffocate me. The stress is too much for my body to handle. I know I'm going to faint. Someone picks up my arms and brings them behind my back. As they tie them up, I sway.

"Let me go!" Even to my ears, I can hear the muffled words. There's no way I'm being heard from inside this bag.

"You fight me, and I'll make your life worse than what it's about to be," a raspy voice utters the words, and all I can do is what I'm told. It's not like I have a choice. These men mean business. I have no doubts that they'll hurt me.

If I had only stayed in bed, would they have hurt Vincent, too? Where were the house guards? Is Miss Terrington all right? I'm working myself into a tizzy as I'm guided toward an unknown destination.

We seem to trek for an hour before we stop. "Get her in the car and let's get out of here before the drugs we gave Vincent wear off."

I'm shoved into a seat and the person demands I move over. How does he expect me to do that? I can't see and my arms are tied. Another person to the left of me grabs my arm and left thigh, roughly pulling me over.

The car doors shut, and the engine comes alive. "We’ve got to get some pavement between us. If we don't, we're screwed."

“Relax, that sucker is out cold.”

The sound of the second man’s voice makes me blink. He sounds so familiar. Surely they aren’t guards, are they? Surely not. I'm almost one hundred percent certain Vincent would maim them if they betrayed him.

The car ride is silent, but at least I have calmed myself down enough that the floaters have disappeared for now. A hand runs up my right thigh and I jerk away from the touch. The men laugh at me as the person on the left starts to touch me like the one on the right.

---