Page 97 of His To Claim

That’s when it hits me. The events of last night come rushing back like a flood of images in my brain. The Gallows, the cages, the private room, and the sick son of a bitch who paid for my company. It all comes flooding back.

At least everything prior to Ace’s arrival. “Macallan,” I whisper, bile rising in my throat at the memory of his dirty touch.

“That son of a bitch,” Ace growls, shaking his head, his hands fisting the comforter tightly.

My head’s still spinning, my vision still slightly blurred but I need to get out of here. “I need to go. I need to get out of here.”

“Slow down now, Red, where are you going?”

Trying to stand up, I fail miserably. “I need to report him, I need to talk to the Headmaster, to your father.”

“That won’t do you any good,” he says plainly, like what he’d witnessed wasn’t a crime in every sense of the word.

“Excuse me?” I shout back at him overcome with rage.

“Macallan is the academy’s most prestigious professor. Besides that, he’s best friends with my uncle, which means he is untouchable. Think of it as a form of diplomatic immunity.” I’m furious at the way he’s so calmly speaking.

“That’s bullshit, he assaulted me, drugged me, not to mention tried to buy me for ten thousand dollars!”

Ace raises a brow at me like that’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. “You’re worth so much more.”

And somehow that stupid comment makes something inside of me flutter. I need to murder those damn psychotic butterflies.

He sits up and reaches for me but I’m quick to back away to the edge of the mattress. “They’ll see it as you broke the law and went to work at The Gallows. You should not have been there. You shouldn’t even know of its existence. By the way, how did you find it?”

I glare at him furiously, rolling my eyes.

“Never mind that, either way it won’t end well for you.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask furiously.

He shakes his head, yet continues to eye me suspiciously, like he’s really contemplating how I ended up there.

“It’s a fact, babe. Money buys silence in a place like Hillcrest Hills. The Gallows assures secrecy, privacy, and exclusivity. The top elite of this town, hell of the country, pay a decent amount in membership fees to keep their identities confidential. If you were to jeopardize that, well even I wouldn’t be able to protect you. It’s best left alone. I saved you before he could really do any damage.”

“You can’t be serious. He kissed me against my will, Ace. Drugged me. I’m underage. That is a hell of a lot of crimes, not even he could pay his way out of that mess.”

“And I’ll never allow him, or anyone to lay a hand on you again. But you’ll be eighteen soon, they’ve covered up worse. Trust me,Scarlett, you don’t want to go there. You’re probably already in danger because by now, they know you were there.”

“Who?”

“I’ve already said too much.” He stands and runs a hand through his hair, and I can see the unease in his eyes. He’s nervous, I’d say scared even.

“Ace, please,” I plead, joining him and placing my hand in his. He looks at our hands joined together and then slowly back to me, his ocean eyes looking into mine curiously, searching for the questions I so desperately seek answers to.

“This town is full of terrible people, Red,” he answers quietly, wondering if he’s said too much already.

“What is The Gallows?” I whisper softly, although I’m a little afraid of his answer.

“You already know the answer to that.” Ace looks down to the floor as he speaks and then back up to me looking like a helpless little boy who’s ashamed of the world he’s a part of.

I knew it. The Gallows is what I so anxiously hoped it wasn’t. I can see it in his eyes, the truth looking me right in mind although he’s trying to hide it. Lex, Remi, and the rest of the girls there, they all looked to be my age, even behind all the layers of makeup and provocative lingerie, and were kept in cages, dangling above predators like a prize to be won. To be bought.

My stomach drops as the realization sickens me. It’s a brothel, a prostitution ring using innocent, probably even underage, girls as their entertainment. I knew the things occurring here were wicked and something malevolent was taking place behind these daunting steel gates, but this… Never in my life would I have imagined it would be this.

This is exactly what Agent Servite wanted me to see. He ordered me to follow Ace knowing well enough what I was going to find. He wanted me to see it firsthand. I know he’s involved in this, the monster that he is, he has to be, but Ace. I turn to Ace and glare at him, my eyes shooting daggers into his. He wasthere. He knew all of this was happening and he was there, looking like a regular member. Maybe even the mastermind behind it all.

I remember him confessing I found out his dirty secret. “You,” I shout, moving away from him. He looks at me confused until it dawns on him, and he tries to move closer to me, reaching out for me. “No, don’t touch me. Why were you there, Ace? What do you have to do with all of this?”

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