Page 166 of Vile Boys

But my screams and ragged breath stop as my eyes fall on something lying underneath the bowl.

A key card?

I grab it and swipe the door, and it opens.

Holy shit.

I tuck the key card and my knife into my pocket and swiftly open the door to look around and see if anyone waits to pummel me down, but luckily, I’m all alone. I peer downstairs over the banister and see no trace of the party I was dragged out of after they fucked me in front of a whole damn crowd.

My cheeks flush from the memory, so I swiftly walk away through the hallways of this old, poorly lit mansion. I swipe my card along all the doors, but none of them open, and I wonder why.

Odd. Does this key only open my door?

I sneak downstairs and look around to make sure I’m alone before I rush to the front door and swipe it, but of course that won’t work either.

I back away, but when I hear voices in the kitchen, I panic and run back upstairs.

I hide behind a sensual woman’s statue as two Tartarus boys walk past me, clutching a bag of chips and drinks as they make their way to a room in the back of the middle hallway, where there’s a theater room complete with red seats and an actual movie screen.

Damn. If I wasn’t being kept as a prisoner, I’d almost want to check it out.

I sneak away, but when I hear more ruckus from both ends of the hallway, I panic and head into the first open room I find, locking myself inside.

The room is completely covered in royal green, and I gawk my eyes out at all the priceless artwork in this room. Blaine sure has expensive taste, that’s for sure. I touch a statue, and it almost seems too perfect to be real, so beautifully sculpted it’s as if I’m touching the hand of God himself.

Suddenly, two hands land on my shoulders, and a cold draft hitsmy face.

“Don’t be scared. It’s me.” Blaine’s soothing voice almost lulls me into a relaxed state.

Almost.

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” he whispers into my ear.

My hand slowly dips down into my pocket to clutch my knife. “I can’t promise the same.”

I swiftly pull it out, spin around on my heels, and point it at his neck. But I pause near his vein as he swallows, unwavering in his stance as he hovers over me.

He’s a born fighter, an expert at the katana, so he should’ve dodged that perfectly.

Why doesn’t he move?

“You gave me that key card, didn’t you?” I ask, my eyes trailing down his naked pecs all the way down his thick red robes.

“To find me,” he says.

“Why?” That’s the only thing I manage to whisper before my throat clamps up.

“I know you won’t hurt me,” he says, his voice cracking too. “Even though you want to.”

“You let them use me,” I grit.

His eyes are hard to look at, but he doesn’t look away. “I warned you they would come for you.”

“You made me believe you’d protect me,” I say. “But when it came to it, you bent to his will and did exactly what he wanted. I trusted you.” The anger twists my voice.

“Darling—”

“No. Don’tdarlingme. You’re the one who taught me how to fight. Why? Why wouldn’t you fight back against him?”

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