Page 18 of Brutal Kingdom

“You just can’t stay away from me, can you Jordanna?” He asks, touching my hair.

I lean away from his touch. “Don’t flatter yourself. I heard there was a kick ass party going on. I had no idea you’d be here.”

“You sure you weren’t following us again?”

I scoff at his suggestion. “Dude, I already know more about you than I ever wanted to know. Following you would be a waste of time.”

“Nice try. We’ve seen you sneaking around campus.”

“If you see me around campus, maybe it’s you following me.”

He sneers at me, taking a step forward. “You still can’t bluff for shit. Instead of putting together your dossier, you should’ve been learning the rules of the game you were playing.”

What is with all these men invading my personal space? I stand my ground. “I learned from the best.”

“Really? Then you know we play by a different set of rules at The Rift. Rules that have nothing to do with whatever agreements, bonds or alliances that go on, on the other side of those doors. There’s campus and then there’s. This.” He says, splaying his arms wide. “If you really know everything about us, and the rules of the game, then you know coming down here was a stupid move.”

He’s right, it was. I should’ve turned away the moment I realized where they were going. There was no invite circulating on Prospectus, which means tonight isn’t an open party. I’ve heard the rumors about what happens on these lower floors, and no self-respecting person comes here alone. I’ve barely entered the inner sanctum, and I already feel like I need to bathe in peroxide and bleach.

“Time to have some fun,” someone says from the other side of the room. It’s hard to tell if they’re talking about me or someone else. One look at Frankie’s face says it’s the former.

I back up, bumping into a body. Turning, I see Hal blocking my exit. Where the hell did he come from? Yup, the vibes radiating off of him say this was a mistake. “You know, I think I’m gonna head out and pretend like I never came down here.”

Frankie steps closer, pinning me between both of their bodies. “Didn’t you read the sign over the door, Jordanna?”

Sign? I didn’t see a sign, and he knows it.

“Mm. I guess not. You should’ve been down here before the lights went off. At any rate, do you remember the first party game you played with us?”

“I do. Fine. Who’s going first?”

Hal laughs behind me. A sickening sound that makes my stomach lurch, and says, “There’s only one way out of this particular session of ten minutes in hell.”

He shoves me further into the room, and what little light there was goes out. Now, there’s no way of telling where they are or what they’re doing. My ears strain to hear, my hands sweat, my heart beats so erratically I think I’m on the verge of having a panic attack.

Frankie said there’s only one way out. To play a game of ten minutes in hell. The last time I did that, they locked me in a closet with Logan, and based on what Hal said, I doubt anyone here is going to do something as tame as kissing me. My body’s shaking, I’m on the verge of losing it.

No.I have to take control of this situation to make sure I get out of here with my dignity intact. I feel a presence behind me and steel my spine, waiting for them to touch me. When they do, I choke down the nausea I feel, replacing it with anger when I’m dragged through the room, my face pushed up against a window.

“Is this what you wanted to see?” Frankie’s breath is warm against my ear. I turn my head to avert my gaze, but he pushes my head closer to the glass. “Pay attention, Charity, because what happens next is my favorite part.”

In the room on the other side of the glass, there’s an elevated platform surrounded by marble pillars. My mind immediately thinks of the age and design of this building. Marble pillars and platforms aren’t standard construction, so how the hell did it get down here? I can also make out several chairs, a couch, and a bed.

“Are you looking, Charity?”

I’m taken aback when my eyes focus on the middle of the room. I watch, both fascinated and disturbed by the scene in front of me. Logan’s sitting in the middle of the platform, women draped all over him. “I don’t care what he does to them.”

Hal chuckles. “Logan is no longer king, so it’s not about what he does to them. As punishment for turning his back on us. For choosingyouover everything we’ve worked for, he has to sit there and endure whatevertheywant to doto him.”

That means he has to give up control. It’s a fitting punishment, and I’m here for it. “Good. He deserves it.”

“And we’re gonna make you watch.”

“You think that’ll hurt me? I hate his guts, send over some popcorn so I can watch his misery for the next ten minutes.”

There’s nothing they can throw at me, that would hurt me. I’ve been through the wringer here already.

Frankie nods. “You’re right. That’s not torture enough for you. Maybe, just maybe, someone should pay your little sister a visit at that college of hers. I hear she’s a hoop star. Any othergamesshe might be interested in playing?”

---