Page 56 of Blind Devotion
Distantly, shouts rang out. Men’s and women’s voices. Screams. Gunshots went off, one sharp blast after another. Then a rapid series of gunfire silenced the initial shots. More gunshots. The yells and calls for help grew closer. A rescue? The distraction cost me.
The Dreq twisted my already damaged wrist—this time I felt the bone crack—just as the glass pulled free of his armpit. I howled in pain, but he merely grunted. Blood was pouring out of him. It must have hit an artery. Even though everywhere hurt and he still had a hold on my wrist, I sagged in relief against the bedpost. This would kill him. I’d done it.
A burst of agony hit my right eye, even worse than the bleach. My face spasmed from the sudden bite. Blood sluiced down my face and into my mouth. His breath spewed against my face, hot and heavy.
“If I die, you die too.”
The sounds from the corridor drew closer as he shoved me away from the bed toward his torture devices. I stumbled forward, barely able to see anything at all. His footsteps dragged behind me. His breaths were heavy, labored, and wet. His blurry figure stumbled to his knees.
More voices filtered through. This time, I recognized French and English. Another slew of machine gunfire rattled off, crackling just outside the room. More yelled demands. No, not a rescue, not with that much gunfire.
The lock on the Dreq’s bedroom door clicked open, and despite every ache, every hurt, I lunged for safety behind that dreaded pillory.
“Please, don’t—” I recognized one of the girls’ voices just as another volley of gunfire went off, and my body snapped back.
Chapter 21
Isprangawakeandupright in bed. The sudden movement tugged at the lingering soreness in my ribs and side, but I was breathing too hard to care. My jaw trembled as hard as my hands were, and I tugged my knees in to grip them tight.
Oh god, it was real. That nightmare. The feel of it was like every other memory that returned. I rocked myself back and forth. So vivid, so real. So many terrible, terrible things. I remembered each one. Each person. Each sound. Each feeling.
Adrien had not lied. Trafficked, used, abused, almost murdered, only to become a killer myself. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop a sob from bursting out.
I remembered all of it. The transport. The drugs. The fear. The assaults for months. The other women. Oh god, they were all dead too.
Tears flooded my eye shields. My pulse pounded in my ears as I tried to contain my sobs.
It was over, I told myself on repeat. It was done with. I wasn’t back there anymore. I was alive. I survived. They tried to make me a victim, but I didn’t let them. I was a survivor, just likeAdrien called me. I was strong. They tried to break me, but I got back up, and I would keep doing it. I wouldn’t let those bastards control my life or who I was. I lived. They died. I killed the worst of them. Me. No one else. Not even Adrien and his team.
I repeated that to myself over and over until my breathing calmed.
Wind whistled through the shutters. Cicadas sang, and a lone seagull cawed in the distance. Marie had brought in fresh lavender and jasmine today, but it only reminded me of the perfumes the Dreq made us wear when greeting clients.
The lapping push and pull of ocean waves washed across a beach not too far away. I’d give anything to dip my feet into that water. It meant freedom. It always had while on that boat. If I reached the water, I was alive. I was technically free now, but was I really?
In this room? In this house? Under his watchful eye? I was a captive again, even though Adrien had yet to really hurt me in his own home. I was dependent on someone’s goodwill again. Trapped. A cage remained a cage no matter who held the key. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe again. My insides were in a vise.
I needed to get out of this bed. This room. This house. I needed air. I yearned for it. Aside from that hospital trip, I never stepped foot outside this room. First, because Adrien locked me in. Afterwards, because I was safe here and everything was familiar.
I hated how scared that made me sound, how alone and vulnerable it made me seem. I wasn’t. I’d lived through too much to cower. It was time I stood up for myself and showed Adrien how strong I really was. He didn’t get to push and pull with my feelings. I wasn’t a toy for him to enjoy and then toss away.
I shoved myself to standing, my hands flailing in front of and around me as I got my bearings. A wave of dizziness hit me. With deep breaths, it dissipated. If only the leftover pounding of my heartbeat in my ears would simmer down too.
With a twist and tug of the handle, the door opened, and I sighed in relief. Adrien had not locked it again in the last few days despite his absence. That made up for his desertion a little. Not much, but just enough to ease the frustration that had been building up inside me these last two days to a gentle simmer.
Chapter 22
“Thisone’sano.”I exited out of the details of the latest hit request. The proposed compensation was almost an insult. Normally, Erel and I overlooked such small contract requests, but in this case, the target’s name was of interest.
“Thought so too.”
I nodded at Erel and relaxed back in my chair, swirling my cognac. The spicy cedarwood aroma blended with a touch of orange zest settled beneath my nose.
“Have Jerome and his team get in touch with him.”
“The usual?”
Another nod. They would issue a few threats and warnings, just enough to make it clear there was no other option. Either he paid up and received our protection, or he lived just long enough for another group to accept that pittance of a contract.
