Page 41 of Hysteria Rises
“Ididn’t know what the hell their plan was until I was in that room with the rest of you, and he fuckin’told me what I’d have to do.” He slicks a tongue over his lower lip. “I repeat, what I’dhaveto do. If I hadn’t brought her back—” He abruptly snaps his mouth shut.
Hayze is quiet for a few moments. From the looks of it, he’s considering every word coming out of Malakai’s mouth. And that right there is why I think he’d make a good leader for the Collective one day. He’s never quick to judge, nor does he act rashly when it comes to decision-making.Ever.But a moment later, he must have made up his mind because he takes a menacing step toward Mal. “So, you deny that your father said she was yours if you caught her.”
“In those words, he did not. I’m not lying.” He hesitates, shifting his gaze to mine. “Did I understand that he was probably giving me a”—he throws his hands up in the air, frustration flowing freely from him—“a shot at her?Yes.”
Arrow lifts his hands to his head, threading his fingers through his short hair. He tugs hard. Like he means to hurt himself. “He was so angry when he came to the cellar and took her away. I should have done something.”
“Fuck!” I snap, crossing to him and taking his head between my hands. “Stop.” I heave out a breath, whirling on Malakai and getting right in his face. “You’re just here to cause more trouble. Get the fuck out.”
Mal cocks his head to the side, eyes following every twitch of my face and breath I take. “Maybe youshould ask yourself what would’ve happened if I hadn’t brought her back.”
Curiosity piqued, I shrug. “Go on, then.”
“Didn’t even consider that I wasn’t the only one my father sent, did you?”
I wonder if he feels the weight of all three of us staring at him with mouths agape.
He shoots us a sardonic smile. “Gannon and Dragan were sent first. Not only that, but Gannon had already caught her.” With a locked jaw, he pauses a beat as he studies us. “Wanna go ahead and tell me it would have gone better for her if I hadn’t been the one to bring her back? Go ahead. Tell me what the fuck else I was supposed to do? Dragan and Gannon would have said something if I’d let her go… or gone after her again. You know, if you’d open your fucking eyes, you’d see that none of this was my goddamn fault.” He throws his arms out from his sides, his dark eyes darting from mine to Hayze’s, and then Arrow’s. “You wanna know the part that all of you are completely missing? She didn’t escape at all.” He lunges forward, shoving me by the shoulders.
I blow out a huffed breath as I regain my balance, but my mind slogs through the possibility that Malakai is actually telling usthe truth. “Oh, fuck,” I mutter.
Hayze shoots a grim look in my direction. “Yeah. That’s kinda what I was thinking. So…” He pins his gaze on Mal.
“I asked her about it because it seemed off. He fuckin’ set her free, let her think they no longerwanted her.” His gaze shifts to me, a smirk playing on his features, but it’s not from amusement. He’s all kinds of conflicted. And… pissed? “My father pulled a fast one and sent us to bring her back to him.” He eyes all of us, crossing his arms over his chest. “Tell me you’d have handled the situation I found myself in any fucking differently.”
The hell of it is… I can’t.
Hayze grimaces, then bobs his head. “Well, you all heard what they said about watching her. We pair up, despite being down one… or they bring in the others.” Concern is etched into his features as he finishes. “That’s not gonna fucking help matters.”
Arrow slowly shakes his head. “No matter who they choose, it’d be bad. Rafe and Evren? Definitely couldn’t handle her. Dragan and Gannon?She’dbe in trouble.” His agitation steadily rises until he mutters, “You allhaveto make this work. Promise me. I can’t handle knowing anyone else has their hands on her. Never again.”
The three of us glance at each other and nod, silently making an unlikely and completely unavoidable truce.
TWENTY-TWO
DELILAH
The tasteof freedom I’d been given had been fleeting, within my grasp one moment, then cruelly ripped away the next. But that was always the intent. I’m no fool. I knew when the words fell from Kiefer’s lips they’d been nothing more than a blatant lie. There’s no hiding the evil that resides inside that man. It’s only become more apparent with each new interaction I’ve had with him. Did he really expect me to believe he was being truthful? Well, I didn’t.
It was a game to him all along—and it’s one he’s good at. I don’t understand what he’d gotten out of making another man fuck me, which was made even more sick by the fact that the man in question is his own flesh and blood. And the others who stood by and watched? They’re no better.
I chew on my lip as I lie still. Listening. I’m forever listening these days. It’s my hope that someone usefulmight venture close enough for me to speak to, but I also fear it’ll be any of the men.
I would have thought that this…society…these psychos live in would have some sort of order. The hysterical thing is, they act like they do, like there are rules and protocols that they follow. But so far all I’ve seen is regimented chaos.
We don’t have a choice. Those words have been stuck in my head ever since Malakai uttered them. I should have recognized what he said as a warning. If I take him at his word, they made him rape me. I will forever be haunted by what transpired in that room. There will be no forgetting what happened, not the horror-filled expression on Arrow’s face or his shouts of agony, not the misery flowing freely from Hayze as he wielded that whip, nor the lost expression in Cross’s eyes while watching the absolute madness unfold.
I’ve been over the entire sequence of events so many times it makes my head hurt, beginning with what I’d woken up to down in my cell. Had they sent Arrow down there to do that to me, only to punish him for it? I don’t have a fucking clue. It doesn’t make sense. All the ways I’ve been assaulted—they’re a goddamn jumble. Cross, Hayze, Arrow, and now Malakai. I no longer know which end is up or whether to believe a word out of any of their mouths.
This place is like the raging high water I encountered in my bid for freedom. It threatens to drag me under the surface and drown me. Motivations are distorted; sick secrets abound. Loyalty among thesemen is twisted, having something to do with birthright, but the relationship among them isn’t straightforward at all. One minute I think I might have things figured out, and the next, I find myself lost again.
Dampening my parched lips with my tongue, I absently pick at the medical tape holding the gauze on my forearm. Twenty-three. An exhale skitters from me, and finally I can’t not know anymore. I’m in the dark about enough without putting myself there. One end of the tape comes up, and I slowly peel it away. The bandage lifts easily, and I hold my breath with my eyes squeezed shut. My heart thuds insistently, knocking at my rib cage, telling me I already know what’s there.Just look.
Sure enough, my gaze falls on an intricate tattoo. I stop breathing as I stare. Twenty-three: the numeral, bold and black and inked permanently into my skin. A flash of Hayze’s brilliant blue eyes as he’d glanced up from his work hits me like a punch to the solar plexus.
They’veclaimedme.
And there is no doubt in my mind, if I’m ever allowed near the women again, I will find similar markings. Access to them is essential. They’re the only ones who don’t mean me any harm.
