Page 57 of Torment

What…?

And then there was…nothing.

Chapter 16

“Little Red.”

“Wake up, Little Red.”

That voice…it sounded so far away, like someone standing on the other side of a tunnel, calling her.

“It’s time to wake up now, Little Red.”

“The big bad wolf wants to play.”

The voice came closer and closer, and Scarlet felt it starting to slice through her gut like a thousand blades. She knew that voice. It was the voice she had heard in her nightmares. The voice that tortured her, mocked her, followed her wherever she went.

“Brent,” she whispered so softly she could hardly hear herself. Her head was pounding, her body aching, and her mouth was stone dry.

In the far corner of her mind, Scarlet tried to figure out where she was, what happened. But her mind was completely out of whack and she struggled to focus since a fucking jackhammer was drilling through her skull.

“What’s happening?” It even hurt to talk.

“Don’t worry about that now. Just give the drug time to wear off.”

She felt a soft swoosh as a piece of fabric was pulled over and off her face. Scarlet tried to open her eyes, but the light stung too much and her first reaction was to shield her face with her hands. That was when she noticed her hands were tied above her head, and all she could do was jerk her head to the side to get away from the light.

“Where am I?”

“Open your eyes and take a look for yourself.”

Just from the malevolent sound in his voice she knew she shouldn’t have opened her eyes.

But she did. God, she did.

After blinking vigorously, trying to get the fog out of her vision, Scarlet sucked in a breath as she stared in front of her. “No.”

Brent stepped in her line of vision and smiled. “Welcome back, Little Red.”

Scarlet shook her head. “No, no, no. This isn’t real.”

“What’s the matter? You not happy to be here?” Brent cocked his head to the side before holding his arms out wide.

She frantically shook her head, tugging at the chains around her wrists, wishing like hell this was just the worst goddamn nightmare she had ever had and that she would wake up soon.

Not here. Anywhere but here.

Brent slowly started to move, circling around her. He bit his lower lip while staring at her with hungry, demonic eyes. He looked like a man who hadn’t eaten for days and she was the Thanksgiving turkey he was about to cut in to. It was freaky as hell, and Scarlet was scared out of her mind.

When he stopped behind her, he pressed his chest to her back, and she jerked forward, desperate to get away from him. Just feeling him against her was enough to make her cringe.

The second he grabbed her waist, Scarlet wanted to hurl. Bile was forcing its way up her throat and making it even more difficult to breathe.

He pulled her closer, pushing himself hard against her ass before leaning closer to her ear. “Isn’t it poetic, Little Red? We’re back where it all started.”

The barn.

Oh God.

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