What in the hell have I gotten myself into?
She folded her arms across her boney chest and sat as heavily as her one-hundred pound body could on the edge of the four-poster bed. She began debating whether to escape or to barricade herself in this room. While her mind still raced through the possibilities, her eyelids refused to stay open, as if weights dangled from her long lashes. She leaned over and curled up into a fetal ball at the foot of the luxurious bed, telling herself she just needed to rest for a few minutes and think. Within minutes, her whole body shuddered in utter exhaustion as she melted into the bed. All attempts to maintain her ill-fitting fake composure slipped off her gaunt frame as sleep took over.
In her collapse into exhausted sleep, her bruised mind and broken heart ached for something just out of her reach. Silent tears seeped and pooled at the bridge of her nose, soaking into the blood red comforter on which she curled.
Her shattered mind gifted her with cruel dreams. The gaping hole where her memories used to live throbbed, swollen and bloody. Unable to soothe itself, images ricocheted off the remaining shards that still existed, shredding the soul with every attempt at escape.
Chapter 53 Sacrifices
In his room, just two doors down and across from where Meg lay trapped in terrifying, disconnected dreams, Senator Arkdone watched her on his high-definition surveillance monitor and smiled. He knew he would barely sleep, so anxious for the psychological game to begin at dawn. He stepped away from the monitor and sauntered to the bathroom, whistling a tuneless song as he drew himself a bath in the very tub where he had bathed that little creature himself not so long ago. As Arkdone stripped himself of the tailor made slacks and crisp dress shirt, Sirus was putting the finishing touches on his report. After leaving his humble servant’s quarters behind the stairs, he walked to the controller’s desk and laid the report on it, quietly. He had to exclude much of the conversation between Gideon and the girl, but overall, it was a true and accurate retelling of the major events.
Having finished his task, Sirus slipped back and let Gideon come forward with a soft shudder of the body they shared. He knew what was expected of him without the Senator’s direct order. On silent feet Gideon walked to the room he knew the Senator had assigned the girl. Instinctively, his hand moved to the knob so he could look in on her to be sure all was well. He hesitated for just a moment and listened with keen ears at the door. Hearing nothing, he knocked softly and waited a few moments for any response, then opened the door.
Light from the hallway in which he stood spilled in angles across the floor of the dimly lit room until it reached the bed where he saw the girl curled up on her side, head tipped awkwardly to one side as though she had passed out instead of falling asleep.
Knowing he should just walk away and actually doing it were two entirely different beasts. Sirus nudged him to leave, but Gideon stood his ground. He stepped into the room and made his way to the girl who had been under his protection for such a long time. Watching over her had become second nature to the fractured soldier.
He leaned down and carefully lifted her off the edge of the bed and carried her sleeping body to the pillows to lay her down. Then he noticed the drying tear tracks and the dampness of the fine hairs that framed her angelic face.
Gideon frowned deeply at the sadness written in those silent tears. His alter urged him to put the girl down and walk away, but he was more afraid of leaving her alone in her fears than anything Sirus could do. Nothing mattered but the girl.
He laid her down gently, watching her dark curls fan out around her face. She was still wearing those boots, so without letting himself think about what he was doing, he reached down and unzipped one, then the other. Carefully, he slipped them off her dainty feet and set them on the floor next to the bed. That’s when he saw the glint of something metallic at the headboard. He leaned down to get a better look and had to contain the rage that boiled into his throat when he saw what it was.
Restraints.
Arkdone had specifically arranged this room for Meg so he would have complete knowledge of every small detail. This detail pissed Gideon off!
From his back holster the soldier pulled his hunting knife and sliced the strap at the uppermost juncture—where it connected to the bed’s frame. He walked around all sides of the bed and repeated the act of defiance of his controller.
No one is going to tie you down ever again. Not if I have anything to say about it. Gideon growled internally as he sliced the last restraint.