The noise is overbearing. I can't focus or hear anything over the thunder and fire alarm. Is a gunfight taking place? Are the goons Locke sent just outside the safe room? Shaking widely, I want to fade into the darkness where the world disappears. I know the darkness offers only lies.
When I first arrived at Locke's home, I promised myself I'd stay strong, I was positive I would be free soon. Every day, I waited for something to happen and free me. Eventually, I stopped waiting. No longer did I wake up with hope in my heart. His house was my prison. I was Rose, and she only existed for Locke.
Waiting in the safe room, I hold on tightly to the promise Troy made to return to me. He can never be a monster in my mind, but I know he's perfectly capable of killing anyone he deems a threat. I imagine the way he comfortably holds a weapon. His body is hard and strong. His reflexes are shockingly fast. I think of how he snatched the licorice I threw at him in the gym. Troy exists in a world I don't know or understand. He kills easily and fears little.
His strength infected me from the very beginning. I've pushed myself harder so I could be ready for him. Even shaking like a leaf, I refuse to hide in the darkness of my mind. I force myself to remain in the ugly real world. This is the only place where I can have Troy, and he's what I want more than anything.
His voice is like music, and I nearly scream with relief when I hear him call my name. The moment he opens the door, I lunge for him.
"We need to go," he says, reaching around me to get my bag.
"Are they still coming?"
Troy says nothing while wrapping an arm around my shoulders and guiding me from the bedroom to the front hall.
"What's happening?" I whimper.
Minka stands at the door of the apartment. "The cops are here. Saskia and Rafael have moved the package. We need to get Darla out of the building now."
Troy nods, still oblivious to my questions. He moves me into the hallway, past the bodies and arriving officers, and to the elevator.
Without the fire alarm, the hallway feels too silent even with all the people talking. I glance back at Minka talking to an officer and see the face of one of the attackers.
Mister Punishment always laughed when the electricity rushed through me. I'd hear him cackling over my screams and begging. Torturing me was the only time I ever saw him smile.
Now he's dead.
Troy's voice doesn't break through the fog of my panic until we're in the SUV, and Minka is pulling out of the parking garage.
"It's okay," he says, but his voice sounds like someone else's.
We drive for a long time in the stormy night. I don't notice we've arrived until Troy helps me out of the SUV. Minka takes the lead out of the underground garage and into an elevator.
"Where are we?"
"Rafael lives here. He has a spare apartment that you'll stay at."
I think I nod, but my mind races with thoughts of Mister Punishment. Did he die quickly? Did he feel fear? Did he suffer?
The apartment smells like peaches and fresh paint. I pace a circle in the living room while Troy and Minka speak to a blonde woman with pretty eyes. I can't remember what they said her name was, but she's married to Rafael.
Once Minka leaves the apartment, Troy stares at me from the doorway. Like the sharks at the aquarium, I can't stop moving, even when he approaches. The reality of where I'm at and who I'm with means nothing. I only see Mister Punishment's dead eyes and know Locke will destroy me soon.
"Darla, look at me," Troy says, wrapping his arms around me. "You're safe now."
"No," I mumble, pushing him away.
Troy won't let me break free. "You need to stay here with Minka and Harlow while I deal with the woman Saskia caught."
I hear nothing more than a list of names. Troy cups my face and kisses me hard. I try to push him off, but he's unyielding. His angry lips soften when I relent. Relaxing in his arms, I think about how we made love all afternoon before Locke tore his way back into my life.
Holding me in his arms, Troy sighs. "I want to stay with you, but I need to handle this thing first. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can. Until then, you need to hold on."
I stare at him but see only the scar on his throat. He's been hurt before too, and I want to make his pain disappear.
"Stay with me," I whisper. "Let Minka go to the office."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"This woman they have might be that Mistress bitch, and I need to make sure she talks."
My mind flashes with thoughts of Mistress Agony cleansing me. She called me a dirty whore while scrubbing violently at my flesh. Now she's in Houston. Is Mister Pain here too? And Locke?
When I say nothing, Troy hugs me to him and caresses my hair. He wants to comfort me, but I'm spinning inside. Nothing feels real, even Troy's embrace.
Minutes later, he leaves me sitting on the couch where I remain for a long time. I press the buttons on the remote and search for something to watch. At some point, Minka sits next to me and says my name. I don't look at her. I only stare at the TV and push the buttons.
"Let me help," Minka says, taking the remote.
Only then do I realize the TV isn't on. Leaning my head back on the couch, I stare at the ceiling.
"Sorry."