He grabs the top of my hair and jerks my head up, snarling. “Do what I say.” He shoves my head back and roughly ties the mask over my eyes. Then he’s gone.
I’m too weak to remove it, and slipping off the couch to my knees is actually a relief. My hands are on the tops of my thighs, and I feel buzzy. Did Guy want me on my knees? I can’t remember.
A long time seems to pass before the door opens again. This time, the voice I hear is one I absolutely love.
“Lara?”
“Mark?” I turn my head in the direction of his voice, and he’s on his knees beside me.
He pulls the mask off my face, and it takes me several blinks before his face comes into focus. When it does, I lean forward, holding his neck. “You’re here.”
His face contorts, and I don’t understand why he’s not happy to see me. “Why are you doing this?” he asks. “What’s happening?”
Noises break out on the other side of the door. I hear men shouting and what sounds like muffled banging. Mark stands up quick as the door opens.
“Who the fuck are you?” A voice that makes me think of a wild animal snarls from the doorway.
“I’m taking her out of here.” Mark’s hands grip my arms, pulling me to my feet, but all at once, he’s gone.
I look around and see he’s on his hands and knees on the floor.
“Mark?” I drop down beside him, the good feelings dissolving, but still just within reach.
“He’s going to be a problem.” Another man is in the room, and I look up just as the first voice answers.
“No, he’s not. I’ll take care of this fucker.”
His leg flies back, and I scream as he kicks Mark in the chest. A sick Oof! comes from his throat, and he falls on his side.
“No!” I scream, terror cracking my drug-induced haze.
Mark staggers, trying to get to his feet, but the man kicks him again in the stomach. I can’t stop screaming. The men keep kicking him. Blood is on his mouth.
“You want to be a hero?” the man shouts, kicking him again. “Heroes don’t last long around here.”
Blood drools from his mouth, and his head flops to the side.
“No…” My voice breaks, and I cover my eyes as the thuds of the men beating my love continue. “Stop, please!” I cry.
Mark’s swollen eyes meet mine, and I feel the hot tears slick on my face. He tries to reach for me. I reach for him.
“Lara?” His voice breaks.
The big man kicks him in the head, and his body goes limp.
“Oh, God, no!” Snot covers my upper lip, and my cheeks are hot and wet.
With swollen eyes I watch them drag Mark out of the room. His face is black with bruises already forming and blood flows from his mouth, but he’s not fighting. Sick fills my stomach as fear creeps in. He’s dead.
“What is this?” Guy is back.
“Got ourselves a hero,” Wolf-man taunts.
“Take that body away. You know what to do.”
The men leave, dragging Mark away, and Guy comes to me. “My little angel, did that frighten you?”
His voice is strange, but the haze floods my brain again. The calm feelings are back. “Why did they do that?”
He wipes my face with something soft and pulls my sweater over my head. “Let’s do this.”
The mask is back, and I’m in darkness. He takes a handful of hair from my shoulder and jerks my head to the side as his lips press against my neck, hands fumbling with my jeans.
A startled cry flies from my throat, but my feelings are flat. He clutches my breast, squeezing it repeatedly. He’s sucking my neck, and as he presses himself against me, I feel his erection hard on my leg.
I don’t want this…
The thought passes through my mind completely detached from my body. It’s like a strange beast is at my side groaning, pulling, and licking my skin. I try to slide away from him, but he grabs my waist, pushing me forward onto my hands and knees.
“Yes,” he hisses, and he’s at my backside again.
I feel him ripping the thong, pulling it away until I’m completely bare except for the mask. I want to curl into a ball, but his hand fists my hair, holding me up. I try to pull against his hold, and he only laughs, shoving me face-first into the carpet and gripping my arms behind me.
“Hurts!” I yell, but my voice is muffled in the pile.
He’s holding me in position, and I feel the slip of fabric down my thighs. Fleshy hardness is against the skin of my ass. I brace myself, tensing every muscle as he forces his way into my body, like a knife cutting through paper.
Pain…
My eyes close behind the mask. The haze is right there, and I take its hand. I allow it to guide me deeper into the darkness, until I’m somewhere far away…
22
“Tears travel to God when we can’t speak…”
Lara
When I open my eyes again, everything is pain.
I’m alone in my small bed. I try to move, but my body shakes as if my muscles are too weak to support me.
So I don’t move.
I lie motionless, facing the wall.
My throat hurts from screaming and my stomach cramps. Light from the window above says it’s afternoon.
The passage is unusually quiet, but I don’t care.
Nothing matters now.
I don’t remember much of last night, but two things flicker like slivers of a dream. Mark on the floor, blood covering his face, his lifeless body dragged from the room. A shudder of grief cramps in my chest. I open my mouth to say No, but nothing comes out as tears flood my eyes.
The second memory is a cruel green gaze that shoots terror through my veins. My entire body seizes, and I slam the door shut on that memory.
I never want to go back there.
Not ever.
Someone enters the room. It’s a woman from the scent of her perfume, but I don’t move as she walks to the bed and leans over me.
I hear her breathe and recognize her sigh.
Evie.
“Will you eat?” she whispers. She waits, but I don’t move. “I told Roland you wouldn’t sing tonight.”
I’ll never sing again.
“He begged to see you, but I told him to wait.” The side of the bed dips as she sits beside me. Her hand goes to my arm and begins to rub. “He was a wreck when we finally got to you. Guy was gone or I swear Roland would’ve killed him with his bare hands.”
She waits, but I don’t speak.
“I’ve never seen Roland cry.” Her voice is quiet.
“Molly,” I manage to whisper. A sharp inhale twists the fear in my stomach. “Where’s Molly?”
Evie’s voice wavers when she answers. “She’s going to be okay… She’ll heal.”
I turn my head into the pillow as the tears flow and my nose grows warm.
I failed.
Evie pats me and stands. “Just rest. Tomorrow you’ll feel better.”
I will never feel better.
Sleep must’ve come because when I open my eyes again, it’s dark. No moon lights the night, and the only slice of bright in the darkness comes from the crack beneath the door. I have no idea where Molly is, but it’s too hard to care about anything anymore.
My only feeling is pain.
And emptiness.
I haven’t moved from my position facing the wall when I hear the door open slowly. Footsteps cross the space, and I feel the bed depress. A warm body snuggles in next to me.