Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Chapter Sixteen
………………………….
Ily
“GUARDS, TAKE HER.”
Uncontrollable fear hijacked every muscle as two suited men picked me up by my elbows and carried me, stiff and terrified, away from Henri and deeper into the gardens the second we left the fortress.
A scream lodged in my throat.
Panic ached in my legs to kick and fight.
I forced myself to stay prone in their hold as they whisked me past one of the manicured hedges of a sparrow and into a small courtyard not visible from the breakfast patio. Small box hedges ringed the diabolically pretty space. An almost whimsical glade with a happy angel-sculpted fountain and a perfect wooden podium. Wisteria flowers curled around a pole jutting from the centre.
My heart pounded, pounded.
Something’s gone wrong.
He knows.
Victor saw through our act the moment Henri licked up my tears, and now he’s going to kill us.
“Victor, what the hell are you doing?” Henri asked from behind me, keeping pace with the guards’ march.
My eyes locked on the podium as it loomed larger and larger.
No…
“Giving you what you desire.” Victor chuckled. “Peter, go tell Gerald to round up my esteemed guests. I have a treat for them.”
“Yes, Sir V.” Peter’s soft voice vanished with grass-quietened footsteps.
“This is where you want me to fuck her?” Henri asked, his voice tight.
“Patience, mon ami. Patience.”
I swallowed choking fear as the guards carried me toward the platform. My feet skimmed the ground as they levitated me in their strong hold. Sunshine sent blinding sparkles off the crystal-clear moat ringing the podium, mimicking the larger one outside the citadel. A small bridge led to the dais; the guards’ boots clomped loudly on the weathered planks.
So much beauty.
So much splendour.
All of it ruined by the tall, thick pole rising from the centre of the platform. A pole smooth from use with unbreakable chains dangling from the top, ending in a vicious iron hook.
My heart leapt into my throat as the guards carried me effortlessly toward the pole, spun me around to face the gathering crowd, and slammed my arms above my head.
I gasped as the golden manacles around my wrists were fastened onto the hook, pulling me onto my tiptoes.
Henri stepped forward, wrenching my attention to him.
His face looked just like all the other deviants standing watch—lazy arrogance, smirked lips, and a nasty glint in his eyes—yet beneath that mask, I sensed the tension in him, the questions, and the resolve.
I supposed our bargain was about to be put to the test.
I’d hoped the first time he took me would’ve been private—or at least, as private as possible in this hell house. I’d wanted to learn how I’d cope, how he’d cope, how this role-play of ours would evolve.
Guess that wouldn’t happen now.
Everyone is going to see.
And if we mess up…
How would a cop handle hurting the very same person he’d just sworn to protect? Would the darkness inside him take control, or would his righteousness do everything it could to save me?
My heart skipped.
He’s an officer.
The law.
Whatever he does to you is in the name of saving the jewels.
As long as I remembered that…I could handle anything.
Don’t blow your cover.
I held his stare, trying to share telepathic commands.
Don’t be stupid.
Whatever connection existed between us didn’t matter. He couldn’t put my life above the other slaves in this castle. He’d come for them. I was just the key that’d let him in.
Help them.
Whatever it takes.
If Peter only knew who Henri was. How the five years of torture he’d endured were almost over as long as Henri could stay undercover long enough for his squadron to find us.
A pinching question made me frown.
Why weren’t they here yet?
Was it because they couldn’t track Henri?
Was Victor’s scrambling technology strong enough to blind an entire taskforce?
My pulse picked up.
What if they never come?
Licking his lips, Henri canted his head to the side, almost as if he could taste my unravelling. He reminded me of Krish in a way. A horrible but also…comforting way.
I jolted against the pole.
Was that what drew me to Henri? Not because he looked anything like my older brother but because, beneath his carefully kept façade, he felt things far deeply, far more intensely than others?
Sunshine poured over him as he stood with his hands in his short pockets, his shirt straining slightly over his broad chest. Tall and proud, violent and beautiful, he fit into this glen far too perfectly.
Tearing his grey gaze from mine, he chuckled at something one of the men said. He nodded and licked his lips again as if he couldn’t wait for a taste.
So many emotions.
So many moving parts.
This was too much.
Too dangerous.
If Victor hadn’t seen past the ruse and wasn’t going to kill me today…then tomorrow, he might. The longer we played this game, the worse our fates would be.
What if Victor makes Henri kill me?
What if no one comes?