Corrupt - Douglas Penelope. Страница 63

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded. “What do you want?”

“Why are we doing this?” Will mocked in my voice.

And then they all joined in.

“Why are we doing this?”

“I don’t know. Why are we doing this?” Damon laughed.

And then I screamed as Will launched me forward into his arms. At least, I think they were his.

Damon caught me and pressed his body into mine, pawing my ass with his hands.

I planted my hands on his chest and tried to straighten my arms, grunting and choking on my breaths as I tried to push myself away from him.

“Get off me!” I shouted, my face burning with rage.

But he spun me around and shoved me into another set of arms. I stumbled in the darkness, lightheaded and losing my balance.

The new guy wrapped his arms around me, and I clutched his sweatshirt to stabilize myself. Acid bile rising in my throat.

“What?!” I choked out, trying to keep the fucking tears at bay. “What do you want from me?”

“What do you want from me?” Kai mocked, followed by the others.

“What do you want from me?”

And then I was shoved away again, another set of arms catching me.

“Stop it!” I yelled, and I raised my arm, coming down and catching him on the side of his mask.

“Oh, she’s got some spit and fire,” Will teased and pushed me to someone else.

My legs went limp, and I broke. Sobbing, I buried my hands in my hair on the side of my head and curled my fingers, my nails scraping against my scalp so hard my skin stung.

I threw my head back. “Michael!”

“Michael?” someone called after me.

And then someone else sing-songed, “Michael, where are youuuu?”

“Mi-chael!” the third one rang out, their voice echoing up the stairs and down the hall.

“I don’t think he’s coming!”

“Or he’s already here!” Will taunted.

“Stop it!” I raged. “Why are you doing this?”

A head nudged my ear, making me jerk. “Payback,” he said in a hard whisper.

“A little revenge,” Will added.

“And restitution for time served,” Kai finished.

Tears streamed down my face. What were they talking about?

Where was Michael?

But then someone grabbed my hips from behind and pulled me into him, his arms circling my waist.

“You belong to us, Rika,” he breathed out in my ear. “That’s what’s happening.”

My eyes widened, and fire spread through my stomach as despair set in.

It was Michael’s voice. No.

“You’re Horsemen property now,” I heard Kai say, “and if you want to have money to eat, you’ll be just as nice to us as you were to Michael last weekend.”

“He said you were a halfway decent fuck,” Damon chimed in, “but we’ll get you up to par.”

“With some training!” Will boasted, sick amusement in his voice.

“But you won’t like it,” Kai growled next to me. “I promise you that.”

“And if you want college money—or rent money—” Damon threatened, “well then, you better be especially pleasing.”

I hunched forward, feeling sick. I wanted to drop.

What the fuck?

“Hey, what are we supposed to do when we get tired of her?” Will asked somewhere to my right. “We can’t pay her for nothing, can we?”

“Of course not.”

“I guess we can just pass her around,” Will suggested. “We’ve got friends.”

“Yeah, shit,” Damon interjected. “My father loves the young ones.”

“He used to give you his sloppy seconds,” Kai joked. “Now you can return the favor.”

Michael’s arms tightened around me, and I heaved, trying to clench my stomach to push back down the vomit.

I raised my forearm, clutching the handle of the dagger.

“Come on, Rika,” someone growled, grabbing me by the arms.

And I cried out as I was thrown across the floor, my shoulder hitting the hard marble and the wind knocked out of me.

“Damon!” I heard a deep voice growl.

My face was wet, both of my shoes were gone, and I coughed and sputtered as I struggled to turn over and see what was happening.

But a large body came down on top of me, and I fumbled, trying to push him away and crawl backward.

But he had me. His mouth was in my neck, and his hand was under my ass as he grinded into me.

“You knew this was going to happen between us,” Damon breathed out, biting my ear as he tried to pry open my legs with his other hand. “Open up, baby.”

I screamed, my throat aching raw as I bellowed with everything I had.

I shot my arms up over us, went straight for my dagger, and ripped it off my arm. Bringing it down to my side, I lurched it forward and dug it into his body, on the side of his torso.

“Oh, shit!” he howled, pulling his hands immediately off me and launching backward. “Shit! Fuck! She stabbed me!”

I scurried away, my legs and hands going as fast as they could to get away from them. The blade fell out of my fingers, and my shirt was hanging down my arms, leaving me in my tank top. I spun around and got to my feet.

And ran.

I didn’t look back, and I didn’t hesitate. I raced through the house, entered the solarium, and threw open the doors, diving out into the night. My heart hammered in my chest so hard it hurt, and I felt eyes on me as I hit the grass and bolted across the vast backyard and through the trees.

Something wet coated my shirt, but I didn’t have to look down to know it was blood.

Droplets of rain hit my skin, my feet slid on the wet grass, and I fell to my knees a couple of times as I bolted. I had no idea where the hell I was going.

My mother was in danger, and I had no money. Who did I have to turn to?

The garden shed appeared ahead, and I slowed, suddenly feeling despair take everything I had left.

My mother.

They had an endless amount of money and power to hide this. There were no videos of their deeds this time to get them arrested.

I’d never find my mom, and I’d never get everything my dad left me back. Michael didn’t care about his father or Trevor. He wouldn’t listen to them when they eventually came back, and by that time, it might be too late for my mom.

I had nowhere to go. There was no one to help me.

Running my hands up and down my face, I wiped away the tears, wanting to scream in anger.

What was I supposed to do? Find a phone and call Noah? The only person I could probably reach?

And then what? Where would I go? How would I find my mom?

There was no one to help me.

There was no one to help me but me. You’re not a victim, his words came back, and I’m not your savior.

I turned around, looking back at the house and seeing the lights inside slowly come on. They were in there.

And once…I was one of them. Once, I ran with them, kept up with them, and stood next to them. I wasn’t their victim, and I had their attention. I’d learned how to fight.

This was on me, and while I wouldn’t make it easy for them, I wouldn’t run.

I would never run.

I was built for this.

Present

“FUCK!” DAMON GROWLED. “I thought you checked her, man!”

“Just get in the kitchen!” Kai barked. “Goddamn it.”

I stood on the upstairs landing, my arms crossed over my chest and my white mask sitting on the small table next me. I looked out the window over the large lawn, watching the small wooden building buried in the trees.

She was there.

I knew she wouldn’t go far. Rika was a smart girl. She was scared and in survival mode, but she wasn’t stupid.

After she’d fled, we’d grabbed Damon off the floor and sat him on a chair. I’d raised the shutters to let in the moonlight again, and then I’d gone upstairs to watch her run.