After a few long moments of silence, I started to fall back asleep. I don’t think Michael did though. I think he stayed awake and thought about all the ways that we would end the bastard son of our one worst parents, and in doing so, finally put those other monsters from our past to rest as well.

And to be honest, I dreamt about the ways I could have killed David with my own two hands had I thought I could take him.

2

When we all woke up again, in what I guess we assumed to be morning since there was no way to really tell in here, being inside the stone room started to bother me almost immediately. I woke up with a start, in the dark, and felt like I was suffocating.

“You’re okay Lisette,” Adam said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.

My heart was beating wildly out of control. I needed to get out of here, I couldn’t cope with it anymore. As much as the three of them tried to calm me and hold me and tell me I was okay, I didn’t feel okay at all. I couldn’t breathe or swallow, and I felt like I was going to choke up my heart.

Julian started pounding on the door to get the attention of the guards.

“Open the door, she’s not well!” he shouted over and over again, until finally the door opened, and someone stepped inside.

All four of us cowered in the shadows of the dark corners to avoid the glaring sun, and I imagined we looked like cockroaches scurrying away from the light after the rock they were hiding beneath is lifted.

“Bring them out,” David’s voice said.

I strained to see the shoes of the man who had stepped into the room. I could just barely make out the shiny Italian leather and knew that they belonged to David. In my mind the treads on the bottom of the soles were filled with the crushed bodies of insects.

He had brought a small battalion of security guards with him this time, and each of us got an escort on each arm again. One of these days it wouldn’t be enough. One of these days it would take twenty guards to prevent Michael from tearing David’s head from his shoulders. We walked with the guards behind Michael into one of the old and empty dormitory buildings.

Dead silent, except for our feet dragging along the floor as we tried to slow up as much as possible.

“This is where you will stay,” David said to us.

I stared at him blankly as he clasped his hands behind his back and continued. “For now, at least. You have this floor all to yourselves, although I imagine you will all end up cohabitating in the same room like the pack of mongrels that you are. There are showers, bathrooms, and even a kitchen area stocked with food. Hell, there’s even a library on this floor if you find yourself wanting to do some light reading. Just be aware that all of the exits on this floor are heavily guarded, and should you try to leave, my guards have been given the order to shoot and kill you on sight.”

Julian clicked his tongue. “Uh, okay. But, why are you putting us here in a dormitory full of food and conveniences instead of keeping us in that stone box?”

“Would you prefer to go back in the box?” David asked with a sarcastic grin on his face.

Julian shrugged. “I guess my answer should be ‘no’.”

David pinned him with a glare. “Well then shut up, shower, wipe your asses, and be grateful that I haven’t decided to kill you yet.”

Then, as quickly as he dragged us all up here, David turned and left. And all of the guards followed him out to be stationed at the outside of each entry point to the floor like the pack of dogs they had been trained to be.

“I don’t get it,” Julian said to the other two guys after David had vanished. “What’s his agenda? Why move us here as if we’re his guests instead of his prisoners now?”

“I don’t know,” Adam answered with a shake of his head. “But I’m sure he has a reason and I’m sure it’s a bad one.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Michael said curtly. “It’s better than being in that stone room. Lisette couldn’t have taken it in there much longer.”

I felt like my knees were about to buckle beneath me and Adam caught me just as they were about to fold. He carried me over to the bed and laid me down. I spread all the way out and felt how good it was to be able to stretch my arms and legs as far as they would go and not have them bump into any walls. The guys sat around me and talked in whispers in the dorm room while they let me have the entire bed to myself and finally get a solid and dreamless sleep.

But when I woke up, my nightmares seemed to have turned into the starkest reality I’d ever witnessed.

I stared up at the ceiling as I listened to my boys sleep and snore around me. Michael had himself spread out on the floor, as if he were some sort of lap dog. Julian sat perched in a corner with his head slumped over near the door, possibly listening out for things. And Adam? Well, Adam sat in a chair just beyond the top of my head, acting as a watch dog for anyone who came through that fucking door.

And as I eased myself up, the desperate need for a shower slapped me across the face.

I tiptoed out of the bedroom, trying not to wake the men that had captured my heart as I meandered around until I found the bathroom. It was one of those shared, co-ed bathrooms with multiple stalls, showers, and sinks. I saw toiletry bags with our names on them; red for Michael, orange for Julian, black for Adam, and pink for me.

“Ugh, he really doesn’t know me at all,” I murmured.

Still, I snatched up the pink bag and walked over to where plush towels hung near each shower stall. And I noticed that each shower stall also had a fuzzy robe hanging up. Each of the robes matched the colors of the toiletry bags set out for us, but I’d be damned if I was caught in some sort of fluffy, pink-ass robe.

So, I snatched up Adam’s black robe and made my way into the shower.

The hot water felt amazing after I was able to get some rest. I stood under the shower head for what seemed like hours, letting the heat chase away the chill that had settled into my bones from sitting on the cold stone ground for days. My order of priority had been sleep, shower, then food. And as I wound down the steam-laced waterfall before drying myself off, my thoughts turned to the kitchen David mentioned. The guys were being awesome about giving me time and space while I attempted a bit of self-care, and David and his lackeys had left us alone since we had gotten here which was absolutely the best part of all.

So, why not cook the boys up something nice?

When I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and went into one of the dorm rooms to dig around for some clothes. It was weird how this dormitory seemed like it was still being lived in, but none of the people were here. It was as if the residents had just suddenly been shuffled off somewhere without taking any of their stuff with them. It worked out well for me though, since I needed a clean change of clothes. And after a bit of rummaging through drawers and closets, I was able to put an outfit together that was relatively my size.

The jogger pants were a bit too big, but they had a drawstring that I just cinched around my waist to make them fit. However, I would have rather be shirtless than wear a Lineage shirt, so I ended up finding a guy’s white T-shirt instead that worked just fine and was soft enough to sleep in. After I was dressed and had run a quick towel through my hair, I walked around the floor a bit in search of the guys. I wanted to ask them what they wanted to eat before I started cooking.

However, I found them gathered in the little kitchen area cooking food and pouring drinks.

“Wow,” I said when I walked in. “There’s even alcohol? Top notch, this place is.”

Adam laughed at my sarcasm, although I was being partially serious because I felt like I could drink a whole bottle of wine if it would help me forget about the last few days. Julian poured me a glass and handed it to me as I sat down with them.

“There’s enough food in here to last a month,” Julian said as he clinked his glass against mine.

“What are we toasting to?” I asked. “We are still imprisoned here; we’ve just moved up to a fancier jail cell.”

“Well then that’s what we’re toasting,” he said. “To a fancier jail cell.”

Adam laughed and raised his glass before he sloshed the drink down his throat.

“He’s not wrong,” Michael said. “Just being here instead of in that room is a step in the right direction.”

I sipped my wine. “Are we throwing out ideas yet about why David moved us here?”

“Sure,” Michael replied. “Go for it.”

I licked my lips and leaned back in my chair. “Okay, I think he wants us to work for him.”

“All of us?” Adam asked.

“Yep,” I nodded. “I think that he’s going to keep Michael and I alive because in his sick and twisted little mind he considers the two of us to be family. And he’s not going to kill you or Julian because he knows it would just fuel our revenge against him. So, I think that the only thing David sees as a potential solution to us still breathing is forcing us to work for him.”

“And if we don’t?” Julian said.