Page 82 of Savior

“Nothing.” I shake my head, but I’m unable to break free of the memories as I continue for the hall. Living nightmares blur my vision. The beatings. The restraints.

“Penny, wait.”

I don’t listen. I reach the hall and turn left into unmarked territory as her quickened footsteps give chase.

“You can’t go in there.” She rushes after me, stalking at my back as I pass door upon door, the wails building. “You don’t want to see what they’re doing.”

I stop before the last door. The one that carries the blissful sounds. “Yes, I do.” I want to see it. Remember it. Breathe it deep.

She squeezes in front of me, blocking my path. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you in there.”

“Are you sure?” I hold her gaze. “Because I thought we finally reached common ground.”

“I’m trying to shield you from what’s happening.”

“And why is it that everyone seems to think they know what’s best for me? First Luca, then Sebastian, now you. I’ve witnessed unimaginable things. Traumatic, disgusting things that will forever be stuck in my head. And yet you think I can’t handle seeing a little torture? That I’m not owed the gift of his suffering?”

She doesn’t answer. Doesn’t move either.

“Get out of my way, Keira.” I nudge closer. “Don’t crack the fragile ground we stand on.”

“God damn it.” She steps to the side.

I push through the door to a soulless exercise room. It takes a few short seconds for another shout to tell me the men must be in the sauna in the far corner.

“Please be careful.” Keira continues to follow. “They won’t want to be disturbed.”

“I don’t care what they want.” I yank open the wooden door to four sets of eyes turning my way. Cole sits on the wooden bench, leaned back, relaxed, while Sebastian and Luca loom over the bloodied man roped to a chair. Otis’s eyes are now swollen and red with his naked chest marked with a hundred tiny cuts.

He’s become unrecognizable in such a short space of time. So beautifully, brutally foreign.

“Can I help you?” Cole raises a brow.

Sebastian steps back from the man in the chair, his knuckles stained with blood. The tight pinch of his face speaks of shame.Myshame. Otis must have told him something.

“What did he say?” I inch farther into the small space.

I get no response. Luca doesn’t look at me. Sebastian turns away. It’s only Torian who pays me attention.

“What did he say?” I ask him. “What did he tell you about me?”

“Does it matter? We’re not here for a history lesson. We’re only interested in shutting down my father’s operation.”

“Cole,” Keira warns. “Don’t be heartless.”

He gives a tight smile. “Forgive me, sister. I assure you he hasn’t said much.”

Not much. But still something.

My heart clenches at the possibilities. I don’t want them knowing. I can’t stand the thought of them having access to the intimate details of my shame. It’s too much. I can’t breathe.

“He’s only talking shit to waste time.” Luca turns to face me, his eyes wild and animalistic. “He may have thought bad-mouthing you was a good idea. I taught him otherwise.”

“What did he say?” I step closer. “What did he tell you?”

His mouth presses into a tight line, his jaw ticking as he wipes sweat from his brow with his forearm. “Nothing helpful.”

“I told them you liked it, bitch,” Otis sneers. “You fucking loved it. We all knew.”

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