Page 45 of Our Little Dove

As I squint into the red-hued shadows, the figure slumped against the wall stirs. Fintan. It’s Fintan, his features barely visible in the dim light save for his white hair.

“Fintan,” I whisper urgently, my voice barely above a hoarse breath. “Fintan, are you okay?”

He groans, trying to sit up but the chains binding him clatter loudly, restricting his movements. His eyes finally find mine as we adjust to our surroundings.

“What happened?” I rasp. “How the fuck did we get here?”

I shake my head, feeling a chill run down my spine as I try to recall where I was before waking up here. We are chained in this twisted dungeon-like basement, and I have no idea how we got here or who brought us.

Fintan clears his throat and lets out an amused sigh. “Guess, brother.”

“What? If you know something, spit it out!” I growl in frustration, trying to break the chains that bind my wrists. It’s no use. They won’t budge.

“Think, Kieran, who would take us to a place that looks so much like ours? Who was the last person to see our fucking playroom?”

I stop struggling in my bonds as I tear apart his words in my mind, trying to make sense of it.

“Alex?” I finally say.

“Ding, ding, ding! I came out to look for you at the club and she jumped me. You were already out cold when I got there. You don’t remember seeing her?” He asks.

“I… I remember her being there. She left soon after we got to the club, but everything after that is a blur,” I admit, my mind reeling. “She kidnapped us?”

Fintan lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “Looks like our little Dove has planned this for quite some time. Perhaps she wanted her masters to make her feel good on her terms.”

My mind racing with possibilities as I survey our surroundings. The cold metal of the chains dig into my wrists, a constant reminder of our captivity.

Suddenly, a noise from above startles us both—The distinct sound of a lock clicking followed by footsteps that echo down the stairs leading into the basement.

The basement door creaks open. Her footsteps grow closer as she descends the stairs until she comes into view. My breath catches in my throat as I strain to make out the familiar silhouette.

“Come to check on us, little Dove?” Fintan spits, his tone filled with amusement and annoyance.

She steps closer, the red hues illuminating a sinister smile playing on her lips.

“Welcome to your new cage, pets,” she chimes.

“What are you doing, little Dove?” my voice coming out playful, yet lethal as I yank on the chains that bind me to the cold floor.

“What? You mean you don’t want to play,masters?” She asks. Her sarcasm is pissing me off. Kieran’s chains scrape against the concrete as he tries to move into a more comfortable position.

I let out a dangerous chuckle. Kieran remains silent and I feel his anxiety from here. He doesn’t do well with restraints. Neither of us do. Flashes of our past flood my mind and all I see is red.

“You think you can just swap our roles? You think you can do what we do? Oh baby, you are playing with fire,” I spit, feeling rage boil within me.

She remains silent but a slow amused smirk tugs at her lips as she looks down on me. I recognize the fire in her eyes. The hatred. The pain. The unmistakable lust for revenge.

I know that look well, we’ve been wearing it like armor for years.

What set her off? Knowing that her kidnapping was real?

The texts? The video?

“Some people are born predators, and the rest are prey. You, little Dove, areourplaything. You are outnumbered. You belong to us and that won’t change.”

She laughs, the sound so sweet and yet it disgusts me. I want to sink my teeth into her throat and bleed her dry.

“Is that so? Well, pet, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not the one chained inyourbasement this time,” she mocks as she walks over to Kieran. “My memories might be fuzzy from that night, but I think I did a pretty great fucking job modeling this place after your sick playroom, don’t you think?”

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