Page 53 of The Boy I Loved
When he sat his drink down again, he leaned back in the chair supporting his weight. “I was in love once,” he admitted with a soft chuckle, his eyes growing distant as he reflected. “You never met your aunt, but you had one.”
I wasn’t in the mood for another one of his substance-induced stories. I was tired. Most people had loved in their lifetime, but that didn’t make him special. That was what Clay had told Anya. She wasn’t special because she had a family. He still forced her to come here, still forced me to rape her, and then killed her when it was all said and done.
“Her name was Elizabeth. My, she was beautiful. Innocent, too,” he continued with a fond smile.
“What happened to her?” I asked, only slightly intrigued. I didn’t know much about my uncle, and under different circumstances, I might have been more eager to learn more of his upbringing—to know why he was the way he was—but my vision was fuzzy, fading in and out as exhaustion threatened to drown me.
“We were arranged to be married when she fell pregnant,” he explained, avoiding my question. “Back then, a pregnant woman who wasn’t wed was considered taboo. So, we got married within weeks of learning about the pregnancy.”
My eyebrows dipped in confusion. “So … I have a cousin?” I asked.
“Not exactly. Things between Liz and I were fine for a while. We were excited to bring our child into the world and begin our life together. We even started picking out names—Marcy, if it was a girl, and Dustin, if it was a boy.” He blew out a breath and reached for his whiskey again. This time, his hand trembled around the glass. “She ended up miscarrying. We were both devastated. I found solace in partying, drinking, doing drugs. Hell, I was doing anything that helped take the pain away, even if it was only for a little while.”
That sounded oddly familiar, and I hated that we could relate in any way, shape, or form. Clay was the kind of man that nightmares were made of.
“A man found me. He welcomed me with open arms and opened a new door of endless possibilities. He taught me everything I know now. He is why—” He spread his arms wide, motioning around the small office. “This place exists.”
He said it with so much pride and honor that it made my stomach twist with disgust. How could he possibly think a place like this was made of anything good? He washurtingpeople—stripping them away from their homes and families, forcing them to do things they didn’t want to do, and even going as far as killing them when they didn’t act the way he wanted them to.
“In this line of work, you have to show your complete and utter loyalty. The price of mine was Elizabeth,” he hedged. “I took her to the compound and left her there. She was later sold to a wealthy man and committed suicide by jumping off the terrace.”
My breathing had grown uneven, and I couldn’t tell if that was the result of his story or if it was simply my lack of sleep. “Why are you telling me this?” I muttered under my breath.
“Because, Dominic. You haven’t paid your dues. I promised that Alice would remain untouched, and I’m not anything if not a man of my word. To cut this little conversation short, let me be frank.”
My pulse roared through my ears, and my heart kicked into overdrive. I didn’t know what he was going to say next, but something told me it wasn’t good. Sacrifices or prices werenevergood, not when they came from Clay.
“It wasn’t Tory Briggs we took,” he said at last. “It was Hazel Montgomery.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HAZEL
I’d never felt so violatedin my life. The doctor probed and stuck invasive equipment inside of me, digging around in there and collecting samples. Oddly enough, the man had been completely professional and didn’t touch me longer than he needed to. Thank God for small miracles, I suppose.
Afterwards, I was ushered to lunch. It was the same mundane bullshit as this morning. Nobody so much as paid me an ounce of attention. I’d eaten in silence and was forced back to my cell when it was all said and done. I only knew it was the same day because of mealtimes and because of Mason’s final words to me during breakfast about my upcoming doctor’s visit.
The cold wall pressed against my back as I stared off into the distance. Was this what I had to look forward to? Eating horrible food, being probed by doctors, waiting for it to be my turn to get fucked by a nameless stranger? It was bound to happen at some point.
A hiss sliced through my thoughts and my head immediately whipped in the direction I’d heard it. The lights were on at this point, but I’d tried my hardest not to stare at the other girls. I didn’twant them to feel anymore ashamed than they did—especially when they were forced to be naked. Luckily, my clothes hadn’t been confiscated yet, but the time would come, I was sure.
The girl was too far away for me to make out her features, but she had dark hair and was all skin and bones.
“It is you,” she whispered through the shadows with a heavy sigh.
A crease formed between my brows, curiosity niggling at the back of my mind. On shaky legs, I rose, planting my bare feet against the cold, hard floor.
“Do I know you?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I crept closer to the right where her voice was coming from.
Her bony fingers curled around the bars, and she bowed her head forward, dark strands cascading around her like a waterfall of doom. “It’s Stacy.”
My knees buckled and I had to snap my arm out, resting my hand against the bars so I didn’t fall on my ass. “Is Lauren here, too?” I asked with a shaky breath.
“She is. She’s two cells from mine.”
“T-they can’t get away with this,” I stammered, a sob catching in my throat. “The cops are out looking for you and Lauren. Soon, they’ll be looking for me, too.”
A guard chose that moment to walk by, his eyes scanning over me briefly. If he was concerned with my new position in the cell, he didn’t show it. He probably didn’t view me conversing with Stacy as much of a threat. It wasn’t like two small girls could take a loaded man anyway. His gaze trailed over my body, but he kept moving.
