Page 165 of Wicked Minds
Holy fuck, how is this happening?
I’m spiraling. Losing any grounding I have as my breathing goes ragged and memories flood my brain, paralyzing me.
“Shut up, bitch,” Ben snarls, grabbing the back of my head and pushing my face into his desk.
Tears stream from my eyes, my vision black as I attempt to fight him off. I hear the rip of my leggings but barely even register it as being real.
“I’ve been dying to sample this cunt since the day you walked in here,” he growls. “Toity bitch thinking you’re better than me. You’re nothing but a cheap whore. You should be begging for my cock.”
“No,” I cry helplessly. “Please don’t.”
“Shut up!” he snarls, only making me cry harder as he fumbles with his pants.
From a far-off place, I hear banging, but I can’t tell if it’s real or in my head as I shut off my senses one by one until I’m back in the protective sphere in my mind. The one I haven’t ventured into since the day Bertram was arrested. The one that was my sanctuary in the dead of night. That enabled me to walk away from that with my sanity somewhat intact.
I’m not so sure I’ll be as lucky this time.
47
GRAYSON
Idrum my fingers against the steering wheel while waiting for Riley to come out. She indicated she’d only be a few minutes, and I check the clock for the tenth time, noting that it’s already been fifteen minutes.
I’ve been scouring the faces of every girl as they left to see if one of them was her, but no one new has come out in a couple of minutes.
Royce told me not to leave her aloneat all.He’ll have my balls if something happens and I’ve been sitting in the fucking car. Starting to grow concerned, I climb out and stride toward the building where the last girl to emerge is waiting.
“Have you seen Riley?” I ask as a cab pulls into the lot and stops in front of her.
She looks up at me before glancing back toward the building. “Uh, yeah. Ben called her into his office as we were leaving.”
My lips thin as everything within me goes on high alert.
“He sounded angry,” she admits.
Fuck.
Without listening to another word, I turn away from her, jogging up the side of the building where the girls all came from.
“Fuck,” I hiss when I come to a steel door. It’s one of those that can only be opened from the inside. All I can do is bang my fist against it. When no one comes to open it, I press my ear to the door, hoping I can hear something from inside, but all I get is silence.
“Hey!” I yell, banging on it harder. “Riley! Someone open the door!”
With each passing second, my heart rate skyrockets and my stomach twists with unease. Something isn’t right here. Royce warned me about Ben, but I didn’t think he’d actually try something. Not on my watch.On the one fucking night Royce asks me to look after her.
Hearing the sound of a car out in the lot, I run around to the front of the building in time for a girl I vaguely recognize from earlier to climb out. She jogs around the front of the door, muttering to herself, but stops when she sees me, gaze snapping to mine as it narrows.
“You’re Grayson, right? What are you still doing here?”
Okay, she obviously knows me, so she must be friendly with Riley.
“Riley’s still in there. I can’t get in.”
She must see the panic in my face as she doesn’t question me as she gestures for me to follow her. “He probably asked her to stay late and help clean up,” she explains as she inserts the key.
Except the faint cry I hear when she opens the door tells me he hasn’t kept her late for work.
Practically shoving the girl aside, I race through the darkened club, following the sounds of distress as they grow louder. Reaching what appears to be an office, I come to a stop in the doorway, my stomach dropping at the sight before me.
