Stay(29)

I pulled my shoulders back and took a breath. I wanted to scream and throw shit and watch it break. I pressed my hands onto my eyes and screamed in frustration.

Something clattered to the floor above me. I removed my hands and blinked. My vision was cloudy with dark spots from the pressure of my hands. I shook my head, huffed, and sank down on my cot. The air was humid and sticky, yet I shivered. I pulled the quilt over my bare arms, the rough fabric itching my skin. I closed my eyes and prayed for the safety of my family and friends.

I couldn't remember the last thing I had said to my mother before I was taken. I had seen her the night before the Pride Parade. I was sitting on the porch, deep into my book. She came home late from teaching a class at the gallery and was startled to see me huddled under a thin blanket, swatting mosquitoes and squinting in the yellow porch light with my book just inches from my face. She told me to come inside and talk with her. I said I would when I reached the end of the chapter I was on. Four chapters later and by the time I was sick of getting eaten alive by flying bloodsuckers, she had already gone to bed. The guilt was like acid in my stomach.

I angrily wiped away tears and lay down, curling my legs up to my chest. The grand finale of the firework show boomed and flashed with fury in the night sky. Scarlet hated fireworks, and I hated that I wasn't there to comfort my dog. The tears began to fall faster. I squeezed my eyes shut so tight they hurt, and I cried myself to sleep.

***

Heels clomped down the basement stairs, pulling me from the gray sleep I drifted in and out of all day. Lily and Phoebe trudged over, collapsing on their cots. I pushed myself up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, glad the girls were back.

"Are you okay?" I looked at Lily, who was walking as if she was sore.

"Define okay," she grumbled. "I got the shit fucked out of me."

My heart fluttered, and abhorrence flooded my veins. Heat rushed to my cheeks, speckling them with red. “Where were you?"

"Yacht party," Phoebe said.

"Yacht party?" I echoed. "We're in Iowa."

"It was just a big houseboat," Lily corrected. "On a lake a few hours from here. Nothing spectacular." She used her feet to push off her yellow heels and lay down. "It was hot, the lake smelled like fish, and the boat's air conditioning stopped working like halfway through our trip."

"So many people," Phoebe complained. "Nonstop work."

Horrified and at a loss for words, I looked at Phoebe. The thought of being stuck on a boat in the middle of a lake with multiple clients made me sick to my stomach. Would I eventually be forced to do the same thing? Phoebe began unclipping hair extensions. I noticed she was wearing false eyelashes as well. "Where is Rochelle?"#p#分页标题#e#

"With Zane," Lily mumbled.

"What?" I leaned back with shock.

"They're kind of a thing," she explained.

"No," Phoebe interjected. "He use her."

"Not all the time.” Lily yawned. "He says he likes her."

"And I can say a lot of things," Phoebe spat. "Doesn't mean true."

"Whatever.” Lily flipped her hand in the air. "He can be sweet sometimes. Plus he's hot. She's lucky."

Phoebe looked at me and shook her head. "She don't get it," she mouthed to me.

I nodded in agreement, knowing there was nothing sweet about Zane.

"I'm tired," she said with a yawn. "Go to sleep now."

My eyebrows pushed together and I looked at Lily. What the hell would make her think Zane was sweet? I couldn’t refute the fact that he was hot. He had a smile that could literally charm the pants off of almost every woman he met. Zane was nothing but a cold-hearted psychopath.

The basement door opened, bumping into the wall. The scent of his cologne made my skin crawl. Think of the devil, and he shall appear. Looking sleek and sexy dressed in all black, Zane slid around the corner. His tantalizing, blue eyes flitted around the room and settled on me.

"Hello, Adeline," he said, his voice smooth and deep, making me want to puke. He flashed a smile. I glowered at him, waiting for his eyes to turn back as he revealed himself as the demon he really was. "Time for work."

"Work?" I asked, my voice dying in my throat. I had stepped backwards off of a sharp cliff and was falling down, down, down, ripping through frozen clouds. Sharp icicles tore into my flesh. "It's the afternoon," I blurted.

Zane laughed. "So?" He moved with cat-like grace across the floor. "Get dressed. Nothing too flashy. You're going into the city."

"I am?" Something other than fear ran through me. I wasn't sure just what city he was referring to, but there was one thing all cities had in common: people. Lots and lots of people. This was my chance! All I had to do was run, scream, or make a scene and someone would come to my aid. But would I be putting my family at risk? No, I had to try, right? I could get to the police before Zane or Nate could get to my house.