‘Pray for salvation.’
My forehead rested against the cage as I dropped down to my knees. But I couldn’t bring myself to clasp my hands together. My fingers were so tightly wrapped around the bars that I could feel the blood drain from my knuckles. Once upon a time, I believed in the fairy tales of a benevolent being watching over humanity. Every night, I asked him to protect my family. Those prayers were answered in a cold bathroom at a church picnic.
No one came to save me. No one cared when I told my father what happened because there was no one to care…no one but Trina. Prayer didn’t do anything but fill naive minds with fantasies and illusions. The only devils people had to worry about were the ones walking the streets. That was whom I had to protect my sister from, humans like Preston.
The entire time I watched Preston and Trina interact, I was on pins and needles.
What were they saying?
I couldn’t hear anything but my heart beating.
When she turned to leave, apparently unscathed, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding. Then the screen shut off seconds after her hand wrapped around the doorknob.
I wanted to scream. Did she make it out? Or did Preston grab her before she could? Was my sister another prisoner in this place?
No! I refused to let my fate determine Trina’s. If Trina were here, I would get her out, no matter what it cost me.
Footsteps never sounded more menacing than the ones echoing up the stairs outside my gilded cage.
It was incredibly hard to unfurl my fingers from the bars and stand up. I missed the cool metal pressing against my palm. Somehow it grounded me because if I had something to hold onto, I wouldn’t be exposed to the darkness trying to creep into my soul.
The first thing I noticed when Preston walked in was the smirk on his face. Like every other expression he wore, it was wrong and disturbing. Unfortunately, a part of me liked the crooked way his mouth lifted.
“Enjoy the show, Little Bird?”
I knew I shouldn’t engage in his taunt, but I couldn’t help myself. “Where’s my sister?”
Trina was all that mattered now.
Preston tipped his head and said, “She left.”
Bullshit. Men like Preston were all about keeping the advantage. He would never let her walk out of this house.
“If I can’t lie to you, then you can’t lie to me.” Fair was fair, after all.
His brow rose. “So when it suits you, lying is a problem?”
“I never…you can’t…” Had I lied to him? Yes, but… “You kidnaped me!”
What the hell did he expect? That I’d bare all my secrets to him. My closest friends didn’t know my secrets, a thought that suddenly made me sad. Riley and Shelby grew up with us. I loved them with all my heart, and I couldn’t let them in, and Tico…he died never knowing the real me because I was too afraid of getting hurt.
If I could’ve trusted them just a little…
“True, I did kidnap you.” Three steps. That was all it took for Preston to close the distance. “But I’ve never lied to you.”
He just did—no more hiding. The time for fake glasses was over. If I was going to save my sister, I had to do exactly what Preston said. I had to be myself.
Rolling my shoulders back, I stood up straight and demanded, “Where. Is. My. Sister?”
Preston’s nostrils flared as he growled, “There she is.”
That’s right, asshole. The real Marnie is here, and she’s ready to play.
“All right.” His head tipped in a slight nod. “Someone you care about is in this house. I will admit that.”
“I want to see her.”
“I didn’t say it was a ‘her.’”
