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Myeyelid twitches asMarksnickers.

Ah.

So,Robertis having an affair.NowonderIhaven’t had to suffer his attentions in that particular manner recently.Robertisn’t old per se, but he is in his late fifties.Hisstamina isn’t what it once used to be.Whichis completely fine with me.Morethan fine if the truth must be told.Irefocus on the conversation going on around me asRobertandMarkboth stand and shake hands.

“Ishouldn’t be more than an hour, possibly two,Mark.Feelfree to enjoy yourself.Rowanwill satisfy your every need.Won’tyou,Rowan?”

Theimplied threat in his words is blatant.

“Yes, husband.Itwill be as you say.”

Mymeekly uttered words must pacify him, andIwatch asRobertconfidently strides out the door, slamming it shut behind him.Thecrash of the door makes me flinch, which causesMarkto snicker.Ibrace myself asMarkturns his full attention to me.

“Hello, pet.Let’shave some fun, shall we?”

ChapterFive

ROWAN

Think,Rowan.THINK!

WhatdoItellMarkthat will be convincing enough to let me out of the room?

Rubyis here;Ican feel it.Growingup together, and only having one another to rely on created a deeper connection than most siblings.That’showIknow she’s here, andI’mout of time.

JustasMarkreaches for me, inspiration strikes.Pervertthat he is,Markwill use every orifice on my body.However, he’s extremely particular about how a womanpreparesherself for his attentions.Onestray pubic hair, bad breath, or a less than scrupulously clean anal cavity and he gags.Youmight even say that he has an overactive gag reflex.Hisweak stomach might be my only opportunity to escape this hell.Gatheringwhat little courageIhave left,Ispeak out of turn, stopping him in his tracks.

“Mark, before we begin,Ido have to warn you.Iwasn’t able to attend to all the housekeepingchoresyou prefer.Iwasn’t informed you would be one of this evening’s guests.Ifyou wish to take me … everywhere,Ineed to go to the bathroom and clean up.”

Thedisgust that comes over his face at my words makes a warm sort of excitement rise in my chest.He’sgoing to buy it!TheythinkI’mso broken thatIwill acquiesce to whatever they want.Nomatter how vile and depraved.

“Ugghh!Whata disgusting little bitch.Youknow better than to skip any of the required tasksRobertassigns you before his little get togethers.You’relucky it’s me here instead of him.Thesight of blood does nothing for me, soIwon’t punish you the wayRobertwill when he learns of this.Well, don’t just stand there staring at me like a simpleton.Hurrythe fuck up and get the rest of your personal grooming done and come right back here.Youhave fifteen minutes beforeIcome looking for you, andIassure you, you don’t want that.”

Hiswords end in a threatening hiss, andIdon’t delay in nodding my understanding asIskitter past him to make my escape out the door.Ihave to force myself to move normally afterIleave the den of horrors.Roberthas cameras everywhere in this part of the house, soIcan’t make a mistake now.Heenjoys watching anything and everyone in what he sees as his dominion.Walkingunhurriedly,Imake it to our personal wing and enter the bedroom.

AfterIpass the threshold of the doorway,Ibecome a flurry of motion.Idon’t have to worry aboutRobertseeing me in here.Hewould never chance hispreferencesbeing on a hard drive somewhere that some unknown enemy could hack.Aquick glance at the clock on the bedside table shows six o’clock.Itcouldn’t have taken me longer than a minute or two to get here, soIhave a small window of time left.Dartinginto the bathroom,Ihead towards the little room the toilet is in.Shuttingthe door behind me,Iflick the lock into place and, as silently as possible, retrieve the blue bag from behind the toilet.

Ina tiny fit of rebellion,Irip the disgusting excuse of a dress from my body and fling it on the floor.Iwould rather die.Iwill never wear something like this ever again.Rapidly,Isnatch the clothing from the blue bag and pull it over my emaciated body, ignoring the delicate chains that connect my piercings asIdo so.Thereisn’t anythingIcan do about them right now.Thechains are small and fine, but they’re still chains.Thefact that they’re connected with a tiny, bejeweled lock is just the icing on the cake.

Oncedressed,Islide my feet into the flatsI’vepacked.They’renot much, but they’re better than nothing.Reachingdown,Iopen the ugly little toilet paper cabinet and grab the black bag out.Myeyes fall on the blue bagIhid my clothes in.Ican’t leave that there for anyone to find, soIroll it up, unzip the pocket on the black duffle bag and shove it inside.Iturn around and lean against the door, pressing my ear to it, straining to hear ifMarkfollowed me.Ifhe’s outside this door waiting for me …I’mgoing to die.

Anxietyfills me asIclick the lock and slowly ease the door open.Onlyto find the bathroom completely empty.Aheavy sigh of relief escapes me.

Iconquered my second hurdle of the evening.

Asstealthily as possible,Icreep out of the bathroom and to the bedroom window.I’venever been more thankful thatIdon’t live in a multi-storey house thanIam right now.Loopingthe handles of the black bag over my shoulder,Islide the latch open on the window furthest from the bedroom door, praying to whatever god is listening that it won’t make any noise.

I’venever dared to open a window, soIhave no idea if the tracks have been oiled or not.It’ssomethingRobertwould do to make sure any window in this bedroom was easily heard if it were opened without his knowledge.Idon’t breathe asIwrap my fingers under the bottom of the window frame and push up.Tomy relief, it doesn’t make a sound.

Raisingone leg,Istick it through the opening, making sureIdon’t knock my head or elbows on the frame asIbend my torso.Isuppress a wince as my body protests this particular movement.

OnceI’moutside,Ireach up and pull the window closed, forcing myself to move slowly and methodically.Ican’t afford to lose my shit right now, no matter how badlyIwant to.NotwhenI’mthis close to my freedom.

Glancingdown at my phone,Ipress my thumb on the home button to open the screen.Thedot showsRuby’slocation just a short distance from the front gate, and the time is 6:08pm.

Perfect.

Thisis going to work.Ithas to!Maybethere is aGodafter all because she’s parked right in the area where there’s a slight break in the wall.It’sa miracle none of the guards have ever found it, and the only reasonIknow about it is becauseI’mallowed to wander around the grounds on days thatRobert’sin a good mood.Myonly solace these last couple of years has been whatI’vemanaged to find in nature.Treesand ornamental bushes flank the exterior fence along its entire length.It’smeant to look fancy, and it does, but it’s also designed as a way to make it hard to sneak onto the property.