Page 25 of Colton

I lead them deeper into the hidden passages from her room, my heart pounding in sync with the footsteps drawing closer. I make sure Emilia is at the back, just in case I have to kick her down as bait to slow them down.

“Colton, wait!” Mary’s voice trembles as she struggles to keep up. “What if we can’t get out?”

“Then we’re fucked,” I admit, dragging my hand down my face.

“What?!” Mary hisses, smacking me on the arm.

I stare down at the mark she’s left, my lips tilting. “Oh, darling. You shouldn’t have.”

The footsteps grow louder, almost mocking. Moving like vultures, the men start to spread out, searching for their prey. I press the three of us closer into the shadows, my eyes scanning frantically for an escape route as I feel Mary’s anxious breathing beside me.

There!

So hidden in the shadows, I almost missed the door that indicates the end of the line. It opens close to the woods at the rear of the manor.

“Colton,” Mary whispers, eyes wide, fear creeping into her voice.

I glance over at Emilia and sigh. I could throw her out, give us time to run. Then Father will be distracted...

It’s not the best idea, but it’s all I’ve got.

Mary will hate me for it.

So? She’ll be yours then. Only yours.

“Emilia, stay here,” I command the naked girl as she stares up at me, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Mary scowls at me, but I grab her arm, yanking her after me. “Mary, we need to split up. Emilia, good luck.”

“But...” Emilia chokes as I lift Mary into my arms, her fists battering my back as I run into the woods that surround the estate.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” I tell her as I set her down. I lean down to scoop a stray rock, turning and aiming at Emilia's hiding place. “But my concern is you, and you alone.”

Then I toss the rock, shattering the glass window above where Emilia is hiding.

“Colton, please!” Mary gasps as I yank her harder than necessary, pulling her closer, my grip bruising her arm. She stumbles but doesn’t protest.

Good. She’s learning.

But why can’t she just follow me without resistance?

The ground is slick from the earlier rain, and my feet slip as I navigate the uneven terrain, each moment amplified by the dread that courses through my veins.

“Colton, what did you do?” Mary pleads, feet catching on the roots that snake through the underbrush.

“Just—keep moving!” I bark out, urgency propelling us forward while my mind reels from the chaotic choices I’ve made in the last few minutes. I can hear the muffled shouts of my father’s men growing fainter, their focus shifting to the broken window, the distraction I knew would buy us time.

“We can’t abandon her!” she snaps, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and fear, and it stings more than I want to admit.

“Right now, we have to focus on saving you!” I respond. Nothing can happen to her athishands; she ismineto break. Mine to play with, mine to fuck, mine to do whatever I want with.

Not his.

I tighten my grip on her hand, and she cries out, a sound that goes straight to my dick. Who knew all these years of torment and torture would give me a penchant for the sadistic?

Fucks sake. I’m screwed.

Mary falters, looking back towards the mansion as if she’s somehow connected to that cursed place. “Just because we’re running doesn’t mean we can forget about her! She’s in danger, and we can’t just?—”