Page 117 of Conquered

There are wall lights that cast their glow on the staircase so that we can see where we are going. It feels like any other converted basement, however, dread still pools in my stomach as we head down.

We reach a metal door at the bottom, which has yet another fingerprint scanner, and as Ash opens the door, our ears are assaulted withI Love Youfrom Barney the Purple Dinosaur, blaring out at a deafening volume.

What the…

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

LILLY

“What the fuck is this shit?!” Ash shouts, walking over to a panel on the wall to turn it off.

“Hey!” Loki hollers back, pushing past us in a bid to reach the panel first. “They use this song in Guantánamo Bay as part of their PSYOPS. I thought it would help Robert pass the time.”

And that's when I fully look into the stark white room and see Robert, lying on a metal surgical table. He has a thick leather band with a buckle around his waist, as well as cuffs at the wrists and ankles pinning him down.

My nose wrinkles as I see that he's naked and lying in his own piss. There's a blindfold over his eyes, and as Ash turns off the God awful song, he starts thrashing and shouting out.

“Where the fuck am I?! Let me go! You'll be hearing from my father about this!” he spits out, saliva coating his chin.

I look at him, prone and vulnerable, and I feel numb. Like, this should freak me the fuck out, but it just doesn't. He hurt me, tried to fucking rape me, and I'm glad he is now in the positionhe put me in. At someone else’s mercy. Only his situation is far worse, as he’s unable to escape the nightmare of his reality.

“I'm just gonna put my playlist on. I've been working on it for the past couple of days, and I must say it's the best one I’ve come up with yet,” Loki tells the room, a wild look in his eyes as he does something with the panel on the wall, andRaging on a Sundayby Bohnes comes over the speakers.

“You've got a fucking playlist?” I ask incredulously, arching a brow.

“Music is the soundtrack to your life, Pretty Girl,” he winks at me. I just roll my eyes back at him.

“Loki, is that fucking you?” Robert shouts, my eyes dart back over to where he is at the sound of his voice. “I'll fucking kill you for this!” he threatens, which just makes Loki laugh maniacally.

Jax makes his way over to Robert and in a rough move, pulls off the blindfold.

“Happy Halloween!” Loki shouts, then howls like a wolf as he moves over to the table to stand on the other side of Robert. The sound raises the hair on the back of my neck, and goosebumps shiver across my skin.

Jax leans down, getting right into Robert's face.

“What did I promise you if you ever looked at, or touched Lilly again?” Jax asks, his voice so cold it burns, and full of the darkness of deeds done in the deepest part of the night.

“Fuck off!” Robert snarls, his face contorted with rage.

“Wrong answer,” Jax replies menacingly before straightening up.

He steps up to where Robert's wrists are shackled on either side of his head. I hear a crack, which makes me jump, as he casually breaks one of Robert's fingers, making Robert scream in pain. Jax doesn't even break a sweat. Loki laughs again, but it's not his usual joyous laugh. It's cruel and cuts to the bone.

I feel like I should be more horrified, appalled at what they are doing to another human. But I’m not.

I once saw an episode of QI where they debated a supposed George Orwell quote:

‘People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf’.

Although, it was surmised that Orwell didn’t actually say this, the quote comes to mind now as I watch these guys, my Black Knights, seek vengeance on my behalf. And I don’t feel horror, or revulsion or whatever it is I’m meant to be feeling. Instead, I’m full of gratitude that these warriors will do what is necessary to keep me safe.

“You can't do this to me! My father will fucking murder you all and leave your corpses to rot!” Robert screams out, snot and spit flying as he fruitlessly tries to escape.

“Ah, that's not quite accurate,” Kai interjects, voice devoid of all emotion. Kai steps up next to Jax so that Robert can see him, his iPad in his hand. “It seems that your father, Governor Michaels, was arrested tonight for having a laptop full of child pornography, alongside several accusations of sex with minors. So, I'm afraid he won't be of much help.”

He turns the screen so that Robert can see it. It shows a live news program with video footage of what I assume is Robert’s father. He’s being led away in handcuffs, from what looks like a swanky Halloween party, dressed in a tux with devil horns.Gotta love irony.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Robert squeaks as Loki laughs once again.