Page 57

CONAN

I race back to my cabin after delivering Contestant Nine to the elimination zone run by Declan. He explains what will happen next as the girls arrive one by one. He’s got the easy job.

He will also work with Enzo to initiate the next part of the games.

The one where they get to start a brand new life, well away from the abusive assholes who sent them to us.

I, however, need to get back on the computer and pull the security feed up from Cabin Six.

Because the way the air crackled and my heart raced when I was in the same space as Contestant Ten is not normal.

It’s only happened one time. Around one woman.

But it can’t be.

I just need to see her. I need to watch. My gut is dragging me to this, kicking and screaming.

The camera feed loads slowly, grainy at first from the steam.

Another contestant. Another challenge. That’s what I’m telling myself.

I don’t flinch anymore. I’ve trained myself not to. Told myself I built these tests for strength, not cruelty. But some nights…like this one…something creeps under my skin.

The girl is trembling as the guard leads her into Cabin Six’s sauna.

Her arms are wrapped tight around her stomach like she’s trying to hold herself together.

Soaked and shivering, her skin flushed red from the ice.

She’s hugging herself, legs trembling beneath her as Reggie leads her toward the sauna door.

She stumbles once. He catches her elbow, just long enough to keep her from falling. No tenderness. Just protocol.

I squint at the screen. Am I just looking for similarities? Trying to hurt myself?

He follows her in, lifting a thick leather collar from the wall and fastens it around her throat.

I flinch.

She doesn’t.

Her chin tilts up defiantly, and the collar clicks into place with a magnetic lock and snaps to a chain bolted to the wall. It allows just enough slack for her to sit down on the bench, but not enough to move freely.

She’s trapped.

Exposed.

My thumb hovers over the button.

The remote in my hand is small. A polished green that matches the toy.

Control Unit 6 reads the screen, and the timer begins to count down from ten minutes. That’s all she has to do: climax within that time frame.

She shifts uncomfortably, tugging at the collar, then glances toward the glass window that separates the sauna from the rest of the cabin.

She can’t see the camera. But she knows.

She knows someone is watching.

My thumb hovers over the button.

Just procedure.

I press it.

The moment I press the button, her back arches.

It’s not violent. Not yet. A slow hum. Barely a pulse.

But it makes her squirm. Her thighs press together instinctively. Her eyes slam shut. I wish this feed was better quality in that lighting so I could see her eyes beneath the mask.

I start to feel it burning up inside of me, watching her already squirming under my control.

I don’t want to get hard for this. I hate that I am.

Because this isn’t sex. It’s not pleasure. It’s survival dressed in sadism. If Hallie could see this, she would hate me.

The timer on the wall starts ticking down from ten minutes.

The moisture in the sauna fogs the screen, but I don’t take my eyes off her. Every twitch. Every tremble. I see it all.

She shifts her hips. She’s already flushed from the ice bath, but now her skin is blooming pink for another reason.

Her head tips back against the wood behind her, and she lets out a low, shuddering breath.

The vibrator pulses.

Not hard. Just enough to tease.

One minute in.

She grips the edge of the bench, knuckles white, legs tense.

It’s like I can feel the heat and the ache building inside her, a cruel contradiction.

Her muscles would have already been strained from the cold.

Now they’re melting, giving her no relief.

Just the slow burn of heat meeting the simmer of arousal.

The screen shows her trembling. A drop of sweat rolls down the valley of her breasts. Then another down her stomach.

She whimpers. A broken sound, half sob, half plea.

And it shatters me.

Because I know that sound.

I know it too fucking well.

My spine locks. My thumb slips off the remote.

“No…” I whisper.

A raw cry tears from her throat as her body arches.

“Conan.”

It’s not a whimper. It’s a prayer.

And I feel it like a bullet to the chest.

“No. No, no, no, no.”

I scramble for the controls, but it’s too late.

Her body jerks. Writhing in a storm of heat and shame and goddamn survival. But she’s doing everything in her power to stop herself from orgasming.

My name still echoing from her mouth.

Hallie.

My. Fucking. Hallie.

She has to finish. I have to do this to her to get her through to the next phase. Fuck, it makes me feel sick.

I turn the power up on the vibrator, her body now shaking relentlessly. The more she fights, the harder it’s hitting her.

Her fists clench and she lets out a scream. It rips through me and drags my heart out with it.

I hate myself.

I hate this game.

I’m a fucking evil monster. Just like the ones I vowed to protect her against, I’ve become. All I can do is stare at the screen and watch my future crumble in front of my eyes, by my own hand.

This is the end of everything, I know it is. At least if she wins, she can take the money, that’s the least I can do. Because I can’t take back what is done. It’s too late, she’s here and she’s playing the game.

But I can help her win. I can give her something.

A climax shatters her, leaving her breathless and broken. Shutting off the vibrator as soon as she’s done, I toss the remote, full force against the wall.

“Fuck!” I shout.

I fall back in my chair, blood drained from my face. I made her do this.

I controlled her. Watched her break.

I want to end this. Burst through that wall and rip the collar off her. Carry her out of there and wrap her in every piece of warmth I have to offer.

End the games and forget this part of my life ever existed.

But I can’t.

We are in Enzo’s debt. The Chase has to finish, and there has to be a winner. We have strict instructions not to fuck this up like Declan’s games.

And here? If she’s here, I know I can keep her safe. Because the only monster that can hurt her is me now.

A sound claws its way out of my throat. Something feral.

The timer blares. Ten minutes. To her, it must be the ultimate relief, but to me, it makes me feel sick.

Reggie opens the sauna door and removes her collar.

Hallie slumps forward and I’m frozen in my seat, hand shaking, chest heaving, staring at the woman I was supposed to protect…barely surviving the hell I created.

Oh my God. What have I done?