Page 4 of Sadist (The Triarchy Collection #1)

OCTAVIA

T hree days.

Three motherfucking days she left me there. The lights stayed on during what I assumed was the day before I was plunged into pitch black for long intervals that tore at my sanity.

Somehow, she seemed to know when I had fallen into restless sleep, as I woke to a tray of food and a few bottles of water next to me.

Don’t ask me how she knew when to slink in.

There were no windows anywhere in here, and as far as I could tell, there were no cameras either.

I even tried staying awake through the dark hours before I finally succumbed to sleep, my voice hoarse from screaming at the door that I now despised.

The same door I had adorned with a pretty mural of yoghurt, mashed potato, and stew that had been hurled in a fit of rage.

The stew was disgusting anyway…much better suited as barely edible art.

I was absolutely fucking ropable and bored out of my mind by the time the door swung open, and Theo strolled in, whistling a low tune through her teeth. I honestly wanted to knock every single one of those teeth out and play knucklebones with them.

“Where the hell have you been?” I snapped.

“Hello to you too,” she chuckled, sidestepping the globs of flung dinner artfully placed at various intervals between me and the door. “I see you have decorated.”

“How long are you going to keep me in here?” I asked as I lurched to my feet, ignoring the ache of unused muscles.

“Uh…well, until now?” she replied, raising a brow at me as if it were obvious as she pulled a small key from the back pocket of her dark cargo pants. She tossed it to me, putting her hand on her hip as she waited.

She had no weapons that I could see. Aside from the cargo pants and boots, she wore a simple khaki T-shirt that was too thin to conceal anything. The door behind her was wide open, and the hallway beyond was empty and quiet.

“Behave,” she crooned, seeming to notice where my gaze had gone. “You wouldn’t make it two steps. Unlock the cuff and follow nicely.”

She gave me a serene smile, raising her brows at me as she widened her stance, her hands clasped loosely behind her back, waiting.

I had already removed the cuff and was massaging my bruised wrist where the metal had chafed it nearly raw.

Pushing a lank lock of blonde hair off my face, I contemplated the pros and cons of going for the door…

or for the full bucket off to one side of the room.

The idea of throwing its contents at her was more than a little tempting.

“Touch that bucket and you will absolutely regret it,” she warned quietly, as if she had read my mind.

I chose option two. Dropping my shoulder and lunging, I threw my full weight behind the assault aimed for her unguarded stomach…and met with nothing but air. Stars exploded behind my eyes a moment later when Theo’s elbow connected with my temple.

I staggered, stunned, and trying to clear my vision.

“For fuck’s sake,” she sighed, a firm hand wrapping around my arm to steady me as I swayed. “I warned you.”

I slammed my elbow back, trying to catch her off guard, only to have my wrist gripped harshly, my shoulder screaming in protest as my arm was twisted up behind my back.

“Can you not ?” She gave my wrist a firm squeeze. “Please stop before you hurt yourself. Now move.” She released me abruptly, shoving me forward.

I whirled on her. She was slightly shorter than my five foot six, which did absolutely nothing for my ego after how thoroughly I had just been manhandled.

“Go. Where?”

We were barely three inches apart, but she still managed to run an unimpressed look up and down my body.

“To shower for a start.” She reached up and picked what looked like a pea out of my hair. “You reek and have…food…in your hair. I thought you might want to avoid the rotting corpse look for your debut in front of the camera.”

“My what?” I scowled at her, trying to make sense of her words.

“It turns out Daddy Vanguard is a little hard to get hold of, and we need to get his attention.” She swept her arm toward the door. “Off you go, Sweets, a bar of soap awaits.”

God, I didn’t want to do anything this woman told me, but the thought of hot water was embarrassingly persuasive, so I stalked for the door, my back stiffening at the sound of her amused chuckle.

My cell was off a short hallway, and we passed three other doors before reaching a keypad-secured door at the end…Theo blocked my view with her body as she punched in the code and swung the door wide, beckoning me through.

The next room was…not at all what I was expecting.

We were in some sort of industrial-style building with grey concrete walls that had been decorated with graffiti and murals.

The large room had been separated into sections…

and it was…a home. There was a gym in one corner, a kitchen set up along another wall, a picnic table nearby with a large sun umbrella at its center, and fairy lights woven around the underside.

Various large potted plants were placed strategically, providing an odd mix of lush green foliage against the harsh concrete.

Light streamed through filthy, barred windows that sat high in the walls, and huge lights hung from a ceiling crossed with exposed metal beams. Off to another side was a desk set up with a dual-monitor computer system that my gaze snagged on long enough for Theo to give me a poke in the spine to keep moving.

“Shower is over there behind the curtain. The boys will be here in twenty, so I would hurry if you don’t want to be caught with your pants down.”

I hurried toward the curtain, trying to take in as much as I could in the process.

There was nothing that gave me any idea of where we were…

and there were only two other exits from this room.

The first was a massive set of metal double doors that had equally hefty deadbolts, and a huge potted tree sat in front of them.

Then there was a door similar to the small, windowless one I had in my cell, with an access keypad glowing in the dim light.

It took me a moment to figure out the shower after I had drawn the curtain and let myself breathe a sigh of relief within the semblance of privacy it gave me.

Stripping quickly, I glared at the mess of copper pipes on the wall, finding the ones that branched off to the overhead rainfall shower and playing with the two small levers on them until the water that spilled out in a heavy torrent was a good temperature.

I couldn’t stop the groan as I stepped under the water, the heat and pressure washing away the grime of the past few days.

Wiping water from my eyes, I blinked at the neat row of bottles on a shelf, found some shampoo and lathered my hair before standing under the hot stream of water for as long as I dared.

I managed to turn the water ice cold as I was trying to turn it off, my shriek drawing an amused snort from somewhere in the room.

I spotted a neatly folded stack of towels on a stool in the corner.

Everything here was perfectly in place—even the ferns in metal holders bolted to the concrete looked as if they didn’t have a frond out of place, immaculately manicured without a single leaf lying on the ground beneath.

I grabbed a towel, mussing the rest of them in the pettiest display of irritation I think I have ever partaken in.

It gave me the smallest glimmer of satisfaction to see that haphazard pile in an otherwise meticulously neat area, and I quickly set about moving the rest of the sparse items nearby out of their neat rows and piles.

“Are you quite done?”

I jumped, nearly dropping the bottle I was holding, and spun to find Theo eyeing me with a raised brow. My towel slipped, and I dropped the bottle as I snatched the fabric back around me, soap splattering across the hem of her pants as it hit the floor.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment and then held out some clothing to me.

“What are those?”

“What do they look like?” she asked with a deadpan expression.

I snatched them from her, turning and shrugging on the loose, plain white T-shirt. The fabric stuck to my damp skin, my hair instantly soaking my back as I flapped out the grey cotton sweatpants.

“No underwear?” I asked coldly over my shoulder.

“I’m not set up for guests,” she replied. “You can work with what I have, or you can go nude. Either way is fine with me.” She tilted her head. “Especially with that arse.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as I realized the towel had ridden up, and the dark laugh that came from her as she wandered back out didn’t help in the slightest as I quickly pulled on the pants, grimacing at the slightly too-tight fit across said arse.

A heavy fist on the small door startled me, and I froze behind the curtain as two deep male voices joined Theo’s.

I was too far away to hear the murmured words and risked a glance from behind the curtain, instantly locking eyes with a tall, bald man talking to Theo.

“What the fuck?” he snapped, pointing at me as he quickly averted his face. “What is this? Hotel de homo? Why isn’t she in a cell?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Theo drawled, not even bothering to look at me. “What is she going to do? Choke me with a towel?”

“She could identify you for a fucking start,” he snapped, hastily unhooking a mask from the back of his jeans and pulling it over his face as his companion did the same.

Theo snorted. “You look ridiculous.”

Bald Man ignored the comment, shaking his head as he strode past her.

The second man gave Theo a long look as he pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and approached me. His mask covered his face, only the warm, deep brown of his angular eyes peering out from behind it, and the loose strands of his straight black hair were just visible around the edges.

“You understand what is expected of you?” he asked as he handed me the paper. His voice was soft and slightly accented, though I would be a fool not to recognize the steel beneath it.

I frowned at him, snatching it. “Dude, I have no idea what the hell is happening, except for the fact that that crazy bitch”—I pointed to Theo—“locked me in a room for the past few days, and you have some business with my father that I want no part in.”

Theo rested her weight on one leg, smirking at me. “Oh, Sweets, you haven’t seen crazy yet.”

Unfolding the paper, I glanced at the neat writing, desperate for any information. There was nothing. No demand for money or anything else I had expected to see.

I, Octavia Vanguard, am being held in assurance. This video is to declare proof of my captivity. I am presently unharmed, and this will remain the case if contact is made.

“You need to read what is on this paper, word for word. No deviating, no embellishments,” he said.

“And we will just keep recording until you get it right. So don’t bother wasting your time or mine.

I really don’t care if you need a little encouragement.

” His head tilted slightly as his eyes roved over my face.

“It will only add to the urgency, if you ask me.”

“Good thing no one asked you then, Z,” Theo said, her tone dropping an octave.

He turned and aimed a glare at her.

“Don’t touch my marks,” she warned cooly. “I don’t interfere with yours, keep your hands off mine.”

“This is fucking weird,” Bald Man muttered to himself as the small camera he had set up on a tripod flashed once, the screen illuminating. “’Ere.” He pointed to a stool against a blank section of the concrete wall. “Sit.”

I crossed my arms. “How about get fucked?”

There was a flash and a burst of stars, my head snapping back as Z’s fist connected with my jaw. I staggered back with a grunt and covered my face, blood gushing from my tongue where I had just bitten it badly.

A rough hand grabbed my shirt and hauled me forward until I was looking at Z again.

“I warn?—”

He cut off with a disgusted sound as I spat a mouthful of blood at him, the scarlet splatter covering his mask and dripping down onto his shirt. He shook me until my teeth clacked together, then froze suddenly.

“Let her go,” Theo warned, her voice promising violence as she stepped around to his side. “Now.” There was no room for argument in that one simple word, and I don’t know what kind of authority this woman had over these men, but I didn’t miss the flash of fear and contempt in Z’s eyes.

His mouth hardened into a thin line, but he released me suddenly, stepping away and raising his hands in placation, revealing the small blade Theo had pressed against his side.

With a flick of her wrist, it disappeared before she clapped him on the shoulder once, squeezing it in what would have been a friendly gesture, if I didn’t see him wince.

Leveling a cool look at me, Theo slipped the crumpled paper from my fingers and cast a look over it, the corner of her brow twitching.

“I think we need a wording change now regardless,” she muttered.

There was a sound of irritation from Z as he snatched the paper from her.

“The Chair wanted?—”

“The Chair will get what she wants,” Theo cut in. “My way.”

My head was starting to throb, and I swallowed with a grimace as my bitten tongue refused to stop bleeding, moving it gingerly to assess the damage.

Theo was watching me again, her gaze lingering where I could feel my cheek beginning to swell as she pointed to the stool against the wall that Bald Man had just placed in front of the camera.

“After you.”

Glaring at her defiantly, I didn’t move an inch.

“Not until you tell me what this is about. Money?” I snapped. “Or has he made a deal with a devil bigger than himself this time?”

“You can sit, Octavia, or I can make you sit,” she said cooly. “And you will find that I am a much firmer hand to deal with. Either way, these two will not be leaving until I have what I need from you.”

We stared off for a long moment, but I could tell that I wasn’t getting anything else out of her. Not with Bald Man and Z watching. There was a tilt to her lips that suggested she wanted me to challenge her. As if she got a kick out of the fist I so clearly wanted to send flying into that smirk.

Why was that hot?

What the fuck was wrong with me?

I brusquely held my hand out for the scrap of paper, shoving down my deeply rooted stubborn temper, along with the weird fascination I had with this woman, before it got me killed.

“That’s better,” she murmured, as she dangled the paper between two fingers for me to snatch. “I knew you could be a good girl for me.”