Page 43 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

Did she even know what her brother did? Would she be as devastated as I was?

She was such a sweet girl; I wasn’t sure she’d be okay with any of this at all if she knew.

In fact, she’d probably hate him more than I did, if I did.

My emotions were all over the place. It would be easier to hate him, but I wasn’t sure I could.

How did you go from pining after someone for years to hating them at the drop of a hat?

Tristan’s voice sliced through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality .

“I talked to Mason earlier,” he said, his words directed at Dominic. “He fingered the new girl. Shit. What was her name again? Hannah?”

“Hazel,” Dominic offered with a slight strain to his words.

I winced. Did these assholes only ever talk about sex and women? Even when we weren’t being assaulted, we had to listen to that bullshit.

“Yeah, that’s her name.” He chuckled. “He told me something interesting about her actually. And about you.”

My heart slammed against my ribcage. I thought he and Mason were friends. Then again, Dominic did punch him at Rodney’s party recently, so maybe that put a strain on it.

There was a small moment of silence before Dominic replied. “And?” he asked, losing his patience.

“And … he told me that you and Hazel have quite the history. I’ll spare you of all the gory details, but I must admit, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

My breathing labored, the floor tilting from beneath me.

Dominic brought me here? I wasn’t sure before, and frankly, I didn’t even think a lot about it.

My hands slipped through my reddish-brown strands, tugging at them in defeat.

I should have known better than to ever fucking trust him.

He did this to me. He brought me here to become some kind of sex slave.

I fucking loved him, and this was what he did to me in return.

He said he loved me too. Was it all a lie? Were they mind games?

It felt like someone had reached into my chest, wrapped their fingers around my heart and squeezed until blood squirted from it at all angles.

I couldn’t help but question if anything Dom and I had shared was real, or if it was a ploy to bring me here.

I knew we’d been true friends at one point, but when had that changed?

He still cares about you.

But at what cost?

He raped women. He condoned this. How could I care about someone who did those kinds of things?

And I allowed him to touch me, to take my virginity, to touch me again afterwards.

A shudder of despair rolled through me, and I tightened my arms around my knees, pressing them against my chest more firmly.

The position had air brushing against my private parts, but it didn’t matter anymore.

My ankles shielded me from their predatory gazes anyway.

“You underestimated me,” Dominic replied, confirming that he was one-hundred percent responsible for my captivity.

“I suppose I did.” He cleared his throat. “I’m heading out for a smoke. When I come back in, I’m probably going to fuck Nia. You want in on it?”

I clamped my eyes shut, dreading his response. I shouldn’t give a single fuck about who he smashed, but the fact of the matter was that these weren’t willing participants. They were in the same position as me.

“Nia?” Dominic questioned. “The one that just had the baby?”

Tristan huffed a laugh. “Yeah. It’s all bloody and shit. I’m also curious to see if it’s still loose or if it’s snapped back, yet.”

My stomach recoiled, disgust filling my veins.

He could kill her doing that. There was a reason women had to wait a certain amount of time before having sex after birth.

The woman was probably still in pain. I couldn’t imagine having to go through something like that right after having a baby and then losing my baby to a bunch of horrible, predatory men.

“I don’t know … shouldn’t you wait until she’s at least healed up a bit?” Dom suggested with reluctance.

Tristan scoffed like that was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “It’s either her or your little bestie over there.” I didn’t need to see him to know he was referring to me.

My stomach twisted and my pulse raced. Against my better judgment, I was moving before I could think it through. The bars vibrated when I clutched them, curling my fingers around the rusty metal.

“I’ll do it,” I called out, my voice echoing through the building.

The room fell deathly silent. So silent that I could hear my own panicked breathing. I knew we weren’t supposed to address them unless spoken to first, but if it gave that woman the time to heal properly after she’d already gone through so much, then I’d do it.

Tristan’s surprised gaze shifted to me; his eyebrows raised with intrigue. This was the same man who tortured and raped Stacy for being too loose—the same man who wanted to see how loose Nia was after giving birth. Why? So, he could torture her too?

“Her labs haven’t come back yet,” Dominic objected, sliding an angry glare in my direction.

I scoffed in response. “You and I both know I’ve only ever been with one person.”

Tristan glanced over at my former best friend for confirmation, but Dominic just clenched his teeth. “Do I?” he countered. “I was gone for over two fucking years. Who knows who you’ve opened your legs for during that time frame.”

Anger swarmed within me, filling my veins with a fire I was becoming way too accustomed with. He was the one who needed to be tested. My hands tightened around the bars, my knuckles turning white as a result.

“If he fucks her right now, he could cause permanent damage,” I explained, choosing to ignore his little jab. I shot him a pleading look, silently begging him to just spare her. I’d be okay. There was no telling if she would be.

Dominic shrugged. “Not really my problem.”

Despite the callous remark, there was a flicker of something that looked a lot like guilt flashing through his eyes, but it was gone before I could tell for certain.

“You don’t mean that,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

Tristan glanced between us, his lips twitching in amusement like this was the most entertaining thing he’d witnessed in ages. The Dominic I knew and loved would never be okay with this. Then again, the Dominic I knew and loved wouldn’t even be involved in anything like this to begin with.

Dom took a step forward, his eyes hardening. “You wanna bet?”

I glanced over at Tristan, my heart racing faster now. I didn’t know what I was hoping for. He was the one who wanted to hurt the girl in the first place.

Dragging my gaze back to Dom’s, I nodded. He wouldn’t do that. Right? He said he was forced to be here, forced to do the things he had to do. He wouldn’t hurt an innocent person just to prove a point, not when there were other options.

“Go get Nia,” he told Tristan, barely sparing him a glance.

Panic seared through my chest like a noose of doom. My fingers gripped the bars tightly. He couldn’t be serious. He would really hurt her like that, another woman?

Tristan started across the basement, leaving Dominic and I alone once more.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I demanded. “What if it was your fucking mother or sister in this place? Would you still be so callous?”

Dominic clenched his jaw, running his fingers over the stubble. He took a step toward me, greeting me at the bars. So much had changed in him; I knew that the moment I first saw him at his welcome home party. I knew then that he was darker, but I didn’t realize to what extent.

He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just glared at me with those hard, gray eyes. I tried to remember the version of him I used to know—the one with the charming smile and laid-back persona. He used to be so care-free and full of life. Now … he was my worst nightmare come to life.

“What’s wrong with…” he trailed off, repeating my words from a few seconds ago.

A soft, manic laugh bubbled up from his throat.

On e that had goosebumps careening over my skin.

“ Everything .” He growled, lunging for the bars.

I gasped, stepping away, but his hands closed around mine over the metal.

“I’ve done every possible thing I could think of to keep you safe, Hazel.

B-but I messed up. I fucked up and now you’re here because of me.

” His words were a jumbled mess and it didn’t help that he was speaking so low.

I shook my head trying to make sense of it all. “You brought me here,” I pointed out. “So, yeah. I’m here because of you.”

A crease formed between his brows, confusion clouding his features. “What? I didn’t—” he paused, recognition tittering across his face. “I didn’t even know they were taking you until I got here.”

“But you said?—”

“I know what the fuck I said,” he snapped. “And you’ll hear me say a lot of fucking shit you don’t like from here on out. That doesn’t make any of it true.”

A scream pierced the air, causing my heart to sink into the depths of my stomach. Shuffling sounded further down, followed by Tristan’s voice, though I couldn’t make out what he was saying from here.

Nia squirmed against him, the dry blood still caked over her thighs and chest from where the baby had rested for the first time.

“Please,” she begged. “Please don’t do this.” Tears streamed down her face, her body trembling against Tristan as he tugged her along. She had an accent, but I couldn’t place what it was. It sounded Columbian if I had to guess.

Tristan shoved her toward Dominic, who swiftly moved from the bars, placing a hand on either one of her biceps. Her big, amber eyes peered into his, tears mixing with snot. I could see the agony etched into her features; I could hear it in her sobs and pleas.

“On your hands and knees,” Dominic instructed coldly. “Don’t make me ask twice.”

Nia trembled, hesitating briefly before lowering herself to her knees .