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CHAPTER

THIRTY-FIVE

ELI

He brings her here as a punishment. It’s been four months since our first encounter, and we’ve seen her almost every other weekend.

He locks her in the same room, hoping that it will somehow lead to a miraculous breakthrough.

One time, when he was particularly angry, he integrated her with the general population for a weekend.

She ate with the rest of the patients in the cafeteria which, he hoped, would frighten her into submission.

Instead, Sarah picked a fight with Charlie and asserted herself as the rightful queen of Sunnycrest within a matter of minutes.

Acacia is at a loss. He underestimates her.

He seriously believes that she’s not clever enough to conceal her tracks when breaking his rules.

However, he doesn’t know she has an ulterior reason for wanting to be caught.

“What did you do this time?” I ask.

I’ve been in Sunnycrest so long that I’ve become institutionalized. Hearing stories about the outside world provides a welcome break, and Sarah’s rebellious acts are my new favorite source of entertainment.

“Another party.” She shrugs. “Erin told him where I’d be. It turns out her being under Daddy’s thumb isn’t so bad, after all. How are the others?”

“That reminds me,” I say, reaching into my pocket and taking out a rat skull. “A gift from Aiden.”

Her eyes light up and she stashes it in her purse. “I’ll have to show him how thankful I am next time I see him.”

“I guess I’ll just have to do until then,” I mutter sarcastically.

“Hey!” She grabs my face, and her voice softens. “You’re enough on your own, you know. You don’t need Aiden. Let’s forget about him and Lex. Right now, it’s just me and you against the world.”

She always knows what to say to make me feel better.

I pull her into a tight embrace and breathe in her sweet jasmine shampoo, craving how her warm body feels.

Being with her always leaves me wanting more.

More kissing. More fucking. More talking.

More everything. If I had my way, I’d never leave her side.

I love her. I feel it deep in my bones, even though Aiden and Lex tell me I can’t be sure what love is.

Love is whatever this is. It’s wanting to crawl under her skin and wear her because I’ll never be able to get close enough.

She’s mine now. Ours. Aiden and Lex refuse to admit it, but they feel the same way.

Why else do they keep rejecting the queue of girls begging to fuck them?

They haven’t been with anyone else since our first night with Sarah.

The others can’t see her tonight. A change in guards has made our nighttime explorations more challenging, and they’re working on a new angle.

They’re going to visit a new doctor. Unlike the others, Doctor Warner appears to sympathize with our cause, and we have to exploit any sign of weakness in Acacia’s regime.

“Does it hurt?” Sarah asks, frowning at the fresh scar around my throat that looks like a red choker. A gift from her father’s latest experiment. “It looks painful.”

“This is nothing, sweetheart,” I say dismissively. “I’m fine.”

It’s good that Aiden and Lex aren’t here. They’re in worse shape than me. Lex’s shoulder is a wreck from being dislocated and put back into place repeatedly, and Aiden’s left eye is swollen shut.

Acacia recently offered complimentary sessions for potential investors, and we’re the subjects he gives them to, to torture for fun.

It’s nothing too bad, though. He keeps the worst punishments for paying customers.

This afternoon, he paraded around his new subjects in a grim death march.

They are the ones who will be subjected to his worst experiments, and we are his poster boys.

Hurting us is less fun now that we’re desensitized to pain, but we’re still favorites to some regulars, who have watched us for years, hoping to see us finally break.

“Did my father hurt you?” she probes. “Did he do this?”

We haven’t gone into detail about her father’s real work here or the experiments he conducts.

I’d tell her in an instant, but Aiden doesn’t trust her.

Not yet. He’s cautious, and it’s something we’ve argued about.

She has a right to know who she’s living with.

She’s told us how he beats her mother, but she’ll still be shocked at the true depths of his depravity.

Aiden’s not sure she can handle the truth.

However much she hates him, he’s still her father.

“I can’t talk about it,” I say. “We don’t have long, sweetheart. Why waste our time talking?”

I like having her all to myself. Sharing is fun, but it’s more special when it’s only the two of us.

“None of you ever answer my questions,” she says, turning her head as I lean in for a kiss. “Something bad is happening here. I’m not stupid. Every time I see you, you all have fresh scars. Whatever it is, I can handle it. You can’t hide it forever!”

“Not forever,” I say. “But not yet.”

Although I don’t agree with Aiden, I will never defy him.

“You mean, Aiden says you can’t tell me,” she mutters sarcastically. “I keep coming back, don’t I? Doesn’t that show I can be trusted?”

“Partying and flirting with hockey players isn’t hard work,” I say bitterly, unable to keep the jealousy from my voice. “There’s more to trust than fucking someone.”

“That’s all I am to you? An easy lay?” She crosses her arms. “I think you should leave.”

“Sarah—”

“No, Eli,” she snaps. “You’ve made it perfectly clear what you think of me. Maybe I’ll stop breaking the rules for a while and be a good girl. You can all find some other slut to fuck. I’m sure there are plenty in here.”

My face falls. She notices. A smug smirk plays on her lips. Bitch. She’s playing me, and I’ve shown my hand. She knows I need her just as much as she needs me, if not more.

I grab her throat. “You will never stop breaking the rules, Sarah Acacia.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Eli?”

I let go of her with an exasperated sigh. Questions. Questions. More fucking questions!

“We’ll tell you when the time is right,” I say. “Isn’t that good enough?”

“I’m not very patient.” She taps her foot. “I did everything you asked. I searched my father’s office. I listened to his conversations. I recorded his calls. And, for what? What exactly do you expect me to find?”

“Someone has to stop him!” I explode. “We need to find evidence that’ll put him behind bars!”

“So he does hurt you,” she says. “The scars. The injuries.” Her face pales. “I know what he does to Mom, but if he’s hurting his patients too…”

“This goes beyond beating,” I say. “What he does is… twisted.”

“Tell me,” she says. “I’ll speak to the sheriff and report him anonymously. I?—”

“No!” I yell, making her jump. “You can’t. Not yet. I’ve already said too much.”

“You can’t expect me to sit back and do nothing.”

“This is bigger than you,” I say. “It’s complicated. We have to get this right. There are dangerous people here who can hurt?—”

“I don’t need your protection,” she interrupts. “I want to help!”

As strong as she thinks she is, Sarah’s lived a sheltered life. Despite growing up in the house of a monster, she’s had the best of everything. Her fragile mind won’t be able to comprehend such brutality.

“You are helping,” I insist. “Just do what Aiden says.”

“Fine,” she relents, realizing it’s an argument she won’t win—not tonight, anyway. “But I want to know the whole truth.”

“And you will,” I say, stroking her soft cheek. “Soon.”

Her eyes light up and flood with desire. That look will never get old. I’ll never get enough of her and her body.

Suddenly, a bang from behind makes us freeze as our lips meet.

“Sarah!” Doctor Acacia yells, bursting in and causing us to spring apart.

“Dad,” she stammers, “i-it’s not what it looks like…”

It’s the first time he’s returned within an hour of leaving her. We’ve gotten cocky. Reckless, even. The only solace is my coming to see her alone, hoping it’ll spare Aiden and Lex any punishment.

“Twenty-Five,” he addresses me. His glacial stare makes me shiver. “How did you get in here?”

I have to think fast. Thankfully, I covered the vent opening behind me. If he finds out we’ve been crawling around in the ceiling, it’d ruin everything.

“An orderly left my cell unlocked by mistake,” I lie. “I was exploring and heard a girl in here. I thought…”

His eyebrows lower menacingly. “You thought you’d take advantage of my daughter?”

“He didn’t do anything,” Sarah intervenes. “I’m the one who tried to seduce him.”

Acacia unclips the pager from his waistband and requests assistance. For a second, I debate smashing his face. However, that’d be too easy. Public humiliation and revealing the truth will be our true revenge.

“I thought bringing you to Sunnycrest would help you see the errors of your ways, Sarah.” He shakes his head. “But you’re much sicker than I first thought.”

Running footsteps echo down the corridor, then three orderlies barge inside.

“Take Twenty-Five to my lab,” Acacia commands.

They grab my arms.

I don’t fight. I need to conserve my strength. After touching his daughter, whatever punishment I face will be his worst yet. Maybe he’ll finally kill me…

“Where are you taking him?” Sarah asks in frantic panic. “Don’t hurt him! It was my fault!”

“He’s ill,” Acacia replies. “He needs treatment.”

I can’t risk saying anything to Sarah as they haul me away, but our gazes meet for a moment.

I shake my head as she opens her mouth to argue.

Tears well in her eyes. Getting involved with Sarah Acacia was asking for trouble, but it was worth it.

If her face is the last I ever see, I’ll die happy.

If that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.