Page 107 of Unspoken Lies

“Not alone,” I admit, shrugging. “Where is everyone?”

“In the basement,” he says immediately. “Ah, we were hoping you’d sleep through it.”

“Through what?” I ask, wondering why he’s being so open with me. Usually, it’s half truths and misdirection.

“Mr. Cruz came with some baggage,” Elijah hedges.

Liliana’s father came in this afternoon, saying he missed his daughter and also wanted to see how I was. It was really odd. The vibes of his appearance felt off to me for some reason.

Emil told me that Mr. Cruz has been babysitting Dr. Michaels, so I was expecting him to stay in Portland while doing whatever he’s been doing.

Torture, Rachelle. Torture.

Swallowing hard, I wonder if that’s related to the baggage Mr. Cruz has.

“Spill, Elijah,” I insist.

“I just left the basement because it was getting a little bloody,” he admits. “Your ex doctor is down there. He’s a fucking psychopath if we’re splitting hairs. He said he wanted to see how far he could build you up before fracturing your mind. He’s a control freak.”

“He seemed it at times, but he always said that he wanted the best for me,” I mutter. “Will you take me down there?”

Gazing at my bare feet and my pajamas, he winces. Paying better attention to him, I realize he’s fully dressed and wearing boots.

“You’ll need to sit where I put you,” he grumbles.

“I’m not a dog,” I sigh. “You can’t just put me somewhere.”

“I suppose the drain will get most of the blood,” he mutters to himself, grabbing my hand as he walks with me. “Put on boots before you go downstairs.”

Shoes are neatly lined up just outside of the basement door, and I shove my feet into a pair of Liliana’s. It’s not for long, so it doesn’t matter if they’re a little big.

“Better?” I ask, exasperated.

“Almost,” he says, pulling off his sweatshirt and placing it over my head. It smells like him, and I breathe in his scent without him noticing that I’m being a creeper. “I guess it’s fine now.”

Walking downstairs together, he leads me to a little room where there are people huddled over someone hanging from a hook.

“Look what I found,” Elijah says, sighing.

Liliana glances over, her eyes appearing worried when she sees me.

“I told you she’d wake up without us,” she says, frowning.

Theo’s blue eyes find me next from behind his glasses.

“I bet she was curious as to why everyone was gone,” he says, smirking.

Over the last two days since our very vigorous outdoor activities, he’s refused to treat me like glass, even as he watches me constantly. I’ve been working out under his supervision, and there’s been a sweetness in him that I didn’t know existed.

It definitely feels like I’ve stepped into an alternate dimension.

I’m Jared’s wife and his friends haven’t tried to drown me or throw me off the cliff just outside, how is this real life?

“Just remember,” Elijah murmurs, his lips against the shell of my ear so only I can hear him. “This is our agreement that we all want you. We were going to let the pigs have him alive, butyour presence here may change that. Sit your cute ass down in the chair, Rachelle.”

“Oh,” I whisper, shocked when he lifts me and physically sits me on a stool.

“Hand me some gloves,” Elijah sighs.