Page 43 of Uprising

He laughs and that smell of the alcohol on his breath tells me if I didn’t know already exactly how he’s going to treat me, especially in front of all his boys.

“Do you know what this little bitch has done?” He asks me.

I shake my head. Of course I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before in my life and yet whatever it is, it can’t justify what they are doing.

He grins more. “She broke the rules too.”

“She blabbed her big mouth.” One of the other men say.

“About what?” I ask.

Darius pulls me in, pulls me so my face is nose to nose with his. “Do you really want to know the answer to that one Rose?”

I don’t know if I do. Maybe it’s easier being ignorant. Maybe it’s easier hating the monster Darius is in my head than understanding the true one he is in real life.

He watches my face, watches my expression as if he can read the thoughts going through my head.

“Let’s take a little trip.” He says.

“Where?” I ask as my stomach drops, as I tremble more.

He glances at the woman still sprawled at our feet. “Perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone.” He says kicking her enough to make her yelp.

“Darius…” I gasp but he’s already frogmarching me from the room, leaving everyone else to follow behind us.

Rose

I’m forced into the Mercedes. I’m still barefoot, still wearing nothing but the silk slip I was sleeping in. Darius makes a point of enjoying how my body is responding to the cold and it takes everything I have not to glare at him.

I guess the girl is shoved into one of the cars behind us but Darius makes sure it’s just us in this one. Just me and him and his driver.

I huddle into the leather seat. It’s freezing cold. I dare to glance at the dashboard and see it’s the middle of the night. For some reason that makes me even more afraid.

“Darius.” I whisper, putting my hand on his.

He tilts his head smirking. “Trying to play nice now, is that it?”

I shake my head. “This is a misunderstanding.”

He lets out a laugh. “I’m not that stupid Rose.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You think I don’t know you were snooping? You think I don’t know you’re trying to figure out a way to escape me?”

I gulp shaking my head.

He grabs my jaw pulling my face right into his. “Perhaps after tonight you will realise exactly what this is.”

“What, what is?”

“Your situation.” He spits before shoving me back.

I don’t reply then, I just shut my eyes trying not to fall apart.

It feels like we drive for ages. Darius doesn’t say a word. He just keeps his eyes fixed on me while I sit, wishing I was anywhere other than where I am. I don’t know who is back at the house. I don’t know how long we’re going to be out, wherever we are. What if Lara wakes and I’m not there? What if no one else is there?

My heart starts to race. I have to get back. I have to make sure that come morning, whatever happens, Lara is none the wiser about any of this.