The Prophet (The Cloister Trilogy 2)

“Stop!” I struggle as he yanks at the button closure at my throat, then rips my dress open. “Grace!” Desperation puts her name on my tongue.

“No one’s coming.” He grabs a handful of my hair and holds me in place while he rips my dress the rest of the way off. “But don’t worry, I’ll play by the rules.” He sits back and stares at me, his gaze roving over my nudity.

Hot tears pool in my eyes, and I struggle to free myself. He only pulls my hair harder and keeps me pinned to the leather.

“I’m going to let you go.” He pulls a phone from his pocket. “And take some pics. But if you fight me, I’ll hurt you.” He whips a hand back and hurtles it toward my face, halting only an inch away. “Next time, I won’t stop. Don’t fucking move.”

Tears inch down my temples as he releases me and stands back. With one hand, he pushes my knee aside, opening me to him. He licks his lips, and I close my eyes to try and go to some other place. A place where this isn’t happening.

“Open your eyes. I want to see the tears.”

I shake my head, but do as he says.

“That’s it.”

I can’t hear the click of the camera, but he stands still every so often. He takes a close up between my legs and violates me every way possible without actually touching me.

“Now I want you to say ‘please stop, Evan’.” He stands over me, the bulge in his pants impossible to miss. “Say it like you mean it.”

“Please stop, Evan.” I do mean it.

He moves the phone closer to my face, as if he’s focusing on my tears. “Beg me to stop.”

“Please stop.” I speak to him, not the camera, but he is looking at me through a lens and nothing more.

“Ask me not to hurt you.” He runs the heel of his palm across his hard cock.

Humiliation overwhelms every other emotion firing inside my head. It’s all too much.

He grabs my hair and grates at me, “I said ‘ask me not to hurt you.’”

I don’t feel myself snap so much as I simply act. My left hand curls into a fist, and I jab it straight out, nailing him in the crotch.

He lets out a yelp and falls to his knees.

I jump up from the couch and run to the door. Though I twist it and yank the handle as hard as I can, it doesn’t move. A primal scream tears from my lungs as I beat on the door.

A groan from behind me—too close behind me—makes me turn around. Evan’s face is bright red, his eyes lit with fury, as he rushes toward me with one hand on his crotch.

I scream and dart to the side, then wedge myself behind the piano.

He lurches around to me, then leans on the keys with a discordant noise and takes a deep breath. “Bitch.”

“Fuck you.” I’ll fight and claw and scream and kick and do whatever the hell I have to do to keep him from touching me ever again. “Come near me again, and I’ll go for your fucking eyes.” My voice is a hiss, the promise of violence despite the odds. He’s too big, too strong, and I know I’ll lose, but I’ll take a piece of him with me if it’s the last thing I do.

The door bursts open, and Grace and the Prophet rush in.

Grace stops, her mouth agape, and the Prophet points at me and shouts, “You goddamn harlot! Get out from behind there!”

I don’t move.

He steps closer, the kindly man mask falling away and replaced with hateful indignation. “Girl, you do as I say!”

“Delilah!” Grace’s voice is shrill as she edges around the other side of the piano, trying to cut me off. “You’re ruining your placement, disappointing the Prophet, and forgetting your place.”

Evan holds a hand out behind him, but doesn’t take his eyes off me. “It’s fine.”

“Fine?” Grace turns to him, her eyebrows high.

He smiles and straightens. “This is what I want. Exactly what I want. When can I have her?”

Chapter 18

Adam

Noah helps me to my chair, then sinks into his with a sigh. We’re both beat up, but we’re stronger now than we’ve ever been. United.

My father sits at his desk, perusing us with his cunning gaze.

Castro sits off to the side, an assault rifle casually balanced across his thighs.

“Now that the solstice is over, we have a lot to discuss.” My father leans back in his chair and continues on as if we hadn’t just murdered an innocent girl, “The first phase of Monroeville is well on its way to completion. But there are other areas that need improvement. The land to the southwest needs to be completely cleared and the fields readied for planting this spring. Noah, I’m assigning that acreage to you.”