Dark Need (House of Sin 3)

“No!” I squeal, tears welling up in my eyes. “Please. Please, don’t put me in one of those rooms. I didn’t do anything!”

He drags me back inside and slams the door shut with his foot, the sound as deafening as my own heartbeat.

His lips are so close to my ear that I momentarily stop fighting.

“Calm. Down.”

The words are spoken so softly, yet they remind me of a wolf growling at its prey.

And for some reason, it makes my heart pound even harder.

Only when he puts me down do I feel like I can breathe again.

With his powerful frame, he blocks the door, staring down at me like I’m a lost sheep waiting for slaughter. He points at the corner of the room and waits until I follow his finger.

There’s a door at the other end of the room.

How did I not notice that before?

When he keeps pointing at it, I take it as a sign and walk toward it. He follows me, and when I open it, another staircase leads straight up into the sunlight.

Freedom.

Chapter 2

April

Weeks ago

A blindfold is ripped off my head. For the first time in days, I can finally see again, and the sunlight is making me blink like crazy.

Someone shoves me in the back.

“Move.”

I start walking, but I have no idea where. In front of me, I can make out the vague silhouette of a house. But not just any house. A giant mansion that makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

When I try to turn to see who pushed me, two hands palm my back and shove me forward again.

“Keep moving,” the man growls.

Behind me, I can hear three cars drive away. One of which has an engine that sounds the same as the car I was just in for what felt like hours. The only stops we made were for a quick pee in the bushes. Food was given during the trip, but my stomach still growls. The adrenaline raging through my veins stops me from thinking about it, though.

I haven’t been this nervous since I was first taken.

Since I was plucked out of a gathering of The Family at a venue and brought to the Holy Land.

The cult where I’ve been a prisoner for months.

It all sounds so strange in my head, like a made-up story you tell kids, but it was true. And it all happened to me.

But the people at the Holy Land, The Family, they didn’t want me anymore.

I was disobedient.

Difficult.

And now I’m here, stepping into the halls of this giant mansion, wondering what it is that I did to deserve all of this.

Who else is going to force me to work?

To undress in front of everyone?

Grinding my teeth, I step forward, glancing sideways at the others who are with me. Two girls, one looking terrified beyond belief, the other lonesome, quiet, and reserved.

“Stop,” the man behind us says, and we all listen to him even though I don’t know why.

Maybe we were all trained not to disobey.

After all … there are always consequences.

A man appears at the top of the stairs, a smug smile resting on his handsome face. He briefly runs his fingers through his dark hair, a hint of evil settling in his eyes. My skin erupts into goose bumps as his eyes bore into mine while he walks down the stairs.

But I refuse to look away.

“Ladies …” the guy says as he takes the final step and opens his arms like he’s welcoming us. “My name is Eli. Welcome to the House of Sin.”

What the fuck?

My brows furrow. “House of Sin?”

I clutch my modest dress tight, wondering if I should just try to run and see if I can get away. But a dozen guards are lined up at each door, waiting for us to react.

One of them steps out from the shadows, but that man, Eli, holds up his hand. “No need to intervene.”

Intervene? In what?

Did he really think I would try to fight them off?

The guard nods, his gaze threatening as he throws me a look, and it makes me gulp. This place is just as dangerous as the Holy Land. I don’t think I should mess with them, even if all of this is sickening to say the least.

Eli focuses his attention on the rest of the girls. “This is your new home now.”

“Home?” the middle girl murmurs. “But I already have one. Where is my grandpa?”

So I’m not the only one who was stolen.

“Perhaps you only thought you had a home,” Eli answers, gazing at her with a fire burning in his eyes.

What is he getting at?

He starts pacing up and down the hallway in front of us in a way that commands attention. “Any of you know why you’re here?”

Well, I can guess.

I mean, cults apparently don’t like girls who refuse to submit. Who refuse to bow down and follow the rules. Who refuse to sacrifice their morals for the greater good of the cult.