Secret (Betrothed 9)

Damien stepped into the dining room. “Wow, really exciting game,” he said sarcastically.

“Your sister is very strategic,” my father said. “Takes her time.”

Damien stopped at the table, looked at the pieces for a bit, and then turned to our father. “Remember the night you were kidnapped?”

Oh my god, I didn’t want to hear this.

“Yes,” Dad answered. “Why?”

“I’ve got him in the basement. And now that I’ve had my fun with him, I’m going to kill him. You want to do the honors?”

There was a sudden, painful stitch in my chest, like I couldn’t breathe, like my lungs wouldn’t cooperate.

Dad considered the question. “That’s not who I am anymore, son. I stopped doing that stuff a long time ago, atoned for my sins, because when I get to those pearly gates…I don’t want to be turned away.”

“You aren’t killing an innocent man,” Damien said. “This guy was going to kill you.”

He shrugged. “But he didn’t. You saved me—because love is always stronger than hate.”

Damien stared him for a while, like he wanted to say something else, but then he turned to me. “Then I think you’re next in line.”

I couldn’t pick up that gun and shoot someone, not even Heath. “No…”

He gave me a look of disappointment. “Alright. Then I’ll do it.” He turned around and walked out of the room.

Dad turned back to the chess game. “I see at least three moves you can make—”

“Damien.” I left my chair and ran after him. I stepped into the hallway and heard him farther away, so I followed the sound of his footsteps. When I reached the wooden door, he was halfway down the steps.

He stopped and turned back to me. “Good. I’m glad you changed your mind.” He descended the steps the rest of the way until he was gone from my sight. “I’ve got a special surprise for you. Catalina is the one who’s gonna put the bullet in your brain.”

Now that I’d heard those words, it all felt real. I gripped the railing and took the stairs quickly. When I reached the bottom, I was in a large concrete room, constructed generations ago before the house had been renovated.

Inside the metal cage was Heath…or what was left of him.

He lay on the ground, shirtless, bruised and bloody like he’d been ripped to pieces. He didn’t even seem conscious. He was…a living corpse. “Oh my god…” I slowly moved to the cage, my eyes immediately burning with tears when I saw the blood everywhere, the stains that would permanently mark the floor of the cage forever.

Heath didn’t look at me, his head turned to the other wall.

My hands gripped the bars, and I suddenly felt sick, felt weak, felt so much self-hatred that I wished I could take his place. I knew exactly how it felt to be locked in a basement, barely holding on to life, afraid of the men who kept me there. The tears were unstoppable, the pain more agonizing than anything I’d ever felt before. “Open the door.” I grabbed the bars and shook them, hoping to break them loose myself.

Damien remained behind me. “What?”

I turned to him, screaming so loud I didn’t even recognize myself. “Open the fucking door!”

Damien stilled at the ferocity that had just come out of my mouth, at the way everything around us vibrated as if an earthquake had struck the city. There was no argument from his lips, and his expression was tight, like he was actually scared of me. Wordlessly, he pulled the key from his pocket and walked to the door. Then he stepped back, staring at me like he didn’t know me anymore.

I entered the cage and dropped to my knees, leaning over him as the tears burst from my eyes. “Heath.” I placed my palm over his heart and felt it still beating. It was gentle and slow, like he was weak. His body had been destroyed, so bruised and swollen that I couldn’t imagine how someone could take that much abuse and still be alive. My hand grabbed his chin, and I turned him to me. “Heath?”

He looked at me, but his expression was vacant, like he assumed it was a dream.

Damien finally found this voice. “Cat, I’m not letting him out of this cage. You can say goodbye—”

“He’s been punished enough.” I looked at him over my shoulder. “If you want to shoot him, then you better hope that bullet goes clean through me and into him.”

Damien looked at me with disappointment. “Don’t forget that he deserves this—”

“No one fucking deserves this.” I turned back to Heath and tried to sit him up. “Get your ass over here and help me. I can’t pick him up.” I lowered him back to the floor because my body simply wasn’t strong enough, regardless of the adrenaline.

Damien didn’t move. “No.”