CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“ADDIE,” JACKSON’S DEEP voice whispered, waking me up the next day. “Addie, wake up,” he said again and set a basket full of clean laundry on the floor. “You’re having another nightmare.”
He came over to the cot and knelt down, putting his hand on my shoulder. I shot up, breathing heavy. Jackson jerked his hand back, but I caught it, lacing my fingers through his.
“Thanks,” I panted and let go of his hand. I put my head in my hands and rubbed my eyes. I could hear Phoebe shuffling around near the shower. I sat up and blinked in the dim, late morning light. I noticed that Jackson looked absolutely ragged. “Are you okay?”
He slowly blinked, looking as if he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He nodded. “I’m really tired. Nate wouldn’t let me sleep until those bushes were dug up.”
“Oh,” I said, not knowing what else to say. I slowly shook my head. “That’s horrible!” I finally said. “Why didn’t he make me go out and help you?”
Jackson shrugged. “He said he was punishing me for something I did. That, and I think he’s afraid you’ll try to run again. It’s hard to find people in the dark.”
“I will run again,” I said with no hesitation. “The next chance I get.” I bit my lip and looked at Jackson’s tired face. I whipped around to face Phoebe. “We should leave. The three of us,” I whispered. I turned back around and locked eyes with Jackson. “There’s three of us and two of them. We can do it. We can leave.”
Jackson’s jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms but something sparkled in his eyes, bringing his run-down face back to life.
“Addie,” Phoebe said, her voice monotone. “There no way to leave. We all try, and we all get hurt. It better to stay.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “No! I’m not for sale. You’re not either. Phoebe, don’t give up.”
She gave me a feeble smile. “I no want to get hurt. Not anymore.” The smile faded, and she shook her head. “We have no choice.”
I stood up, my hands curling into fists. “Yes, we do! We always have a choice.” I shook my head, causing my hair to fall into my eyes. “Okay, maybe we don’t have a choice in what is done to us, but we can chose to not give up!”
Jackson took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. Despite looking like he wanted to fall to the ground and sleep for twelve hours, he nodded. “I wish we could, Addie, but it’s not that simple.”
“All we need is a head start.” I continued.
Jackson crossed his arms, deep in thought. “Maybe if we—”
“No!” Phoebe said suddenly. “It won’t work. It never work! You try, I try, she try. We all caught!”
“If we have a plan,” Jackson said, “it could potentially work.”
The basement door slammed against the stairwell. We all jumped, wondering who opened the door so quickly. Rubber soles echoed as someone descended down the stairs. The door clicked shut behind him.
“What’s going on?” Zane asked, his voice smooth and seductive.
Jackson tensed and picked up the laundry basket, taking a few steps toward the dresser. I hoped Zane would think Jackson was only down here to do laundry.
“Nothing,” he mumbled.
“Really?” Zane questioned. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He was holding a white plastic bag. I recognized the logo to be that of a pet store I used to frequent. Scarlet loved when I took her inside. “Because it sounds like you were talking to the girls.” He stepped closed to Jackson. “Did I say you could talk to the girls?”
Jackson’s cheeks flushed as he shook his head. I sensed that he didn’t like me seeing him submit to Zane.
“Good. Put those clothes away.” Zane then turned to face me. “If I’m not mistaken, I believe I heard this one talking about running away. Again.”
I squeezed my hands shut, digging my fingernails into my palms so hard it hurt. “I will run away,” I said through gritted teeth. “And turn you in.”
Zane laughed, dismissing my threat as if it was nothing. “Sure you will.”
He brushed past me and set the bag on the card table. He pulled out two plastic dog bowls, making a show of slowly placing them on the floor. He opened a can of dog food and plopped it in one of the bowls. Then he pulled out a metal choke-chain and a brown leather leash.
“You,” he said to Phoebe. “Fill this up with water.” He pointed to one of the bowls on the floor.
Phoebe tipped her head down and walked over. She leaned away from Zane, trying to stay as far away from him as possible, and picked up the bowl. She pulled back the shower curtain, ready to turn on the water when Zane stopped her.
“No,” he said. “From the toilet.”
Her dark eyes twitched but she did what she was told. Jackson took several small, tentative steps toward me. Phoebe carried the full and dripping bowl back to Zane. I wanted her to throw it in his face. She set it on the floor and wiped her hands on her pants.
“Adeline,” Zane said, drawing out my name. He clipped the leash to the chain. “I hear you like dogs.” He looped the chain through itself, making a self-tightening circle. He flicked eyes up at me. I used to think demons only existed on the pages of fantasy books, but in that moment, I knew they were real. I looked into Zane’s sky-blue eyes and saw into his dark, empty soul. A twisted smile pulled his lips up.
He pulled the chain, opening the loop. Then he lunged forward and grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into a sensitive spot behind my shoulder, and pain rippled through me, rendering my body useless. I felt my knees begin to buckle, and he pressed harder on the pressure point. He slipped the cold metal collar around my neck and pulled. I coughed, gasping for air. Using his foot, Zane shoved me forward and onto all fours.
“Good dog,” he spat and yanked the leash. My hands flew to my neck and I tried to slip my fingers under the collar. Zane let the leash go slack and I could breath again. “Get a drink, dog,” he said and used the toe of his shoe to strike me on the tailbone.
“Stop it!” Jackson said, rage taking over his broken demeanor. “Let her go!”
“Or what?” Zane laughed. He picked up his foot again, ready to kick me.
Then Jackson lunged at him. Zane fell back. The leash was still wrapped around his hand. The chain tightened, and I was yanked back.
“Get the hell off me!” Zane yelled.
I twisted around, trying to scramble closer to Zane so I could breathe. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I heard the distinct sound of someone getting punched in the face. I could only hope it was Jackson doing the punching.
Zane moved his arm up, blocking Jackson’s blows. As his arm raised, the chain tightened around my neck. My eyes bulged and I heaved forward. I couldn’t breathe. It wouldn’t take long before I would pass out. And then die.
I tried to stick my fingers behind the chain, but I only scraped away a layer of skin. The chain was too tight. Black dots speckled my vision. I needed air, I needed to breathe. I planted my feet and pushed myself toward Zane where I could see Jackson on top of him. Jackson raised his fist and brought it down, hitting Zane in the mouth. He grabbed the neck of Zane’s shirt and lifted him up before shoving his head down against the ground. He scrambled up and kicked Zane hard in the ribs before scurrying to my side.
“Fuck,” he breathed and shook his head. He grabbed the leash and yanked, making Zane slide forward. As soon as it was loose, Jackson unclipped it and pulled the collar over my head. I put my shaky hands against his chest and looked into his eyes. Jackson placed his hands on my arms and nodded, understanding my unspoken question. He stood and pulled me to my feet.
“Phoebe,” I panted and looked behind me. “Come with us!”
With his hand still wrapped around mine, we ran up the stairs. My heart was pounding when I reached the door. The knob slipped from my grasp as I madly turned it. When I finally got my trembling under control, I threw the door open.
“What the hell is going on?” Nate demanded, standing in our way. The air slipped out of my lungs and I suddenly felt dizzy. My head swam as my choices buzzed through my brain. In a split second, I decided to push past Nate and run.
But he was faster.
His hands found my chest, and he shoved me backward. I tumbled into Jackson, who tried to catch me. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion: Nate’s startled expression, helplessly crashing into Jackson’s body, the feeling of my feet leaving the wooden stairs. Then we were falling, and I felt each and every step on the way down.
Jackson protectively wrapped his arms around me, keeping me from whacking my head on the cement floor. He suddenly pushed me away and rolled on top of me, shielding me from one of Zane’s blows.
“He attacked me!” Zane screamed. I heard Nate rush down the stairs. “He fucking attacked me!” Jackson hugged me tighter as Zane kicked him. I could feel the force of Zane’s violence as Jackson flinched in pain.
“What?” Nate asked, his voice shrill. “Jackson doesn’t fight back. He never has!”
Zane kicked Jackson again. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do it again,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Get him up,” Nate said. The beating stopped. Nate and Zane grabbed onto Jackson’s arms and tried to lift him up. Jackson released me from his protective embrace, but I clung on.
“It’s okay, Addie,” he panted.
“No!” I cried and pulled him toward me, refusing to let go of his hand. “No, stop!” Nate kicked me in the face, the ball of his foot smashing my nose. Horrible pain shot through me as the fragile bones cracked, and hot blood poured out.
“Jackson!” I called and pushed myself up off the floor. Blood dripped down my throat. I reached for him.
“Don’t give up,” he said as Nate and Zane dragged him back. “Don’t ever give up.”
“I won’t!” I promised. Zane hooked his arms under Jackson’s and pulled him up the stairs. Jackson suddenly stopped struggling, making Zane stumble and almost lose his balance. Nate punched Jackson in the face. I rushed over, reaching for Jackson.
“Stop!” I screamed. Nate turned and slapped me. The added pain to my broken nose was too much. I crumbled to the ground.
Phoebe ran over and put her arm around me, both to offer comfort and to keep me from going after Jackson. I blinked back salty tears and carefully put my hand over my nose, trying to stop the blood. I looked up just in time to see Jackson’s feet disappear. I heard his body clunk against each step and the basement door slam shut.
I spit out blood. My body shuddered as a sob bubbled out of my mouth. Phoebe wrapped both arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. The full extent of the pain was starting to register and I began to feel sick.
“Jackson…” I began but trailed off, hiccupping another sob.
The back door slammed shut so hard it shook the house. Phoebe ran her hand over my hair. “Shhh,” she soothed but I began to cry even harder. My throat hurt with each ragged breath. Phoebe continued to stroke my hair until I got my breathing under control. I sniffled, inhaling blood. She gently pushed me away and got a towel. She pressed it to my face. I put my hand over hers and leaned forward, letting the blood drip out.
For the second time, a gunshot echoed across the frozen land.