Dark Matter (26 page)

Zach’s face was red with rage, and he
shifted to get up, but one of the other men in the room kicked him
in the head which sent him sprawling. The man walked over to him
and pulled his broken leg back for another blow. Zach
groaned.

“
Stop! Don’t hurt him,” I
yelled. He lay limp as a noodle. I almost hoped he had fainted in
case they didn’t listen to me.

Roger laughed, menacing and low. His
hand slid over the curve of my hip as he pulled me closer. I
writhed, trying to get free of the human shackles that bound
me.

“
Don’t you touch me,” I
screamed.

Roger slapped my cheek, lightly. “Oh,
Rayla, I will do whatever I like to you. You are mine, after
all.”

Chapter
Eighteen

They took me down a creepy dark
corridor and into a room without windows. It was more like a prison
cell than a bedroom. It even had a toilet in the corner. I’m all
for convenience but that was ridiculous. The eight men that
followed us into the tiny space stood shoulder to shoulder with a
couple peeking in through the doorway.

Roger pointed to the cot and the two
men binding me dumped me onto the mattress. Roger sat beside me,
pulling me close. I didn’t fight him after I saw the feral look in
his eyes. I honestly wondered if he was insane. He kissed me
savagely, roaming his hands over my body as if I were a plaything.
I tried to hide in my mind, but it was hard. I didn’t react to him
in any way, but he was silently begging me to defy him. I wasn’t
willing to see how far he would take things in this room full of
despicable men. Not one of them lifted a finger to help me. The
most they did was laugh nervously a few times.

Roger finally pulled away. He didn’t
say anything as he walked out the door. I released the breath I was
holding when the other men followed him without even glancing at
me.

I ran water in the sink and scrubbed my
teeth with my fingers to get his taste out of my mouth. I moved on
to my face. I couldn’t get clean enough. My skin hurt by the time I
was done scrubbing away the feel of his touch.

I sat on that cot for hours trying to
access my power. It was still there but something was blocking it.
By the time I gave up, my eyes burned and my head was throbbing.
Every inch of me was aflame as if I had gotten a horrible
sunburn.

All in all, I was in pretty bad shape,
but not as bad off as Zach. His haunted expression lingered in my
mind. I was still stunned that a human could knock him out. At
least I knew where his bruises were coming from.

If I had done as he had asked before it
was too late and gone to Heath, I would have been able to save him.
I wouldn’t have gone to Jafan for all the gold in Alaska. I could
have insisted on Heath bringing reinforcements in exchange for my
willingness to bond with him. That was if he was still agreeable.
If there was one thing I knew about Heath, he took commitment
seriously. Instead, I had been selfish and now, I had no idea what
was going to happen to me, Zach, Luke, or my family.

For all I knew, these people were going
to kill me. The sooner the better as far as I was concerned. Death
was preferable to being with Roger. Every time I thought of him, my
stomach rolled over. He was the most unsavory person I had ever
known. I thought Brody Smith had been bad when he tried to convince
me to have sex with him in the back of his dad’s car, but Roger was
way worse. There had been no talking involved when he violated
me.

Only one thing kept me from thinking
him the worst man alive. He had seemed as absurdly absent as I had
been earlier. I figured he was just showing off for his
schoolmates.

What was his deal? One moment I was
sure he was Satan’s offspring, and then he acted as though what he
was doing repulsed him more than it did me. Had he been trained to
be this monster? My curiosity was nothing more than a clinical
sideline, but I did wonder.

All that I knew was I had to find a way
to escape.

The door squeaked open and every muscle
in my body tensed. Nigel Lambert peeked around the frame. “Ah,
Rayla, there you are.”

My hand flew to my mouth. I tried to
keep the sob from coming up my throat, but I couldn’t. He rushed to
my side, inspecting my face and arms. He scowled, “What have they
done to you? I told Roger you were to come to no harm.” A stern
look settled in his hazel eyes. “He will be dealt with.”

I couldn’t get more than high pitched
squeaks to come out of my mouth. He took me into his arms and
rocked me, whispering soothing words that I knew meant nothing. The
mere fact that he was in this room with me meant that what Cassie
had said about him had to be true.

“
How could you?” I managed
to say after I had had a few moments to compose myself.

He leaned away from me, his face blank.
“Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, my dear. This is
much harder for me to accept than you might imagine. I had not
thought to grow so fond of you, but I love you like my
own.”

I ignored his lies. Besides his
declaration didn’t mean much considering what he had been doing to
Cassie for years. “Where is Aunt Grace?”

He appeared confused.
“Safe.”

I closed my eyes for a second not
wanting him to see my emotions. “And Uncle John. Is he part of
this?”

Mr. Lambert stood and paced the room.
“I’ve been trying to convince him for decades, but he
is…stubborn.”

A tension I hadn’t known existed within
me released. My uncle wasn’t evil. At least something had been as
it had seemed.

There were good men in the
world.

He turned toward me. A sorrowful look
etched his face, but I wasn’t buying it. He walked toward the bed.
I slid away from him.

His eyes filled with hurt, but I didn’t
care. If even part of him felt bad it was worth it. “How can you
live with yourself?”

He shrugged. “Quite easily, actually.
You think you have everything figured out? Well, I assure you, my
girl, you don’t. Things are not as clear cut as you might think.”
When he sat down, I hugged my knees and stared at this stranger I
had known practically my whole life.

How had I been so wrong about him? He
had been the ideal dad. Always attentive. Easy to speak to. Even
funny. I had secretly wished that he was my father. I even
pretended he was a few times to ease the pain of not knowing my own
dad. My life had been nothing more than contrivances. I wasn’t sure
that I wanted to hear what he had to say, but I didn’t stop him
from continuing.

“
Would it surprise you to
know that the Fae have dictated everything we have done from the
beginning of time: how fast we learn, the places we live, even what
we eat. All of the world’s ills could be cured if they would only
share their knowledge with us. We have been extremely patient, but
you see what is happening in our world. Something has to be done to
stop the carnage that blights humanity.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “And you are
the man to do that, huh? I seem to recall someone with the same
philosophy. Tell me. How is Lucifer now days?”

He slapped his knee and laughed. “You
were always witty. I do not worship the devil, Rayla. I have merely
been trying to find a way to bring peace to our world.”

“
At what cost?”

He didn’t acknowledge my question. “No
one even knows we exist. We stay on the fringe of society. We have
not interfered with government for many centuries. What I am trying
to accomplish is a lasting transformation. Imagine it. If humans
had the abilities the Fae enjoy, we could all live in
harmony.”

I frowned at him. He was delusional.
Hadn’t he read any history books? It was going to take more than
tyranny to get humans to behave.

I found myself getting angry. He should
have been the one locked up all those years ago not Cassie. “Yeah,
and while we are at it, why don’t we do the world a favor and set
the Middle East ablaze and sing Kumbaya by the campfire.” I put a
hand over my mouth and gave a false gasp. “Oh yeah, I forgot, we
are already did that, but you couldn’t have anything to do with
that now could you?”

His face went cold as stone. “When you
are ready for answers, come see me.”

“
And until then?”

“
Roger will take care of
you.”

I nodded. “Good to know you think so
much of me.”

“
He isn’t a bad
person.”

“
You and I will have to
agree to disagree on that one, Mr. Lambert.”

“
You are no longer a child,
Rayla. Call me Nigel. Get some rest. Things will look differently
in the morning.”

I didn’t say anything as he left. I
just watched him open and close the door with the razor sharp bite
of betrayal spreading through my veins.

I had hoped to make that man proud of
me. I had hoped when I graduated he would smile at me and tell me
how amazed he was of my abilities, and how glad he was that he had
invested in my future.

He didn’t deserve that sort of honor.
Even Hitler had people that loved him. I was not going to make that
sort of mistake with Nigel Lambert. His dreams came at a cost to
all humans. Freedom is the right of every person, even if some
people don’t exactly see it that way.

After Mr. Lambert had gone, the lights
in my room went off. I tossed and turned on the wiry cot trying to
get comfortable, but it was only exhaustion that made me finally
fall asleep.

I had hoped to find Zach or Luke in my
dreams, but I couldn’t remember having any. I woke with my heart
racing as if I were being chased. I gasped a few short breaths
before I recognized the regular rhythm of breathing that wasn’t
coming from me. Even though the sound was light, it echoed off the
cinder-block walls. The room was pitch-black, but I could feel
someone watching me.

Cold enveloped my body. I was freezing.
I couldn’t keep my teeth from chattering. The person moved quietly,
but I could tell they were coming closer. Who was it? I had an
idea, but I hoped I was wrong.

“
You must be cold,” Roger
said. His voice sounded raspy as if he hadn’t used it for a while.
He covered me with soft blankets. “Is that better?”

I tried to hold very still, hoping he
would get the hint and leave.

“
I’m sorry for the way I
treated you earlier. I will make no lame excuses for my actions,
but I wanted you to know I’m happy you are here. I’m also humbled
to have been chosen for you.”

What the heck was he rambling about? I
couldn’t keep silent. “If you’re looking for forgiveness, I’m
afraid I can’t help you. What the heck were you chosen for
anyway?”

He sat beside me, and I became a
semi-permanent fixture of the wall. “You have to know how important
you are to us.”

How many times had I heard those exact
words over the past few weeks? You might have thought I would feel
cherished or at the very least self-righteous, but all I felt was
angry. What gave these people, fae or human, the right to put that
much pressure on me? “Does it even matter to you that I loathe you?
Lame excuses aside, I know why you did it. You had to look all big
in front of your friends, but here in the dark, you want me to
believe you wouldn’t do it again? How dare you ask for absolution.
Go to hell, Roger.”

His breathing became labored, and I
wondered if I had pushed him too far, but I couldn’t let him think
I was going to be grateful for his apology. He leaned closer to me.
His mint laced breath fell hard on my face. I didn’t have anywhere
to retreat so I stayed where I was. Even though I knew he couldn’t
see me do it, I raised my chin in defiance.

I felt his hand caress my shoulder,
just lightly, but the tension in his fingers alone told me how much
restraint he was using with me. “You have been tainted, Rayla. It
will take time for you to recognize the truth for what it is, but
you need to understand something: I am now your world. Every time
you open your eyes, I will be here. Don’t even bother wondering who
is watching you when you look over your shoulder, rest assured, it
will be me. Forget the fae. You are no longer part of that
world.”

I sat up. “So you basically just
admitted to me that you are a perve stalker, and I am supposed to
be happy about that?”

His voice lowered to a guttural growl.
“Call me what you like. The fact still remains: I am your perve
stalker, and you are mine.”

“
I’m not a perve
stalker.”

He groaned with exasperation. “You know
what I meant.”

“
Yeah, and I’ve heard that
claim many times before so don’t be upset that I’m not in falling
all over myself in rapturous joy right now.”

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled my
face inches from his, my brain vibrating from the jolt. “Are you
trying to get me angry? Cause it’s working.”

I wasn’t going to tell him I was sorry.
He was just like the fae lords. I was sick of being treated as a
thing instead of a woman. The silence stretched until he
sighed.