Page 36 of At Their Mercy: Part I

I hiccupped on a sob. “J-just keep talking to me. I wanna hear your voices.”

“Oh, I can talk,” Daddy assured. “I’m not so sure about Master.”

Master punched Daddy lightly in the arm.

A croaked laugh escaped between cries, but I wasn’t ready for humor yet. I only wanted to cry and let go of all the tension—and it was leaving me in heavy waves. I’d waited for this. Now, zero confusion about the pressure, whether it was coming or going. It was leaving. Fucking hell, was it leaving me.

“Was that the worst part of the play, not hearin’ us?” Daddy wondered.

I swallowed and pressed my face against Owner’s neck. “I think so. Like, the effects of it—of not being acknowledged. And the suit,” I whimpered. “The suit was weird. I didn’t know what it was doing to me until it was done. It muted some sensations, heightened others, delayed reactions, and trapped me in my mind.”

Owner let out a breath. “What I wouldn’t give to see that mindfuck play out on your face.”

I lifted my head and managed a weak scowl at him.

It made him smile, and he cupped my face in his hands. “I love it when you cry.”

Ugh!

Not helpful!

CHAPTER 4

River Tenley

The following morning, I quickly got a feeling that my blissed-out state was about to change for the worse.

I shot a look at Reese’s phone on the kitchen counter. That was the third time it’d buzzed in five minutes.

It could be anybody, but even he tended to mute group chats. Dad, though. He was under the impression you couldn’t put two sentences in the same text. Or he just didn’t wanna use the period—or any other punctuation—so he sent shit off in multiple messages.

Fucking terrorist.

Yup, there we go, a fourth text.

From where I waited for the coffee to be done, I could see Reese jumping into the pool outside.

Shay was catching some sun in one of the loungers, still enjoying his blissed-out state. The post-aftercare mood had followed us through the night, and I’d hoped it would stick like a Band-Aid until we had to go. The wedding festivities began at three, though we had to be there an hour before to help out with last-minute shit.

I sighed. Fuck it. I picked up Reese’s phone, and as soon as my face passed the ID check, I saw Dad’s number on the display. Reese hadn’t added it to his contact list, and I could guess why. But I knew that number by heart. It was the same one I’d seen every time Reese got sucked into helping the fucker.

I went to his messages and read the latest ones.

Can we meet today instead son

I need to hit the road by monday

It wont take long

Just come over here and bring the money

All right, it was time to intervene.

Sorry, Dad, Reese can’t come to the phone now…

After changing into a pair of jeans and a new tee upstairs, I poured my coffee into a travel mug instead. Reese was doing laps, and he’d be at it for a while since he’d missed out on his morning run with the pups.

I opened the fridge last, to see if I could bring a snack. Breakfast had been almost two hours ago.