When the Dark Wins

by Addison Cain

  Could the Song wear off on someone else?

  Her eyes rolled back when he began mumbling in Latin. The syllables came like an ancient stream, overflowing her cup. Between her cheeks, violent, male need destroyed everything that remained of the gambler from The Vice.

  Elijah Mather held her. Spread her and fucked her, hidden away in his own cathedral. With every jerk of hips, every blue-white flash of revelation, Buckeye responded in the only litany she knew.

  “Thank you, Father.”

  “… et dimitte nobis debita …”

  “Thank you. Father.”

  “… ne nos inducas in tentationem …”

  “Father.”

  “… libera nos a malo …”

  “Father!”

  She gave and gave.

  Come on Bucky.

  A sinner in Virtue.

  Let’s get Lucky.

  The perfect servant.

  There was no going home.

  Not ever.

  Epilogue

  Cyrus climbed the stairs to Maggie’s office. The east-facing room on the private side of The Rose stood with its windows open to the red of sunset. The woman his heart bled for sat at her desk, focus deep in her ledger, penning something into the columns. He cleared his throat.

  The smile that lit up her face nearly broke him every time.

  “Mags,” he said. “You ‘bout done?”

  “Close enough.” She shut the book. “Why? Need something?”

  “Heard some news.”

  “Yeah?” The woman leaned back in her chair. Gripped one wrist in the other hand on top of her head. She nodded at the chair on his side of the desk, but he shook his head.

  “They found a dead man outside of Tulsa-Gibbs.”

  Maggie shrugged. “Welcome to The Vice.”

  “Remember there was this fella Skinner was pitchin’ a fit about?” he said. “Few years back? Said he bust his lip?”

  The owner of The Rose cocked her head. “Maybe?”

  Cyrus nodded. “Scylla says he’s fulla shit. Says that postie, Wheeler, bloodied him up. She saw it out the window.”

  “Wheeler?” Maggie said. “Bucks? Ain’t she one of the ones that disappeared?”

  “Yeah.”

  His boss reached into her top desk drawer for a cigarette. A silver lighter was already in her hand. “What’s that got to do with this dead guy?”

  “Enforcers found the body in a truck,” he said. “Couldn’t tell what kilt ‘im. No wounds. It wasn’t a crash. Maybe he had a heart attack.”

  A lid snapped shut on the tiny flame, and Maggie took a long drag. “Cyrus.” She aimed those green eyes at him. “The fuckin’ point.”

  “Harland says they found some box under his seat. Box fulla notes. Every last one of ‘em from a missing Vicer. All rentbodies except Wheeler.”

  Maggie leaned on an elbow, cigarette making a thin line of smoke as she chewed the inside of her lip. “What’d all these notes say?”

  “All sorts of things. Crazy stuff.” Cyrus leaned on the doorframe, arms folded over his chest, watching the sun sink. “People sayin’ they’d been stolen. Shit about priests.”

  “You ask about Wheeler?”

  He frowned. “She wanted her daddy to think she’d gone off to work on debt. At a house o’ Greed. Told him not to worry.”

  “Bullshit,” Maggie said.

  “Probably.” And after a pause, where he watched her tap her ash into a little brass tray: “They found a bunch of Covvie things in his truck.”

  “What things?”

  “Drugs. Good water. Not like our kinda drugs, like The Poppy, or anything like that. Clean shit. Medical shit.”

  Maggie squinted. Nested her cigarette in a notch in the tray. “So our people start disappearing,” she said, “and this—did Harland say his name?”

  “August.”

  “This ‘August’ turns up dead in a truck full of NC gear and messages from folks ain’t nobody seen in years.”

  He nodded once.

  Her jaw shifted to one side. Red clouds from outside lit her eyes in a way that made him nervous. After a time, she spoke.

  “This shit has to stop, Cyrus.”

  Oh Lord, when Maggie Bone had a plan …

  “It does,” he said, “But what are we gonna do about it?”

  “I don’t know yet,” said Maggie. She tapped an absent finger on the cover of the black leather book that lay folded closed on her desk. “But we’re gonna goddamn do something.”

  The End

  About Eris Adderly

  A Sinner in Virtue is a prologue to the future series The Vice Territories. Follow Maggie Bone and the Vicers of The Yellow Rose as they scrape, scratch, and climb their way past House feuds, traitors, and the growing threat of New Covenant itself.

  For updates on Eris Adderly’s release schedule, you can follow her here:

  Website

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  Eris writes dark, escape-from-reality romance full of criminals and outcasts. Expect the decadent and filthy, the crude and sublime, sometimes all at once. Pick a safeword and grab a towel before reading. Let’s get weird.

  Books by Eris Adderly

  VIII

  The Hunted

  The Hunted

  Michelle Brown

  Copyright

  Text copyright © 2018 Michelle Brown

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  To those that let their darkness free...

  Chapter 1

  “But watch out if you haven’t learned that tame wolves are the most dangerous of all…”

  - Little Red Riding Hood

  Running, I am almost out of breath. I can’t see anything around me due to the darkness and the fog that descended in just minutes. When I had gone to the car for only a moment to look for my phone, Ethan was very much alive and breathing. I had misplaced my phone somewhere, and I couldn’t find it. For some reason, I thought I heard its faint ringing outside. When I walked back to the cabin, I didn’t think twice when I saw the bloodbath that waited for me. My boyfriend, well what was left of his body, painted the walls and the floor a bright red.

  Snap. I hear the crunching of twigs and the rustle of leaves. Ducking behind the tree next to me, I barely make it before the flashlight runs across the spot I was in moments ago. Ever since I fled the cabin, I noticed that someone was chasing me. Correction, someones. I have counted four beams of light, but we were supposed to be alone out here. The park ranger said this place isn’t a favorite this time of the year, which only added to the appeal for us. Both Ethan and I had been working long days and hadn’t spent much time together. I understand why no one comes out here. The signal is spotty here in the wilderness, and there isn’t a town for over ten miles. The temperature is dropping fast. The snowstorm is supposed to come in the next twenty-four hours from what the ranger told us.

  I can already feel the chill seeping into my bones. I need to keep moving before they find me. Looking around the pine tree, I check to see that they are heading away from me. Climbing to my feet, I take off running — to where I don’t even know since I left my map in the cabin. I’ve now lost track of which direction is which, but I know if I get to the creek I can follow it to town.

  The hooting of an owl draws my attention back to the worn path in front of me. I shouldn’t follow this because someone has used it often, but I’m hoping that the night covers my
tracks. I can faintly hear the creek nearby, turning in the direction of the sound, I’m surprised a few minutes later to see a small fire and a tent along the bank. Creeping closer, I can see a woman sitting outside of the bright green structure. She is alone, but she doesn’t seem dangerous.

  Taking a chance, I rush out, “Please, help me,” as I come into the clearing.

  “Oh dear! Here ma’am, have a seat and get warm,” she says giving me a worried smile.

  Looking around, I sit down next to her and take the drink she offers. Peeking into the cup, I see that it’s only water.

  “I’m Nadine. Are you from around here? Are you lost?” she asks, looking at me.

  I would be questioning a random woman coming out of the woods in the middle of the night too. I shrug my shoulders, not understanding why she would be out here.

  “I’m Lily. I think someone is chasing me. They… they killed my boyfriend,” I rush out, taking a small sip of water.

  Smiling at me, Nadine pats my leg and gets up to walk over to the creek bank, “It will be alright. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  I feel queasy, sleepy, and like I’m underwater all of a sudden. Laughing draws my attention to Nadine. I drop the cup to stand, but my legs feel weak. Falling to the ground, I brace myself with my hands, rolling onto my back. My vision is blurring, I see her above me sporting a sinister smile. I can faintly hear leaves crunching to the right and the murmuring of a male voice. I’m fighting to keep my eyes open, but I see the man talking to Nadine, he is handsome. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he looks from her to me with a wicked grin.

  Chapter 2

  I’m groggy, I feel like I have a hangover even though I haven’t ever drank alcohol in my life. Trying to bring my hand up to rub my eyes, I realize that I can’t. My hand is bound to the metal table I’m lying on. Tugging at the restraint, I see that all of my limbs are tied down. It’s dark in this place, but I hear the voices coming from somewhere close. Pulling my hand as hard as I can, I attempt to get the cuff to budge.

  “Ah, that hurts!” I whisper-yell, barely loud enough to hear.

  My skin is red and irritated from the metal. I drop my hand, the cuff clanking against the table. Movement near the door catches my attention. The knob is slowly turning. Someone is coming. Hopefully, it isn’t that man I saw earlier, he was handsome, but there is an evil to him, I can tell. The door creaks open, and I’m met with the gaze of a young woman. Pushing a cart into the room, she stops next to me. Reaching up for a chain hanging a few feet above me, she tugs, causing bright blinding light to force my eyes closed.

  “Open,” the woman commands, tapping my jaw.

  Keeping my mouth closed, I slowly adjust to the light and open my eyes to see her. She is gorgeous. Her long blonde hair is pulled high in a ponytail, her crystal blue eyes are intense, but it’s the burned skin crawling up her arm that draws my attention most.

  Looking at where I am staring, she smiles, “Don’t worry about that. If you’re good, then you will be fine. Now, open your mouth. I would hate to force you,” she goes on, smiling as if this is entirely normal.

  Opening my mouth, she grabs a tool from the cart. I can feel her picking at my teeth, I can’t understand why she is doing this. Humming to herself, she finishes rummaging in my mouth. Dropping her tool, she smiles at me. Good, maybe she’s someone that can help me leave whatever this place is.

  “Nadine will be coming by in a bit. She needs to check out a couple of things. Oh! I completely forgot, my name is Chloe,” she rambles.

  “Lily,” I whisper.

  Patting my hand, Chloe gives me one last smile, pushing her cart back to the door. “I know. I saw your license earlier.”

  My license? I didn’t have my license on me, I left it back at the cabin with the rest of my things. Back with Ethan’s body.

  Chapter 3

  I’m lying here lost in thought when I hear the knob turning again. Chloe has been gone for a while now, but at least she left on the light. The soft footsteps let me know that the person is coming closer. I turn, meeting the gaze of Nadine.

  “Hi, Lily. I’m going to check a couple of things, so I’m going to need you to be calm,” the older woman says. In this state, she seems like the sweet old ladies at the nursing home.

  “Please just let me go. I won’t tell anyone about this I swear,” I plead.

  Tsk-ing me, she walks around the table to my ankles. I hear drawers closing, but I can’t see what she is doing. Deft fingers touch my stomach making my body jolt. Nadine is unbuttoning my jeans, I don’t understand what she means by checking things at all. Her pulling both my jeans and panties down causes me to gasp. This isn’t right. No one has ever seen me before. Ethan and I had even decided to wait until marriage to have sex.

  Wiggling any way I can to stop her, I cry out, “Stop! Please stop!”

  “Hush, Lily. We need to know if you can have kids. Mykael needs a woman that can bear his children. If you aren’t able to, then we don’t need you. Do you understand what I mean?” she continues, unclasping my left ankle to remove the clothes.

  Kicking out, I try to stop her. Her sigh lets me know that she isn’t going to give up. I can hear Nadine rummaging in a drawer, and then I feel the prick of a needle. My legs go numb almost instantly. I can’t hold back the tears as I realize that my body is not working with me at all. Trying to lift my leg does nothing. Nadine begins to hum the same song that Chloe did.

  “If you were a good girl then you wouldn’t have made me do that,” she retorts, placing my feet into the stirrups.

  I’m on a doctor’s table I realize. I can feel the tears falling to the side of my face while she inserts a cold speculum into me. I feel her fingers inside of me when a knock on the door causes her to stop with her prodding. Walking to the door, Nadine opens it to a man. Stepping back so that he can enter, she begins to whisper something to him. I let out a muffled cry as he comes closer to me. It’s the man I saw before, the one by the fire when she drugged me.

  “Hello, Lily. My name is Mykael. Nadine tells me that you are a virgin,” the dark-haired man tells me.

  Oh God, who are these people?

  Turning to Nadine, he commands her, “Leave us.”

  I don’t trust or like her, but I’m scared of him more. A cry tears through me as the door closes behind her. Mykael saunters to my feet where she was, sitting down he is eye-level with my pussy. I am spread open in front of him with no way to stop him. I hear him close the speculum, tossing it on the counter to my right. Mykael gently pushes his fingers into me.

  “Perfect. I have plans for you, Lily Adams. You are just the one I was looking for,” Mykael says smiling.

  Chapter 4

  Mykael still has his fingers inside of me, gently rocking his palm against my clit. Weeping, I can do nothing to stop him. Coaxing my body to obey his command, it’s as if I’m caged in my skin. I see him move towards my hip with a syringe. I can feel the prick which tells me the drug is beginning to wear off. Removing his fingers, I watch Mykael suck them into his mouth, relishing in the taste.

  “Delicious. Now, in case you try to run away once we let you out of this room, remember that,” he explains pointing to the mark on my hip. “That’s a chip to track you.”

  Reaching over, he unlocks the rest of my binds and leaves the room. I have been lying here for what seems like hours and if the light coming in through the small window is anything to go by then it has been. Wiggling my fingers and toes, I try to gain back the feeling in my limbs. The pin pricking tingling lets me know it’s working. Gathering as much strength as I can, I slowly sit up and swing my legs over the side of the metal table. My legs are shaking as I stand to put my jeans and panties back on and make my way to the door where the voices are coming from.

  Opening the door enough to peek into the room, I count the women sitting around the table. There are Chloe, Nadine, and two others I don’t recognize, and Mykael seated at the head of the table. One of the women gets up from the
table, taking her plate and Chloe’s with her. What shocks me is when she leans over to give her a peck on the lips and then does the same to him. My gasp makes everyone turn towards the door I am behind.

  “Come, Lily. Join us for breakfast,” he commands.

  Sitting down in the other unoccupied chair, I wait. I don’t know why I’m here.

  Grinning, Mykael shakes his head. “I didn’t tell you that you would be eating. Get up on the table.”

  I’m confused. I refuse to bow down to Mykael though, I stay seated holding his gaze. Sighing, he motions for the women to stand. I think they are leaving us alone. It scares me considering what he did to me already. Pain shoots through my head as one of them grabs a fist full of my dark brown hair, she pulls me to my feet and tosses me onto the edge of the table. The other women move around the table to hold down my arms and legs while Mykael remains seated. Picking up the knife next to his plate, he crawls on top of me, a sadistic smile playing on his lips. Grabbing my shirt, Mykael cuts through the fabric like butter until my skin is bare.

  “Take off her pants,” he directs the two women at my ankles.

  I can feel his fingers working the button loose. With his weight on me, I can barely move an inch. I can feel someone at my thighs prying them open, bucking my body, I am forced down again. I can feel a mouth prodding my pussy. This is wrong, I was always told this growing up from my grandparents. Just as my body begins to tighten from the pleasure flowing through me, I feel the knife pierce my skin just above my right breast. Mykael is digging into my flesh with the blade that Chloe was holding over the candle. Son of a bitch! It hurts, it burns, I can feel the blood running down my chest, and I can smell the scent of charred flesh.