Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
“I’ll call him.” He stands and removes his cell from his pocket, and I slap it out of his hand. “Ash-“
“No, you can’t,” I cry out, and he grabs my trembling shoulders.
“It’s okay,” he assures me softly.
He’s so wrong. “No.” I shake my head quickly. “He cheated.”
His brows pull together. “What? No. He’d never-“
“He cheated.” I gasp, trying to breathe, but my throat is closing on me. “You…can’t.”
“Ashtyn.”
“Tell him.” I grip his T-shirt and bury my face into it. He wraps his arms around me, and I begin to sob, repeating over and over that he cheated, hoping that he’ll understand what I mean because I can’t form a fucking sentence right now.
“I know what to do,” he assures me. “Trust me.”
SAINT
I pull up to Carnage on my bike. I don’t even bother putting it in the garage. Instead, I leave it parked out front and rush up the stairs inside. I’ve been gone all day at the house of Lords. Mandatory meeting for some bullshit assignment. I’m not even sure why they care that I attended. I get my orders from Carnage.
Entering the building, I make my way to my room and rush inside to see Ashtyn sound asleep in my bed under the covers. “Hey, sweetheart.” I grab the back of my shirt and rip it up and over my head just as my bedroom door opens. “What the fuck?” I spin around to see my father enter. “You could knock first.” I throw my shirt to the floor. What if I was balls deep inside Ashtyn? I’m not a fan of my father seeing her at all, let alone naked.
He looks over me and then her asleep in my bed. “She had a session today.”
I frown. “And?”
“She got upset and needed to be medicated.”
“She what?” I snap, stepping toward him. “What the fuck do you mean medicated?” I turn back to look at her. Ashtyn is on her stomach, head facing away from me with the covers up and over her. I rip them back and place my hands on her bare back. “Ashtyn?” I shake her but get nothing. “Ash, sweetheart? Wake up.” I roll her over onto her back, and her body remains limp. I yank the covers up to her neck, and her head rolls to the side. I grip her cold cheek before forcing her eyes open. They’re dilated. “What the fuck did you give her?” I shout, standing up I turn back to face my father, but she is there now as well. I swear my father is fucking her, and that’s the only reason he keeps her around Carnage.
“It was just a sleeping pill,” she answers.
“I fucking doubt it,” I grind out and look at my father. “We had a deal.”
“Son…”
She raises her hand to stop him and steps toward me. “She’s okay, Saint. Just getting a good night’s rest. We spoke about her mother, and she got very upset. Found her inconsolable. She willingly took them with her dinner and went to bed. She’s been in here alone ever since.”
“Get the fuck out of my room.” I point at the door in case she doesn’t understand what I said.
“Saint-“
“I said get the fuck out!” I shout in her face, my heart pounding in my chest. Who the fuck does she think she is? And why the fuck did Ashtyn agree to take something? Without me here? How long has she been passed out? And who knows who the fuck has been in and out of my room?
Glaring at the bitch, she lifts her chin and lets out a huff as she turns around and exits my room. My father follows her. I slam my door shut and lock it behind them. Then I finish getting undressed and crawl into my bed with her. Pulling her body into mine, I push her dark hair from her face. Her eyes look puffy like she had been crying and her nose is red.
I don’t believe it. Her mother? I mean, yeah, she was upset that her mother was killed. But they weren’t overly close. She hasn’t even mentioned her mother since that night.
Reaching over, I grab my cell off my nightstand and pull up the group chat with the guys.
Did anyone see Ashtyn while I was gone?
Kashton: Nope. I’m still out with Melony.
Haidyn: I haven’t been at Carnage all day.
Sighing, I place my phone back on the nightstand and lie down with her. My hand gently strokes her soft hair, giving her cold cheek a kiss. I settle in and close my eyes ready to get some sleep as well.
THIRTY
ASHTYN
I haven’t been trapped in Carnage long, and I’m already getting depressed, and I think Saint can tell. He’s been extra sweet. Trying to keep me busy and my mind off my dead mother because he thinks that’s why I was so upset last week when he came home to find me passed out. It couldn’t have been further from the truth.
I’m in a constant state of panic. Him finding out I’m pregnant and that I’m hiding it from him. There is no good outcome. I’m just biding my time, trying to come up with a solution to save me and the baby. He thinks fucking me is a distraction, and in a way, it is. I never have to think when I give him my body. But I’m exhausted, mentally and physically drained.
Having to keep this secret from him is making me sick. Or I guess it could be the pregnancy. Either way, it’s getting worse.
It’s almost three in the morning, and I find myself wandering aimlessly inside the main building of Carnage. I couldn’t sleep. My mind runs a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out where my future goes from here. I used to think I didn’t have one, but now I realize it’s true.
I was digging last night asking him when I get to leave here. Or just live a normal life. His response was I have to hide out here until my father returns and everything settles down. I call bullshit. He’s just telling me things he thinks I want to hear. Those who are sent here don’t escape. I’ve seen more evil here in the past month than I ever knew possible. I always thought the Lords were sick, but what the Spade fathers do is just pure disgusting. I wish Saint and I could run away, start a family, and live happily ever after. But like my mother once told me, Lords don’t love the women in their lives. My time here has proven she was right.
I’m not sure how much more time I have before I start showing. But once I do, it’ll all be over. I can’t lie to him forever.
I walk down a hallway and turn a corner to see a door cracked open. Looking back over my shoulder, I make sure I’m not being followed. So many people have been killed within these walls that a cold chill always follows you-as if their souls are left behind.
Pushing the door open, I step inside and come to a stop. My body stiffens at what I see. Four men lie facedown and blood covers the floor. The sound of it dripping through the drains in the floor echoes throughout the cold room.
I’ve seen bodies before, but these seem…different. They all have black hoods over their heads, and their arms are cuffed behind their backs. Of course, they’ve been killed-execution style.
Walking over to one of them, I bend down and carefully pull on the top of the hood. The blood covering it makes it sticky, but I manage to remove it. I drop it to the floor and look over the hole that’s in the center. Bile begins to rise, and my breathing catches.
Leaning over, I look at his cuffed wrists, pulling on his sleeves, and the sight of a wedding ring catches my attention. It’s a simple silver band. I remove it and bring it up to my face. I squint to see the words engraved on the inside.
“Hey?” a voice snaps at me, causing me to drop it while taking a quick step back when I see two men standing there. “What the fuck did you do?”
They both wear a Lords mask and cloak covering a hundred percent of their bodies. They even have gloves on. “I…uh…”
“Call the guards,” one snaps to the other.
The voice is altered so I can’t tell who they are. I lift my hands. “I didn’t do this. I found them…”
“Bullshit!” he shouts, cutting me off.
The other walks to the opposite side of the room and pushes the intercom button. “Code 26,” he snaps into it, and I take another shaky step back.
“I swear.” Tears fill my eyes. How could I kill four men? I would never. Let alone tie them up. And a gun? I don’t have one of those.
“Contain her,” the one by the intercom shouts, and I turn and run.
I turn a corner as a hand fists my hair. I go to scream out but another slaps over my face. I’m pulled into a room and pressed into a wall. It’s pitch black. I blink rapidly, trying to focus on anything as I wait for my vision to adjust to the darkness.
A hard body presses into mine while I hear the two men running down the hall outside of the door looking for me. “Don’t make a sound,” a voice whispers in my ear, making me whimper. “Or you’re dead.”
SAINT