Dark reckoning

Je

She bit her lip, swearing Steve had closed it before he left.

Didn’t he?

Unsure of which parts of her memory were real and which were dreams, she stared at that opening. “He closed it,” she said to the empty room. Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from the gaping closet and glanced at the clock. It was almost ten. She swung her legs out of the bed, giving the closet a wide berth. She opened the shades, spilling light into the room.

“Come on,” she said, stubbornly shaking her head. “It was only a dream.” She took a tentative step toward the closet. Like Flash Gordon, she reached in and flipped on the light.

Only clothes and shoes, see?

She sca

Chuckling at her skittishness, she turned the light off, closing the closet door.

In the changing room, she caught a quick glance of herself in the mirror and stopped. Her heart hammered against the walls of her chest and her reflection paled. Burn marks in the shape of fingers wrapped around both her wrists. The clothes dropped to the floor and her lungs started their slow restriction, strangling the breath from her. The world tilted to slow motion and her hand rose to move her hair away from her shoulder, the other picking up the vanity mirror. Je

Red welts. Red welts in the shape of hands. Red welts exactly where it had touched her in the dream.

“Jesus.”

Shaking, she receded into the shower, locking the door behind her and letting the hot steam clear her lungs. She ran the soap over her skin, the cucumber and melon scent drifting on the air, mingling with her fear, and her eyes never left the locked shower door. When she finished shampooing her hair, she turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself, tentatively stepping out of the steam and into the cool room.

Je

Bill stood with his fist inches from the wood, getting ready to knock. “Just the person I was looking for,” he said and stepped into the doorway.

“Billy, I’m going to be late for my lunch date,” she said, trying to scoot past him.

“Yes, you are.” He closed the door behind him, blocking her escape.

“What the...,” Je

Bill punched her in the temple and she went down cold.

The ritual had begun.

Chapter 34

Bill smiled at his handiwork and glanced over his shoulder at the closed doors of the crypt Adam and Joe guarded. Up until the moment he had Je

When he ran his fingertips over her bound body, she shivered under his touch. He stepped back, studying her. A frown crossed his lips. He moved closer, lifting her head and fa

Better.

Satisfied, he crossed into the shadows, letting the vision of her fill his eyes. Need swelled in him and he reached for the small square package in his back pocket. Twirling it between his thumb and forefinger, he waited.

Je

“Lay back, Jen,” Bill said, bringing her attention to him. He stepped out of the shadows, twirling the package in his hand restlessly.

“Where am I?” She glanced at her right hand, staring at the metal shackle around her wrist. Her head jerked to her restrained left hand, and her eyes went wide, falling back on Bill.

“In a mausoleum in the cemetery,” Bill answered. Approaching her, he ran his hand up the inside of Je

Je

Ignoring her plea, he continued stroking her with the back of his knuckles. “You are the a

“What? What sacrifice?” she asked, turning her head to the right, taking in the rest of the mausoleum. Hanging from the wall were several bones in the shape of pentacles and on the floor was a large pentacle painted in red. Her tear-filled eyes landed back on Bill. “Please don’t do this,” she said.

He let his eyes take her in before he slid his finger in her dry path, hard enough to make her breath lock in her chest. “You weren’t supposed to fall for him, Jen, and you certainly weren’t supposed to fuck him,” he said, letting the anger and jealousy take over. He continued to slam his fingers inside her, the frustration growing. He glared at her, grinding his teeth. “Why’s your cunt so dry today Jen? The other night it was dripping wet.”

A wrinkle appeared between her confused eyes.

“On the couch, you came for me.” He grazed her with his eyes. “I wanted to bury my face in your pussy and suck the cum out of you.” His eyes met her horrified glare. “Tracy would never have known—she was passed out drunk in the bedroom.

Je

Bill sighed. “Instead, I went and fucked her. I didn’t care that she was unconscious, it was better than screwing this up. But now, now that I’ve got you here.” Leaning over, he parted her with his hands and ran his tongue inside her, tasting her. At the same time, he ran his hand up her trembling stomach until he reached the soft mounds of her chest. He squeezed, pinching her nipples until tears sprung from her eyes.

“Billy, please don’t do this!”

Standing, he licked his lips and pulled his hand away, laughing at the dying hope that flared in her eyes. “Ever since the day we met I’ve wanted to fuck you and you were dead wrong about it never happening. You see, tonight we all get to fuck you.”

“No!” Je

Bill laughed, meeting her fiery gaze and reveling in her fear. He gave a curt nod. “You’re Beta Theta Pi’s whore now.”

“You son of a bitch!” Je