Beautiful Lies (Breaking Belles #2) - Alta Hensley Page 0,51

anyway. Do what Sully cannot, I prayed. Please protect me. Save me from these evil men.

Just then, two women appeared at the door. They were naked, too. With beautiful make-up, perfectly shiny, blown out hair.

Southern belle sirens.

“Take her and prepare her,” one of the men said. An Elder, I was sure.

The women nodded like little puppets and approached me. No. My entire body stiffened as alarm bells rang in my head.

“Where are you taking her?” Sully asked, a slight note of alarm in his voice, too. He’d seen my body go rigid.

“It’s none of your concern,” said one Elder haughtily as another answered, “To prepare her for the Trial.”

Sully looked toward a man in the corner. “Montgomery?”

The only other young one. Sully’s friend. I looked toward him too, like he might be my salvation. He didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “It’s just a ceremony. It’s fine.”

Sully’s eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded too.

I dropped my eyes to the floor.

His friend was a liar.

Or ignorant.

I hoped for Sully’s sake that Montgomery was just ignorant.

And I also hated the man for not protecting me.

Because whatever they had planned for me was not going to be fine, I knew it deep down in my guts. I was not safe.

But I’d survived their Fox Hunt.

I’d survived their brand.

For my family, I would survive anything.

I turned away from Sully. I had a bad habit of not being able to hide my truth from him, and if he saw the truth of what I was facing, whatever evil it was, I feared he would tear down this manor.

But I had a family to think of… particularly my little sister. My dear, dear sister who needed me more now than ever before.

And her life was worth everything.

So, I walked to the sirens, the painted witches with angels faces, and I let them lead me through the door to what would no doubt be a new level of hell.

17

Portia

“No!” I screeched. I fought them. I fought them and I screamed.

Four men held me down at the end as they shoved me into the pine box in the ground at the edge of the property.

I screamed for mercy from the men holding me.

I screamed for help from the women who’d driven me there like a lamb to the slaughter in the golf cart.

I screamed for Sully.

I screamed for my long dead mama and the daddy who’d driven away from us when we needed him the most.

I screamed for God.

And not a goddamned one of them answered me as they nailed the lid of that coffin shut on top of me.

I screamed for help until my voice was raw. I hated small spaces. I hated the dark, I always had. Oh Mama, I hated the dark. I hated the dark.

“Stop panicking, stop it!” I scream-whispered at myself with the tiny raspy voice I had left. “Fucking think!”

The box was pine. I was strong. I’d spent the last weeks working out. I was a strong bitch.

And I was a fighter.

God, my whole life was a fight. A knock-down, brutal fucking brawl.

Christina Aguilera’s Fighter started playing through my head.

I was strong, and hard, and smart.

I started pounding at the box. It was just pine. Maybe I could bust my way out of the damn thing. I’d seen it done in movies.

I’d just save my fucking self. Like always. Save myself, and then save my sisters. I was one strong bitch, and if God wouldn’t save me, I’d save my fucking self.

I was strong, I was tough, life was cruel, life was a goddamned bitch, to me, to my family, to my beautiful sister, and fuck it, fuck it ALL, I’d never give up, I’d never fucking give up—

I pounded on the wood above me.

I kicked.

I kicked more.

I pounded with my palms.

I tried to turn to get my elbows but I couldn’t—

Dammit, I couldn’t turn, the space was too small, there wasn’t enough room, I couldn’t— If I could just get some goddamned room, I was sure I could get the fuck out of here, but there wasn’t enough space, I couldn’t move my elbow, I couldn’t get it, I couldn’t get it—

Okay, okay, so I’d use my palms. Fine. Okay, okay—

I slammed my palms, but the wood didn’t budge. It wasn’t budging, I wasn’t really doing anything.

But maybe with enough repeated hits, I’d weaken it.

I tried to kick again but it was the same problem, there just wasn’t enough fucking space to get the right momentum to do any damage.

I screamed in