Patriot (Hades Abyss MC 6) - Harley Wylde
Prologue
MaryAnne -- 1 ½ Years Ago
“You’ll be safe here,” said the gruff biker as he handed me off to two orderlies.
The men gripped my arms and I tried not to fight them off. My skin crawled where they touched me. The Sadistic Saints kidnapped, tortured, and raped me before they sold me to a brothel. When my cousin’s club, the Hades Abyss MC, found me, they assured me I’d be okay. I’d thought they were taking me to Sean, but instead I’d been brought here to The Dunbrooke Institute.
I couldn’t speak. Inside, I was screaming for them not to leave me here. The men dragged me away and behind a secured door. I couldn’t see the biker who’d brought me here, but I’d remember his name for a long time. Brick. I didn’t think he meant to be cruel, but he’d abandoned me. I didn’t like this place.
“Such a pretty little thing,” one of the orderlies said, running his hand down my hair. “The doc is going to love her.”
The other man chuckled. “I think we all will. Can’t wait to have a taste.”
No. No, no, no! I couldn’t go through that again. I just couldn’t.
I had no doubt what they meant. When they stripped me down and “helped” me shower, I knew I hadn’t escaped hell. I’d only transferred to another level. These men would hurt me like the others had.
A man in a white lab coat stepped into the room before I’d been given clothes. I shivered, my arms wrapped around my torso. I felt exposed. Humiliated. And without hope. The man looked me over with a critical eye.
“What do we have?” the man asked.
“Seventeen-year-old girl, Dr. Jones. Some biker brought her here. Said he found her in a whorehouse.”
A gleam lit the doctor’s eyes. “Really? Well, then. It looks like we have ourselves a proven cash cow. Let’s see how good she is.”
One of the orderlies started stripping off his clothes, a leer on his face. I went hot, then ice cold. Fog crept across my brain and as he reached for me, his hand squeezing my ass, I went to the safe place inside my head. A dark room where I didn’t feel pain and hopefully wouldn’t remember all the vile things they did to me.
It was the only way I knew how to survive.
I didn’t know how much time passed but I snapped back to reality when they submerged my body in icy water. I gasped and tried to claw my way out of the tub. They laughed and held me down, groping me.
“Oh, yeah. I’m going to like this one,” one of them said.
“Leave her in the ice bath at least fifteen minutes,” Dr. Jones said. “Then scrub her and put her in room 52K. I know exactly what we’re going to do with patient 2763.”
A number. They’d reduced me to a number.
What did it matter? MaryAnne Swenson had died the day the Sadistic Saints grabbed me and turned me into a whore. I was no one now. Nothing. A body for them to use as they saw fit. Maybe one day they’d kill me, then my suffering would be over. Until then, I’d escape inside my mind as often as I could.
Please, God. Send them back. Make them come get me. I can’t stay here. I can’t endure any more.
My prayers had gone unanswered for so long. I didn’t think now would be any different. Yet somewhere deep inside, I still wanted someone to come rescue me. I’d already learned I couldn’t save myself. Trying only caused more pain.
I only hoped if the Hades Abyss did return for me that there would still be some humanity left in me. I felt my mind slipping more and more every day. Soon, I’d only be a dried-up husk. Little more than a mindless puppet. If that happened, I hoped someone would end my suffering. I’d rather be dead than live like this another day.
* * *
Three Months Later
I’d been staying with Patriot for a few months now, and I still kept waiting for something bad to happen. No one had been mean to me, or tried to touch me since I’d come here. I wasn’t sure I believed I was safe. Except with Patriot. He was the only one I trusted in this place. Even my cousin made me feel hesitant. It wasn’t that I thought Sean would hurt me, but he’d changed and I didn’t know this new version.
I stared at the pale yellow walls