Chapter Four

Rhea

I open my eyes to find that I am still between Quinn and Jace. Jace has his arm banded around my waist, and Quinn has his arms around my shoulders. My ass is pressed against Jace and when I shift to try and scoot away, he tightens his grip on me and kisses my neck.

“Good morning,” Jace whispers in my ear.

“Sir,” I say.

“Ma’am,” he replies.

“You’re poking me in the ass, Jace,” I say.

“If you’re lucky, I’ll put it in your ass,” Jace says, chuckling to himself.

“Damn. I don’t even get a kiss? Just straight to anal?” I say. “I suppose it’s the best way to not have to see my face.”

“He may be afraid to fuck you stupid, but I’m not,” Jace growls in my ear. "Say it again, Little Star. This whole fucking house will hear you scream my name.”

“What happens if I’m already stupid before you fuck me stupid? Do I get smarter, or can I just be blissfully ignorant and believe that I’m not as off-putting as I actually am?” I ask.

“Brave little girl,” Quinn chuckles sleepily.

Jace rolls me to my back and rips my panties off, making me gasp. “Rude. Those were all I had.”

“That’s the least of what you should be worried about,” he says as he pulls my legs apart. Jace grabs my face and turns me to look at him. “You have a choice, Rhea.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I ask with a sweet smile. “I’m okay. I promise.”

Jace kisses me deeply as he runs his hand up my inner thigh. My whole body shutters at his touch and I whimper against his lips. “Birth control?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “In my arm.”

“I want you to be sure about this, Rhea,” he says seriously. “You have to talk to me. You can’t just take something if it hurts.”

“I’m going to need you to explain that,” I laugh. It’s mostly dark in the room, but I can still see him as he sits up a bit more. He gently grabs my wrist and presses my hand against his cock.

“Jesus, Jace. Do you trip over it?” I say, and Quinn laughs.

“Look at me, Rhea. I mean it. You have to talk to me, okay?”

“Everything makes so much sense now,” I say. “Do both of you have giant dicks?”

“No,” Quinn chuckles.

“You’re a damn liar,” Jace laughs. “Rhea…”

“I’ll talk to you, Jace. I promise,” I say softly.

“Do you want this? Truly?” Jace asks. I sigh heavily before grabbing his hand and pressing it against me. He growls and pushes two of his large fingers inside of me. I gasp and arch off the bed when he curls them inside of me. “Fuck, Little Star. You’re soaked.”

“J-Jesus,” I moan and grip onto his and Quinn’s arm when he starts to slowly fuck me with them.

“She is sensitive,” Quinn states as he slowly pulls my shirt up. It’s one of theirs, so it’s a dress on me. The cool air rushes against my skin and I groan when Quinn gently sucks my nipple into his mouth.

“What do you think, Quinn? Should I give her a little warm up?” Jace asks.

“I think she will like that,” Quinn says between kisses to my chest.

“When was the last time you had an orgasm?” Jace asks me.

“Years,” I choke out.

“Oh, you’re going to be fun to play with,” Jace chuckles. He adds a third finger and starts to fuck me. He is slow at first and I groan at the way his fingers stretch me. “I think I want to have a little taste.”

“Wait. You don’t…” I start to say but stop.

“Say it,” Quinn says.

“Marvin always told me my belly was too big for that. You don’t have to,” I say. Jace curls his fingers inside of me again, as he moves between my legs.

“Marvin is a fucking idiot,” Jace says. He spreads my legs wide, a broken sound escapes me when he flicks his tongue across my clit.

“Oh fuck,” I pant. “Oh my God.”

“Oh, you’re about to wake the whole house,” Quinn laughs and kisses me.

“I… I can’t help… Oh God, Jace,” I moan.

“Be loud, baby girl. Let everyone know how good you feel,” Quinn encourages.

Jace goes from flicking to sucking, and my body twists as I scream out. He starts fucking me harder and harder with his fingers, my body pulsating from the pressure. He’s hitting something inside of me that has my eyes rolled back. I can’t help but rock my hips against his mouth, causing a tugging sensation as he sucks hard.

“Oh. Oh, God. Oh my God, I’m gonna come. Dear God, please don’t stop. Please. Oh, Jace,” I moan helplessly. My fingers tangle in his black hair and he growls against my pussy. I yell out when he suddenly rolls so that I am on top of him. I try to pull away but he has his arms around my thighs and keeps me pinned to his mouth. Every time I try to pull away, he nips at my clit. It feels so goddamn good that I keep doing it. Eventually, the need to come overrides my fear of suffocating him, and I start rocking my hips again.

“My God, you are fucking beautiful,” Quinn says as he looks me over. His hands find my breasts again, except this time he pinches my nipples. A jolt of pleasure surges through me and I tip my head back and moan. “Our sweet little star likes pain.”

Jace hears this and sucks harder. Quinn twists my nipples again and my body starts to shake. They work together to slowly pull it to the surface. When it finally breaks, it is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The warmth of my arousal floods out of me and Jace eagerly drinks from me as I nearly scream through my orgasm. When they finally let up, Jace moves me back to lay before pushing my knees to my chest.

“I can’t wait any longer. I need to be inside of you,” he says.

“Please,” I pant. “Please, fuck me.”

I don’t know what these two men are doing to me, but I want them to keep doing it. They make me feel beautiful with how hungry they look when touching me. Jace looks like he’s about to fuck me to death, and I want it so badly.

Jace slowly pushes into me, and I groan. "You’re so fucking big, and I am much smaller than I thought." Just when I think I’ve taken all of him, he pushes deeper. “Fuck, that hurts,” I whine. “Please, don’t stop.”

“Is it too much?” Jace asks, slowly fucking me.

“Fuck,” I gasp again when he pushes deeper. “Fuck me like you would the others. Please.”

Jace smiles deviously at me before drawing out and slamming back into me. He has so much force behind his thrust that all I can do is let out a groan from deep in my chest. He steadily increases his pace until my grunts turn to literal screams of pleasure. I am so lost in this feeling that I don’t give a fuck who can hear me. I don’t care who knows that I’m getting railed by him. My knees are pressed into my tits, and he has me folded in half as he fucks me insanely fast.

One by one, orgasms easily slip out of me. By the time he moans through his own pleasures, I am so fucking dazed that I can’t see straight. Jace lets my legs come down and leans down and kisses me deeply. “You are amazing,” Jace says softly.

“You… holy fuck,” I say breathlessly. “You are a monster.”

“Is that a complaint?” Jace asks with a grin.

“Yes, but I’m going to need you to do that again,” I say. Jace and Quinn laugh heartily

“I thought she was having a nightmare or something,” Theo says. “Turns out you were just trying to fuck her to death.”

I gasp when I realize others are here. I turn into Quinn, and he wraps his arms around me.

“You’re okay,” Quinn says softly.

“I just didn’t know anyone was here,” I say. “I’m sorry, Theo.”

“It’s alright,” he chuckles. “I just got down here. Give it a second and the others will come be nosy too.”

He doesn’t get the sentence out completely before we hear footsteps on the stairs. I can’t help but laugh when Theo grins at me. “I’m naked,” I say to Quinn.

“Living here, you are bound to see all of them naked at some point. They have no issue fucking out in the open,” Quinn says.

“Are you going to do that to me?” I ask.

“Yes, unless you say otherwise,” he says. “I’ll be a little nicer than Jace was.”

“Please don’t be,” I say seriously. “I want to understand what you guys are capable of. I don’t want to be treated like I’m broken. I’m nearly thirty years old. I can handle it.”

“You got it,” he says with a grin.

“Who tried to kill poor Rhea?” Anika asks.

“Jace,” I say. “I think Quinn is afraid.”

I bust out laughing when Quinn grabs my face and forces me to look at him. “I’m trying to be considerate of the fact that you just escaped an abusive relationship,” he says.

“If I have power too, shouldn’t that mean that my word should be respected?” I ask. “If I say I’m okay with something, I mean it. I may not know where my limits are, but I do know where I’m comfortable. If it’s as simple as you not wanting to be with me, you can just tell me you don’t find me attractive enough and we can move on.”

“Oh shit,” Theo laughs when Quinn abruptly grabs me and rolls so he can pin my arms above my head. I can’t help but giggle because he has a serious look on his face. It’s hard for me to take him seriously when he looks at me like that.

“I’m going to say this one time, and I don’t want to have to repeat myself,” Quinn says sternly. “If you say one more negative thing about yourself, I swear to God you won’t walk right for a week.”

“Is it negative if it’s true?” I ask. “Because it is true that I’m fat. Not everyone is into fat girls.”

“So you really see yourself that way?” Quinn asks as he sits up and pulls his pajama pants off.

“ That is not going to fit inside of me. You are fucking insane if you think that’s possible,” I say. I am aware that everyone is in the basement because I can hear their quiet laughter at my reaction, but I don’t mind. They all make me feel comfortable and welcome.

“Do you?” he asks, leaning back into me.

“It’s all I know, so yeah. I guess,” I say. “I guess I'm not understanding how it is so negative if it’s true. Would you rather me lie?”

“You are not fat, Rhea,” he says. “And Hell, even if you were. You are still fucking gorgeous. Weight has nothing to do with beauty. So fucking what if you have a little bit extra fat on you? I do. Everyone in this room does. That’s how humans work. As long as you are healthy, that is all I give a shit about.”

“I don’t feel pretty though,” I admit quietly.

“Safe word,” Quinn says. “Pick something. If you say it, everything stops, no matter what is happening.”

“Uh… I don’t know… Banana,” I say. “Why?”

“Every time we fuck you, I want you to remember how gorgeous we think you are. You are amazing inside and out, Rhea. You have grown into a stunning woman, and we are so fucking lucky to know you,” Quinn says.

“It’s hard to see,” I say.

“You know I love you to the moon and back, right?” Quinn asks with a devious look in his eyes.

“Yeah, I know,” I reply with a soft smile.

“Remember that, Little Star, because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t,” he says with a grave warning in his tone.

Before I can reply, Quinn surges into me and I’m dead silent as I arch off the bed and dig my nails into his arms. “Fuck!” I yell out when I finally catch my breath.

“Tell me you’re beautiful,” Quinn demands.

“Lying is rude,” I groan.

“Say it, Rhea,” he says. “Tell me you’re beautiful.”

I open my eyes to match his gaze. I want to challenge him. If Quinn and Jace want me to change the way I see myself, they need to give me a good reason. “Make me,” I say with my eyes narrowed.

“Oh, I’m going to fuck you up, little girl,” he grumbles as he rolls and pulls me on top of him. He wraps his arm around my body so that I stay pinned to his chest. He keeps a tight hold on my hips as he starts to slam into me again. All I can do is scream and whimper into his chest as he ruthlessly fucks me.

“Quinny,” I whimper.

“Fuck… You are so beautiful, Rhea,” he murmurs in my ear. “I’ll show you what we see. I promise.”

His gentle words being whispered in my ear while he fucks me to literal tears is amazing. “It feels so good,” I moan.

Quinn grabs my face between his large hands, and I instinctively move my hips to help continue the violent thrusting. “You are so damn pretty with tears in your eyes, Little Star,” Quinn says. “You are perfect… so fucking perfect.”

I bury my face in his neck. I quietly murmur in his ear, and it sends him into a frenzy. “Please… Come in me, Quinny. Please.”

Quinn grunts and growls as he fucks me. I cling to him, completely lost in the pleasure. When he starts to come, his moaning my name drags me down with him.

One minute Quinn is balls deep inside of me, and the next I am curled up in his lap. I gasp and jump up. “Woah there,” Quinn says, pulling me back into his lap. “You’re okay.”

“I… Jesus Christ, Quinn,” I say, and everyone laughs.

“I warned you,” he says, gently kissing me. “We both did.”

“Don’t include me in that,” Jace laughs. “I didn’t make her pass out.”

“No, but you both made my belly hurt,” I say.

“So, can we go get your stuff so I can punch Marvin again?” Mia asks.

“I don’t know if…”

“We will all be there,” Quinn says.

“If we could avoid hitting Marvin, that would be great. I’m already gonna have to listen to my dad’s mouth,” I say.

“Aht. Quinn,” Theo says before Quinn says anything. “I know that instinctively you want to protect her, but she has to get there on her own. You can’t force healing.”

“He’s a puny little fucker. It wouldn’t take long,” Quinn says with a deep frown.

“Quinny…” I say as I cup his face. “I have to handle this. I am not technically divorced yet, so if I piss them off, then he can contest having the conservatorship removed. If that happens, he will put me in a facility.”

“I filed everything,” Emma says. “I have a friend who is a judge. She’s going to look at it today and sign off on it. We all saw Marvin choking you, so I should be able to get you an immediate divorce based on domestic violence.”

“Will I even be allowed to get my stuff?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says. “There is a lot that we need to handle, but we can start by getting your stuff. He will be served an emergency protection order at the same time.”

“Alright,” I sigh. “I… need clothes. Although this T-shirt is comfortable, I will get shit immediately from Marvin.”

“Marvin is a little bitch,” Rowan says. “Trust me when I say he won’t mess with you while we are there.”

“I don’t picture him going against Quinn, Jace, Rowan, Max, Theo, Mia, Emma, and me,” Anika says. “Oh! That reminds me. I have something for you.”

“Me?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says as she stands up. She leaves the living room and goes into the kitchen. When she returns, she hands me a laptop. “It’s my old one. I figured you could type on this until Quinn and Jace inevitably get you a new one.”

“That’s sweet, but you don’t have to do that,” I say. “I have no way of paying-”

“It’s a gift, Rhea,” she says. “How about this? You can pay me by being a brat to Quinn.”

“I don’t know if I’m… bratty enough,” I shrug.

“You literally said, 'make me' in the middle of him fucking you,” Max laughs. “I’m gonna need for you to keep doing that because that is prime entertainment.”

“See? Be a brat to him, and we are even,” Anika says. “You can say make me and run from him if you want to pay up all at once.”

“Are you trying to get her cervix blown out?” Mia asks.

“He wouldn’t do anything,” I say.

“Wanna bet?” Quinn says, narrowing his eyes at me. A blush heats my cheeks.

“My belly hurts right now. Maybe later,” I say with a sheepish smile.

“Mhmm,” he says.

“I have a dress you can wear,” Mia says. “You would look great in it.”

“Uh… okay,” I say. “Thank you.”

Mia smiles and gestures for me to walk with her. I hesitate at first but get up and walk with her. Anika walks with us and we go into one of the bedrooms. “Quinn and Jace talked about you all of the time, ya know?” Anika says. “They never told us your name because… well, because they are protective.”

“Good things, I hope,” I say.

“Yeah. They said that you were smart, funny, and beautiful. I think they fell in love with you from far away. I’ve never seen Quinn react like that, even when I had bruises, and my idiot ex was basically stalking me. Jace is normally calm, but he was very willing to let Quinn shoot him.”

“I always thought I’d be with them some day,” I say. “I thought when I was a teenager that it was just a stupid crush. I didn’t think they’d ever see me that way.”

“As weird as this may sound, I think Quinn and Jace probably did have feelings for you, but they didn’t know it. Why spend their whole lives taking care of you, so I feel like this is a normal progression,” Mia says.

“They were never inappropriate. I thought I was just like a little sister to them,” I say.

“I’m pretty sure Quinn would rather cut off his own leg with a rusty spoon than hurt someone undeserving, especially you,” Anika says. “Also, what we saw and heard them do to you is definitely not something you do to a little sister.”

“How could they have feelings for me back then but not want to be inappropriate?” I ask.

“Because relationships are more than just sex,” Mia says. “Quinn and Jace like to take care of people. They’re ruthless when they fuck, but they are the sweetest men on the planet. They will dote on you like I’m sure that they always did, only now they are going to be extra protective because of Marvin.”

“It just doesn’t feel real, I guess,” I say as Mia hands me a pastel pink sundress. “Oh… I don’t have panties on. So…”

“Which one of them did it?” Mia asks.

“Jace,” I laugh.

“A sun dress with no panties?” Anika asks. “Fuck yes. I think I want to change clothes now.”

“I feel like pissing off Max,” Mia says. We all change clothes. I am wearing a pink dress. Anika has a light blue one on, and Mia has a yellow one. Because of how it’s made, it doesn’t require a bra either, so I just have the dress on.

“Please do. I’ve been trying to get him to go after you for months now,” Anika says.

“Am I… am I supposed to be polyamorous, too?” I ask. “Like… is that what Quinn and Jace would want?”

“I won’t lie. They’ll definitely want to share you, but knowing them, they will always keep themselves involved. Even if it’s just being close by,” Anika says. “Quinn will scene with us, but it’s not super often. Not unless we intentionally piss him off.”

“The most important question is, do you want to be a part of that?” Mia asks.

“Uh… I don’t know how to answer that. I feel like I’m violating some kind of girl code.”

“It’s Theo, isn’t it? Please be a brat to him,” Anika laughs. “Girl, if Quinn and Jace trust you, so do I. I know that’s why you trust us.”

“If you can’t bring yourself to actually bring it up in a conversation, just be a brat to the other guys, and see how it plays out. You are basically dating Quinn and Jace, considering they just fucked you into unconsciousness, so everyone will always go to them for permission.”

“Does this make me their submissive, or…”

“Do you want to submit to them?” Anika asks.

“I do,” I say. “I want to learn what this lifestyle can be like without suffering.”

“So… Theo uses BDSM therapeutically. Obviously not always, but he is really fucking good at finding that one thing you respond to and playing on it. I think with how controlling Marvin was, it would be good for you to work with Quinn, Jace, and Theo on how to give control over in a healthy way. It’s very important that you understand the difference between abuse and consent,” Anika says.

“The whip,” Mia says.

“Oh. Just a heads up, Theo will want to show you how a bullwhip should be used. I saw it all over his face yesterday when he saw the scars.”

“I don’t know about that,” I say quietly.

“Bullwhips don’t always hurt,” Theo says from the doorway behind me. “Who thought it was a good idea to put the three of you together?”

“What do you mean, Theo?” Anika asks with a grin.

“Brats,” he grumbles before turning to me. “She is right. I would like to show you that it’s not supposed to be like that. It sounds intimidating, but I could use it in a way that doesn’t even hurt or leave a mark. Someone who knows what they are doing can control the intensity.”

“I… I’d like to see it first,” I say.

“We can sit down with Quinn and Jace first, and then go from there,” he says, gently squeezing my shoulder.

“Does that mean I have to…”

“It means nothing besides we can sit down with Quinn and Jace,” he says softly. “A big conversation needs to happen with everyone, so we all understand your limits.”

“Yes, M…,” I say, but stop myself short again. I drop my head and chew on the inside of my cheek, trying to calm my nerves.

“Come on,” Anika says, hook her arm with mine. “I’ll save you before he psychoanalyzes that.”

She and Mia pull me out of the room, and we go back into the living room. “Hot damn!” Max exclaims as he looks up at us.

“Oh, I don’t know if I can be good knowing you don’t have panties on,” Jace says as he pulls me into his lap. “You look incredible.”

“It’s a little tight, but…”

“Is it comfortable?” Quinn asks.

“Yes…”

“Good. It looks amazing and it’s comfortable,” Quinn says.

“Can I ask you something?” Theo asks me.

“No,” I frown at him.

“Sassy girl,” Max says. “What did you do to her, Theo?”

“She almost called you master, didn’t she?” Jace asks.

“Yeah,” Theo says. “I’m just curious what prompted you to say it?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I’m trying to get an understanding of how your triggers work. Finding out the little things you’re reacting to, I think, would help build a foundation for how we can proceed,” he says.

“I don’t know,” I say. “I think it was just that what you said sounded like a command, almost.”

“Are you more comfortable saying it?" he asks.

“No. It’s… Degrading,” I say. “I’m sure there’s a positive way that it could be used, but I associate it with Marvin.”

“Understood,” he says. “Don’t shame yourself if you slip up. You have a lot of habits to work through.”

“Let’s go deal with fuck face,” Emma says. “An officer is meeting us there. It’s about ten minutes from here.”

“Let’s load up,” Quinn says, standing and offering me his hand. “I’ll be good.”

“Unless he puts his hands on you,” Jace says. “Then I’ll break his goddamn neck.”

We pull into the driveway, and I am curled up in Quinn’s lap. “Hey,” Quinn says, kissing the top of my head.

“I’m scared,” I admit with a whisper.

“I know, and that’s okay,” he says. “We are all right here with you.”

“Let’s just do this,” I sigh and sit up. “If I don’t go now, I won’t ever do it.”

“Hey,” Rowan says when he opens our door. “Marvin has officially been fired, and he’s pissed. Mostly at me, I think. I just wanted to warn you.”

“He will blame me,” I say as I get out of the SUV.

“This is Officer Casey Gett,” Emma says. “She will be serving the protection order and standing by so you can get your things.”

“Thank you,” I say to the officer.

“Not a problem,” she says warmly. “You and I will go to the door first; the others can be with us so long as everyone behaves.”

I nod and we walk to the front door. When I don’t knock, Officer Gett does. A few seconds later, the door opens. “Rhea,” he says with a warm smile that takes me by surprise.

“Mr. Miller. Rhea will be gathering her belongings with my assistance,” Casey says.

“No problem,” he says. No one else is allowed in my home, though.”

“Can he do that?” Mia whispers to Emma, and she nods.

“I don’t have much,” I say.

“I can stand here with Mr. Miller,” the officer says. I nod and scurry past Marvin. He doesn’t follow, so I rush to the bedroom. I start gathering my clothing into a bag. When I turn around, I fall back against the wall and scream when I see David kicking the bedroom door.

“You dumb little bitch,” he growls and grabs me by the throat. “You have three days to come to me, or I will start picking off your friends one by one until I get what I paid for.”

“Please let go of me,” I whimper. He chuckles and tucks a business card into the front of my dress against my breast before taking a few large steps backward.

“I’d advise you to keep your mouth shut,” he says before the door comes open. Quinn comes straight to me and wraps me in a hug.

“What happened? What did he say?” Quinn asks. I shake my head, and he grabs my face. “Talk to me, Rhea. What happened?”

“He… He said I had three days to come to him or he would hurt you guys,” I whisper. I pull the card out of my dress and hand it to him. “He put this in my dress.”

“Good girl, Rhea,” he praises as he hands it off to the officer without looking away from me. “I’m proud of you.”

“You put something down her shirt?” Emma asks David.

“Yeah, Jealous?” David says with a smirk.

The officer gets on her radio and calls for backup. David and Marvin are glaring at me and I feel nervous being in this room. Marvin is standing in front of the armoire that holds his guns. “He has guns in the armoire behind him,” I whisper to Quinn.

Officer Gett hears enough of my sentence to react. “I need for you two to step out of the room with me so she can finish getting her belongings.”

“I don’t want them in my home,” Marvin snaps. “I have the right to make sure no one steals from me.”

“Should have thought about that before your buddy here assaulted her,” Casey says. “Out.”

When they step out of the room, I push away from Quinn and hurriedly pack the rest of my belongings. Everyone is in the room with me and helping me where they can. I take the last bit of my clothing off of the bar in the closet and I see the back panel on the wall. That’s where he keeps everything that he tortures me with. Why does he keep it hidden? They are just sex toys.

“Uh… can I show you something?” I say to Theo. “You said you wanted to understand… I… This is admittedly embarrassing for me, but I feel like you would be the person I could show this to.”

“Yeah,” he says as he walks over to me. I pull the panel off and step back so he can see what is behind the wall. He immediately turns and looks at me. “Is this… Was he using this shit on you?”

“Yeah,” I say. Quinn and Jace step over to him and the first thing that Quinn pulls out is a flogger. The tails are made of thin chains with metal points on the end. The handle is simple, metal tubing, wrapped with black leather. One by one, they start pulling items out like metal clamps, full face leather masks, restraints, bars, and metal whips. The whips are all made of stainless steel and the popper on the end is simple braided cow leather with a metal point fashioned to the end.

“What the fuck,” Theo says. “I’m at a loss for words.”

“Hand me that bag,” Anika says to Mia. Mia hands it to her and Anika squeezes past Theo, Quinn, and Jace to start putting the items in the bag.

“What are you doing?” Rowan asks her.

“Being a petty bitch,” she says. “I should be encouraging Quinn and Jace to beat the fuck out of him with these, but we are taking them with us instead.”

“I don’t want them,” I say.

“Yeah, but we don’t want him to have them either,” she says. “We can get rid of them, but you can claim to them if he was using them on you. He’s not dumb enough to argue that point in front of that cop. These are torture tools, especially combined with all of the scars you have.”

“Uh,” Emma says. “Rhea, did you ever meet any of these subs that he brought in?”

“No,” I say. “I don’t know if they even knew I was there.”

“We are taking all of this to the police,” she says. “If you haven’t touched it, don’t.”

“Why?” I ask.

“We just need to hurry,” Emma says.

“You don’t mean…” Anika turns and asks.

“Hurry,” Emma says. “Now. We can buy her whatever she needs.”

No one argues. Everyone grabs a bag, and we get out of the house. I’m not sure what’s going on, but we get back into the vehicles while Emma and Theo go to the officers that have arrived. Anika is still holding the bag of what they called torture tools when opens her door.

“Rhea, I need for you to sign this,” Emma says, handing me a clipboard.

“What is it?” I ask her.

“It’s signing over that bag to the police,” she says.

“Oh… okay,” I say, confused. I read through it before signing my name at the bottom. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No, sweetie. You haven’t done anything wrong,” she says. “They’re not pressing charges on David for assault.”

“What?” Quinn snaps.

“Quinn… I need for you to trust me,” she says. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” he says with a sigh.

“Thank you,” she says. “Rhea, do you have a phone?”

“Yeah. It’s in the blue bag. It’s pretty useless. It only calls Marvin,” I say.

“Write cell phone beside the list of items and initial for me,” she says. When I do, she hands the clipboard off to Casey. “I should mention I lied. Casey is a detective.”

“What?” Jace asks. “Why did you get a detective here?”

“Because…” she goes to say, but stops.

“You can tell them,” says.

“I think Marvin and David might have been planning to kill Rhea. All of those items… I'm starting to think that those submissive that he brought in were not there willingly and they didn’t leave the house alive,” she says.

“I’ll come by the house,” Casey says. “I don’t want them to be suspicious. I will tell them that they are not allowed to leave town because you are filing domestic violence charges. I will file the domestic violence charges just to keep them in town. That’s not what I am after, though.”

“Okay,” Emma says. “Wait, no. Meet us at the Cherry. I can guarantee that no one is listening in there. I’ll close it to the public so we will have the place to ourselves.”

“That works,” she says. “I’ll text you.”

I feel numb with all of this information being thrown around. I move to sit by myself between Quinn and Jace before letting myself zone out.