CHAPTER 23

As soon as the heavy door closed behind us, completely blocking out the drone of the music, I heard the screams. I couldn’t force my feet forward, so I stood hesitating at the head of the stairs as the others descended.

Real honest-to-God torches set in wall sconces provided the only lighting, and the walls were the same rough-hewn rock I remembered from that hideous video. The stairs were uneven and worn in the middle, as if this basement had existed long before the rest of the club. Maybe it had.

Dominic turned to look over his shoulder and saw me hesitating. He held out his hand to me, letting Shae and Adam get ahead of him.

Swallowing my fear as best I could, I forced my feet down first one step, then another. My knees felt a bit wobbly, and the uneven stairs and stiletto heels weren’t helping. I was nervous enough to actually take Dominic’s offered hand. His palm was clammy, and I wasn’t entirely sure which one of us was giving comfort and which one was taking it.

The sounds got louder and clearer as we descended much deeper into the ground than any basement I’d ever been in. Screams echoed against the stone walls, but there were other sounds, too. The crack of a whip. The smack of flesh upon flesh. And lots of moans, not all of them pain.

I didn’t want to take those last few steps downward, didn’t want to see the basement Adam and Dom had described.

I didn’t have a choice.

The stairway opened out into a long, wide hallway lined with doors. Down the center of the hallway were rows of padded benches, like you’d see in the middle of a museum gallery. Only it wasn’t great works of art these benches were facing.

Each of the rooms in the pit of Hell was fronted by a huge picture window, kind of like you’d see in a natural history museum. But these dioramas were of a very different nature, and weren’t exactly what I’d call “natural,” if you get my drift.

A small crowd had gathered in front of the first of those windows. Some sat on the benches, some knelt on the floor, but all watched the window with eager, lust-hazed eyes. A shrill feminine scream emanated from that room. The cluster of watchers drew closer together, hands reaching and stroking, an amorphous mass that hardly seemed human. Of course, probably many of them weren’t.

I wasn’t surprised to see Shae and Adam stop in front of that window, but I wished to God they hadn’t. Whatever was happening in there, I didn’t want to see it. I swallowed hard. Dominic’s hand squeezed mine. And together, we stepped up to the window, though we still hung back a bit. If anyone had been paying attention to us, they probably would have wondered what the hell we were doing here if we were so squeamish, but they were all far too absorbed in the drama in front of them.

I still didn’t want to look, but the spectacle drew my gaze.

The room behind that window looked like a classroom, complete with blackboard and a couple rows of uncomfortable-looking chairs with attached desks. At the head of the “classroom” sat a huge teacher’s desk, covered with books and papers.

My eyes found that desk just in time to see a large forty-something man pick up a screaming woman about half his size and slam her down onto it. She struggled and kicked so convincingly that for half a second I thought she actually meant it. Then my brain caught up with my emotions and I realized it was all for show.

She wore the pleated skirt and crisp white button-down of a good little Catholic schoolgirl, complete with knee-high socks and Mary Janes. She was small enough to make a convincing young girl. If the ridiculousness of the costume hadn’t tipped me off, I’d have known she was acting when the flailing of her legs made her skirt ride up enough to show everyone she wasn’t wearing any panties.

The “teacher” shoved books and papers out of his way, then pinned the “girl’s” wrists above her head with one meaty hand. A rhythmic clicking sound told me someone in the audience was jerking off to the sight. I clenched my teeth and didn’t let my eyes wander. Bad enough to be forced to watch this disgusting scene-I didn’t want to see the orgy it was inspiring.

Of course, as soon as I thought that, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing in Adam’s direction.

He watched the scene with an impassive expression, looking neither excited nor disgusted. Shae clung to his arm, and there was no mistaking her pleasure at watching the simulated rape of a child. I let my eyes slide downward and was relieved beyond measure that there was no telltale bulge in Adam’s pants. Which led me to wonder at myself. I mean, I already knew how unpleasant his tastes were. I’d experienced firsthand his cruelty. So why should I be relieved that this wasn’t turning him on? Why the fuck did I care?

I glanced at Dominic and saw that his eyes were fixed on the floor. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, and instead of just looking pale, he looked positively green. How had he survived it when Adam and his demon had come down here in the past?

He must have read the question in my face, because he leaned down and spoke softly into my ear.

“I’ve always hated this place,” he confided. “Saul always shielded me when we came here. He never let me see anything that would upset me.”

I couldn’t contain my retort. “But he had no problem with making you ‘perform’ in public, even though he knew you didn’t like it.”

Dominic shook his head. “He didn’t make me do it. I agreed to come here, and he agreed to shield me whenever he wanted to do something I wouldn’t like.” A hint of a smile played around the edges of his mouth. “I definitely had some good times here when Adam drew the curtains.”

For the first time, I noticed the black curtains that framed the inside of the window. I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything I would regret. Just what did Dominic mean when he said Saul “shielded” him? I had visions of the demon using his body in revolting ways while Dominic remained blissfully unaware, and I had to suppress a shudder. I couldn’t imagine trusting anyone enough to surrender so completely.

Dom’s eyes flicked to Shae, then away. “ Shae and Saul never liked each other. She thought his being considerate of me was a sign of weakness.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I think she chose this particular time to come to our table because she knew what was going to be happening down here and knew how I’d feel about it.”

Oh, ick! I’d disliked her already. Now I despised her. How could Adam let her continue to operate? I mean, yeah, I understand the concept of snitches, understand they’re a necessary evil at times, but surely there’s a limit to how evil they should be allowed to be!

The scene I was now carefully avoiding watching reached its climax-so to speak-and the “schoolgirl’s” screams took on a very different tone. Moans and sighs from the audience told me some of them were going along with the ride.

When Shae turned to look at Dominic and me, there was no way I could hide my revulsion. Dom didn’t even try. Shae briefly touched her tongue to her upper lip, then slid her arm through Adam’s to lead him farther down the hall.

I wanted desperately to flee back up the stairs. Instead, I followed them into the heart of darkness.

The curtains were closed over one of the windows we passed. Dominic leaned over to whisper to me.

“That’s the rack room,” he said.

My heart clenched, and I had to force myself to keep moving, not pay special attention to the room. I strained my ears, but heard no screams from behind that curtain. I hoped that meant they were leaving Brian alone. And I wished we could just hurry this little expedition up.

Shae and Adam stopped in front of one of the doors, and Shae dug a key ring out of her pocket.