The Merciless (The Merciless #1)(35)

“Riley!” I shove my hands into the water, groping for Brooklyn’s arm. But the tub is deep. My fingers brush something that feels like hair when Riley grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me back. I hit my elbow on the floor and pain shoots up my arm.

“Calm down,” Riley says. “I was just about to let her up.”

Riley finally releases Brooklyn’s head and leans back on her heels. Her arms are stained brown from the water. Brooklyn stays still. I move closer. Just as I’m about to reach out for her again, Riley grabs Brooklyn by the legs and flips her into the tub. Murky water sloshes onto the marble floor, spraying our feet as Brooklyn’s body disappears below the surface. I struggle back onto my knees, but Riley elbows me out of the way before I reach into the bathtub again.

“You’re crowding her.” Riley narrows her cold eyes as she looks down at me.

“She’s drowning.” I hiss.

“Maybe,” Riley says. “If that’s God’s will.” Riley tightens her grip on my arm and starts to pull me out of the bathroom.

“Riley, no!” I try to yank my arm away, but Riley holds on tight. “She’s going to die!”

“Lexie, get the door,” Riley says.

“No!” I scream. Alexis and Grace follow us out of the bathroom. Even Alexis seems uncertain of Riley’s orders, but she still closes the door behind her. I listen for the sound of splashing or screaming—anything to tell me Brooklyn’s still alive on the other side of the door. But all I hear is silence.

I pull away from Riley, but she digs her nails into my skin and forces me out of the bedroom and into the hall. While Alexis grabs my arms, Riley slips the tiny key out of her pocket again. There’s a silver lock nailed to the doorframe, just like in the basement and at the front door.

Riley planned this—this exact moment. She never meant to baptize Brooklyn. From the beginning, she’s been planning to lock her in that bathroom to die.

While Riley is fumbling with the key, I twist my arm away from Alexis, then swing it back, hitting her just below the ribs. Swearing, she doubles over, and I slip out of her grip. I barrel into Riley shoulder first, shoving her aside before she can click the lock shut.

“Sofia, stop!” Riley yells. I don’t listen. I push the bedroom door open and race for the bathroom. My feet slip over the slick wooden floor, still wet from blood and the dirty tub water.

Riley catches up to me as I reach the bathroom. I try to open the door, but she slaps it shut again.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” she says, panting. “The devil . . .”

I force the door open, pushing her aside. She slips on a puddle of water near the bathroom door and nearly falls, grabbing hold of the wall to catch herself. The water’s surface looks as still as glass. I run to the tub and drop to my knees, thrusting a hand through the brown water. Grace and Alexis crowd behind Riley in the doorway, their footsteps echoing against the marble floors. They hurry over to me, but they’re too late. We all are. I stand, pulling my trembling arm out of the water.

“Oh my god,” I say, lifting my hands to my mouth.

The bathtub is empty. Brooklyn isn’t dead—she’s gone.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN


Brooklyn’s gone. I back into Riley and her body stiffens. Her fingers enclose my wrists.

“Where is she?” Riley asks.

“I don’t know.”

Riley drops my arm. Her eyes widen, and she scans the bathroom, edging her way toward the door. Every muscle in her body tenses, as if she expects Brooklyn to jump out of the walls.

I replay the situation in my head again and again, like it’s a math problem that doesn’t add up. I wrap my arms around my chest and search the bathroom. Grace clutches the doorframe, her knuckles going white. Alexis hovers next to her. The corner of her lips twists into something between a smile and a grimace.

“We should have known she would get away,” she says. I ignore her and start throwing open the cabinets and closet and shower doors. Empty, all of them. Brooklyn really isn’t here.

“Where the f*ck is she?” Riley slams her open palm against the counter next to the sink.

“Riley—”

“No!” Riley snaps, cutting me off. “We have to find her. Now!”

The weird smile stays painted on Alexis’s face. She wraps a long blond strand of hair around one finger. “Don’t you get it? She’s going to find us, and then she’s going to kill us.”

“No!” Riley jerks her head back and forth. “No. She’s too weak. That’s not going to happen. Grace, search the basement. The rest of us will look for her on the main floors.”

“Why would we look for her inside?” Grace is talking so fast that her words slur together. “She probably went right for the front door, Ri.”

“No,” Riley insists. “There’s no way out, I made sure of it. She’s still in the house. We just have to find here.”

Grace looks like she might say something else, but instead she presses her lips together and nods.

“You check the bedrooms,” Riley says to Alexis. “Sofia and I will look downstairs.”

Alexis’s smile fades. “You want me to go alone?”

“Just do it.” Riley grabs my arm and pulls me from the room into the hall.