Free Delivered (The Monster Trilogy Book 3) by Marissa Farrar

about to ingest. He closed his eyes, blocking out the sight, and slurped down the water. It had a faint taste of toilet cleaner, but otherwise it was fine. His eyes opened and he scooped another palm-full, and another. He drank until the water sloshed around in his stomach, but he felt better almost immediately. The dizziness vanished and strength returned to his limbs.
    Drinking the water meant his hunger returned with ferocious demand, but there was nothing he could do on that front. He just needed to wait things out now. He wasn’t going to die; he was just going to suffer some more until his father decided he’d learned his lesson.
    No longer thirsty, Monster took back to his bed.
    Another twelve hours passed before his father eventually let him out again, and with each hour he waited, Monster’s hatred for the man grew.
     

 
     
    Six
     
     
     
     
     
    Lily was taken back to her room, Marco pushing her along the hallway as she walked. She knew she’d angered Rodriguez, but at that moment she didn’t care. She was furious at what had happened to Jess, but there was nothing she could do about it. Rodriguez said anything she did to displease him, Jess would be punished for. That evening it had only been a spanking, but she knew things would get worse for both of them. These men wouldn’t be happy with a little light punishment. Things would escalate fast.
    Marco shoved her from behind again, sending her stumbling. “I’m walking just fine,” she snapped over her shoulder.
    He gave a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Shut it, bitch, or you’ll get a lot worse than a little shove to complain about.”
    Lily faced forward, trying to ignore the bully behind her. She hoped Jess had run back to their rooms. She assumed she had—after all, where else would she have gone? If Rodriguez had any inkling she might have tried to run away, she was sure he would have sent one of the other men after her.
    They reached the bedroom door. Marco leaned past her and swung it open. Another shove against her back sent her flying forward in the expensive dress. She heard a tear from somewhere along the seam as she fell. The moment she hit the floor, the door banged shut behind her and the lock clicked into place.
    Lily remained on her knees for a minute, forcing herself to take deep breaths to keep it together. What she really wanted was to leap to her feet and tear the room to pieces, to punch walls, and scream, and kick at the door, but there was a fragile girl in the room beside her, and Lily knew if she lost it, Jess wouldn’t have anything to grip hold of. Lily needed to be the anchor for both of them. If she went down, they’d both be lost.
    Blinking back tears of anger, fear, and frustration, Lily tugged her torn dress up her thighs and shakily got back to her feet. The anger hadn’t left her—far from it—but she felt she had control over it now. Raging over inanimate objects wouldn’t do any good. She was already weak from lack of food and everything she’d been through, the drop in adrenaline now sapping the righteous energy that had been coursing through her body only moments before.
    She looked toward the bathroom. The door which separated Jess’s room from the other side of the facilities was closed, and she hadn’t heard any sound emitting from behind the shut door. She must be in there. There was nowhere else she could be, but for just a fraction of a second panic rose inside Lily that something else had happened to Jess.
    Spurred by her alarm, she hurried through the bathroom and pushed the adjoining door open without bothering to knock.
    She exhaled a sigh of relief. Jess was curled up on her side, facing the wall. Her body shook with silent tears, and she didn’t do anything to acknowledge Lily had entered.
    Lily crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under her weight. She lifted her hand, wanting to place it on the other woman’s shoulder as comfort, but