Key to Hell (Hell Night Series Book 4)

  Key to Hell

  Copyright © 2019 by Alex Grayson.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design by Cover Me Darling. Interior Formatting by Alex Grayson. Editing by Hot Tree Editing.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this document via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and is punishable by law.

  Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials.

  All characters and events appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincide.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  DISCLAIMER

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  EPILOGUE

  A Note from the Author

  The Sinister Silhouette Teaser

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  OTHER BOOKS BY ALEX GRAYSON

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DEDICATION

  This one goes out to Emma M. Thank you for your quick mind, dedication to this series, and for simply being my friend. This series wouldn’t be what it is today without you!

  DISCLAIMER

  Intended for readers 18 and older due to harsh language, sensitive subject matters, and sexual conduct.

  PROLOGUE

  EMO

  The Past

  “GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!”

  Father grabs my arm and spins me around, and the next moment, he’s plowing his fist into my stomach. It hurts, but I don’t let him see my pain. He’s already had enough of my misery, he won’t get any more. Especially after tonight.

  I blow out a harsh breath and straighten my spine, meeting his eyes.

  “Think you’re a tough shit?” he growls, spit landing on my cheek. He wraps his meaty hand around my throat and squeezes so hard I can’t breathe. “You won’t be so tough when I bend you over that table and give your ass the beating it deserves.”

  He backs me up until my butt meets the edge of the table. I don’t fight him. I don’t try to pull his hand away from my neck or wiggle to get free. I don’t resist when he spins me around. I don’t scream when he yanks down my pants and hits me with the buckle of the belt until I feel blood sliding down my legs. I don’t struggle when I hear him pulling his own pants off. When his hairy chest meets my back, I don’t try to throw him off me.

  I endure it, because this will be the very last time he touches me.

  While his hot and nasty breath blows across the back of my neck with his grunts, I slowly reach underneath the table and find the syringe I taped to the bottom earlier before Hell Night started. I work my nail under the tape until it breaks free.

  I grit my teeth when the table digs into my stomach painfully.

  Lifting my hand, and without so much as a sound, I bury the syringe in the side of Father’s thigh, pressing on the plunger with my thumb.

  “Fuck!” he shouts, ripping himself away from me. The sudden jolt of his body leaving mine is painful, but still welcome.

  I spin around and face him. His eyes are pinned on the syringe still sticking out of his thigh. He jerks his head up, his surprised gaze clashing with mine. Something dark flashes across his face.

  “That was a big fuckin’ mistake, Aziah,” he says threateningly, pulling the needle from his thigh and tossing it to the side.

  I hold his icy glare with my own hatred blazing in my eyes. I don’t say anything as I yank my pants up over my hips. When he takes a step forward, he stumbles to the side. His eyes widen as he reaches for a chair to catch himself.

  “What in the hell was in that needle?” he demands, his words slurring.

  “Tranquilizer,” I answer. I snuck into Dr. Manor’s office earlier today and stole it.

  He falls to the side, his elbow knocking against the table on his way to the floor. “Your assss is gon be on fiirre when I waaa up.”

  Ignoring his words, because I’ll be long gone by the time he wakes up, I go to the rug in the middle of the living room and pull it back, revealing a hidden door. Opening the heavy door, I go to my now unconscious Dad, grab his arm, and drag him to the hole in the floor. I yank on his arm when the pants around his knees get snagged on a nail. Apparently, his hip gets clipped as well, because there’s a gash right by his hip bone.

  Once he’s situated by the door, I use my foot and push him over the edge. He flops to the bottom at an awkward angle, his head hitting the side wall on his way down.

  I stare at the man who’s inspired so much hatred in me. A man who has caused so much pain, not only to me, but especially to Rella. I’ve despised the man for so long that I don’t remember a time I didn’t hate him.

  The bang is loud when I drop the door closed. I situate the rug back over the floor, making sure to put it back in the exact same spot so it doesn’t look like it’s been moved.

  I grab my shirt from the floor, put it on, and make my way to the front door. I don’t look back at the lodge as I walk away. The place is pure evil, and there’s not one thing I’ll miss about it.

  I make a few pit stops in town on my way to my house. By the time I walk through the door, I’m panting and my heart beats a mile a minute. Stripping out of my dirty clothes, I go straight to the shower and step under the hot water.

  Normally on nights like these, my brothers, Rella, and I would go to Mae and Dale’s house as soon as we could get away from our parents. Tonight is different though. Rella is no longer alive. We’ll still be going to Mae and Dale’s, but Rella won’t be with us.

  I slam my fists against the tiles in the shower. Anger and pain cramp my stomach, the hurt much worse than anything my dad ever put me through.

  I take a couple of deep breaths, getting my shit together.

  Once I’m dressed, I pick up the stuffed rabbit I stole from Rella’s room a week ago, the night she slit her own wrists. I cram it into my hoodie pocket and leave the house again.

  I stay behind trees and houses when I see the headlights of cars coming down the streets. It’s early i
n the morning, but still late enough for the adults to be done with their disgusting deeds of Hell Night. These cars aren’t ones that belong to the citizens of Sweet Haven. Some of them are plain black and some are police cars. There’s even a black van with the letters S.W.A.T on the side. When the van stops, the back door is thrown open and a bunch of men in black clothes with guns jump out, running toward different houses. I watch as they slowly raid each one.

  As much as I like knowing they’ll take down the sickness in this place, I can’t help but feel resentment toward the police. They’re too fucking late. They should have come a week ago when Rella was still alive.

  It takes me several minutes, but I finally make it to Trouble’s house. The police haven’t made it this far yet, so I don’t worry about being caught standing out in the open. As I stare at the big white house, I see a shadow come from the backyard. Before I get a glimpse of his face, I know it’s Trouble.

  I want to run inside the house and demand his parents tell me where Rella is, even though I know it’s stupid and impossible that she’s still alive. I woke up last night after having a bad dream about Rella, and I could have sworn I heard the echo of her screaming. I went to the window and searched outside, but saw nothing. When I went outside to have a better look, straining my ears to listen, I still didn’t find anything, and the screams didn’t come again. I knew it had to be my mind playing tricks on me, along with the residue of the dream I had just had, but I still couldn’t shake the sounds.

  Trouble sees me in the street and runs over to me. He calls my name three times, but it’s not until he starts tugging on my arm that I acknowledge him.

  “We gotta go before it’s too late and they catch us.”

  “No. We can’t leave yet. We need to find her,” I whisper harshly, my voice cracking.

  “You know she’s not here anymore. She’s gone. We all saw it.”

  I turn my head and look at him, hating that he’s right. The stark pain in my chest feels like a physical blow when I think about the last time I saw her. There was so much blood.

  “I heard her, Trouble. I swear I heard her screaming last night.” I look back at the house.

  He steps in my path, blocking my view of the house. His face is twisted in pain, and I hate that my friend, my brother, is hurting so much. I hate that we’re all hurting so much.

  A noise comes from my left, and Trouble steps closer to me. “We gotta go. We can’t be here anymore, or they’ll take us away and separate us.”

  Judge and JW jog up to us. Judge says something to Trouble so low I can’t make out his words. I keep my eyes pinned on the dark house, sending every bit of hate I feel toward the structure. I wish I could wrap my hands around Trouble and Rella’s parents’ necks. To stare into their eyes and watch as their lives fade away. Then resurrect them and kill them another way. A thousand of their deaths wouldn’t be enough. They need to suffer for eternity.

  Trouble jerks on my arm, and I snap my attention to him. “Let’s go,” I say darkly and turn to follow Judge and JW.

  It takes us about fifteen minutes to get to The Hill where Mae and Dale are waiting behind the building. We all scramble in the back of their van.

  As we drive away from the town that’s only ever been a place of horror, two thoughts enter my mind.

  I hope like hell my father doesn’t wake up before the police leave.

  And Rella’s suffering and her death will be avenged in the most brutal way possible.

  CHAPTER ONE

  EMO

  I WEAR A TRAIL ON THE CARPET in the living room at Trouble’s house as I agitatedly pace back and forth. My steps are jerky and stiff, exactly how my body feels. The key in my hand digs into the scarred and desensitized flesh of my palm. The key represents Hell. Not just mine, but Rella’s as well.

  Fuck!

  She’s alive. Rella is alive. And here in Malus. Only one floor up from where I’m standing.

  How in the hell is that possible?

  And why in the fuck are they keeping me from seeing her?

  I scowl at the staircase leading to the second floor where Trouble led Rella twenty minutes ago. I turn my dark look to JW, who’s casually leaning back against the banister, arms crossed over his chest. The dick won’t let me get past the first step.

  I feel like a caged animal ready to pounce and rip out throats.

  I squeeze my fist tighter against the key. The pain of the teeth biting into my skin used to soothe me. It still does, but whereas before a small prick did the job, now my body has become accustomed to the pain. Not to mention the nerve damage I’ve caused from the many times I’ve gouged the flesh. Now I need something deeper and more profound.

  My palm becomes slick. I close my eyes and relish in the sting as I clench and unclench my fist, making sure the silver key digs in real deep.

  I stalk over to the stairs, and JW straightens up, taking a step to the side to block me from reaching them.

  “Get the hell out of my way, JW,” I growl.

  His eyes flick down to my bloody fist.

  “You need to calm the fuck down, Emo. He won’t let you see her when you’re like this,” he says calmly.

  “Fuck!” I roar and grip the hair on top of my head with my other hand. “Move!”

  He doesn’t flinch or so much as twitch at my sudden outburst. He, along with my other brothers, is used to my erratic behavior.

  JW steps closer, getting in my face. With the way I’m feeling right now, it’s a bold move. I’ve never wanted to hurt my brothers, but I’m so fucking close to laying this one out right now. He’s keeping me from the only thing that matters.

  “You really want her to see you like this?” he grunts, his tone deep. “She hasn’t seen any of us in years, and this is the first impression you want to give her? Half crazed and dripping blood all over the fuckin’ place? Get your shit together, and give her time to see her brother first.”

  I gnash my teeth at him, more pissed because he’s right than anything else. The last thing I want to do is frighten Rella. I’ve done enough damage to her to last a thousand lifetimes. Trouble has every right to deny me seeing her.

  Even so, the rage boiling inside me is now overflowing. I grab the vase on the table by the stairs and hurl it at the nearest wall. Flowers, water, and glass fly everywhere. My eyes pinpoint on one of the shards, the sun shining in the window on it just right to make a colorful reflection of light on the floor. I walk over and pick it up.

  “Emo,” JW barks behind me, the warning in his voice crystal fucking clear.

  Ignoring him, I lean against the wall and slide down until my ass hits the tiles, my arms resting on my knees. The key in my grip still pierces my palm, but goddammit, I need fucking more. I need the pain to take away the darkness clouding my vision.

  I bang my head back against the wall hard enough that it rattles my teeth. Dropping my head back down, I look at the triangular piece of glass in my hand. It would be so easy to slice through the sensitive skin on my forearm. Just a tiny bit of pressure and the skin would give way to the sharp edge, releasing both blood and the heaviness that sits on my chest. The ever-present demon that lives inside me. The relief never lasts. It always comes back full-force and with a vengeance.

  But it doesn’t feel right. The glass is too smooth, too sharp, and too thick. The cut would be easy, not painful and jagged enough.

  I drop the glass between my knees; the clinking sound it makes hitting the tile irritates me. I open my palm that has the key in it. It’s coated in blood, the new gashes mixing in with the old scars already there.

  I pluck the key up, rip up the sleeve of my black long-sleeved shirt, and rest the teeth against my forearm, right below the inside of my elbow and directly over the devil eyes that stare back at me. I press down, but my hand begins to shake. I close my eyes, and the first thing I see is Rella. She’s standing just inside the doors of The Hill. She looks so damn lost and sad and alone. Terrified and tortured, her expression filled with a l
ifetime of pain.

  “I don’t understand,” I whisper gruffly. “How in the hell could she be alive?”

  When I open my eyes, I find JW watching me with a frown, his eyes narrowed on the key I still have against my forearm. I leave it there, but I don’t apply more pressure.

  “I don’t know. I was there too. I don’t see how anyone could live with that much blood loss.”

  I grit my teeth at the memory of walking up to the gazebo and finding Rella on the wooden floor, her white dress swimming in the pool of blood beneath her. The stark fucking pain of seeing her lifeless, pale body lying there.

  “And where in the hell has she been all these years?”

  That’s the part that tortures me the most. Where was she taken?

  The thought smacks around in my head, filling it with every single nightmare imaginable. What happened to her in Malus, what my father did to her, what he made me to do her, was horrific, disgusting, and every other vile name there is, but what else has she been through? What other horrors have been inflicted on her?

  “I’m sure she’ll tell us everything.”

  I grunt and press down on the key until a small bead of blood forms. All kinds of questions bounce around the walls of my skull. Ones that have answers that will determine the fate of the people who had her.

  When my eyes first landed on her standing outside The Hill, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I’ve had many dreams of Rella over the years; most of them would be considered nightmare grade. In my dreams, she was always the same little girl she was back in Sweet Haven. Standing outside The Hill, staring at the closed door, not the little girl of before but an adult, she still looked so much the same, just more mature. My mind denied what I was seeing for only a second before I knew it was really her. When that truth hit me, it was like a sledgehammer had pummeled me in the chest, stealing every ounce of air in the room.

  When Layla opened the door and Rella disappeared for a moment, it scared the shit out of me. I was terrified that she would vanish into thin air or that I’d discover my mind was playing a cruel trick on me and she was never really there. But seconds later, there she was, standing just inside the doorway, her eyes immediately connecting with mine as if she was purposely looking for me.