What about the other times Melinda came with Mr. Janes to the Underground? Perhaps one night he caged her in this very box, and like Jacob, waltzed haughtily around the nether world greeting his cohorts with lusty grimaces. Did she relish her captivity? Did it arouse body and feed her desire? Or did she wait in wonder, fighting the fear that gripped her heart?
As the long minutes tick by, Sydney watches the activity though her own eyes, disentangling herself from the emotions that threaten to surface again. She remembers her place—not as a submissive woman owned by Jacob, but as Melinda duBois’ counselor, conducting research. Her critical eye views the scenes before her, the torture, the rape, the abuse… she listens to the awesome sounds of crying and distress and how they mutate into the
