Reaching into the glove box, Colton pulled out Jewel’s pistol, glad he had the weapon. Remembering what she’d said, he loaded the silver bullets, slipping the metal box in his back pocket in case he needed more ammo. Then, turning to Roy, he slammed him on the back of the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him unconscious. Colton got out of the Jeep.
A movement made him tense. The warehouse door slowly opened. Heart pounding, he watched, waiting.
But the door only swung in the breeze. No one appeared behind it, though whoever had opened it could have moved back into the shadows.
Taking a deep breath, Colton prayed for strength. Then he headed for the door.
Whatever drugs the dart gun had carried hit Jewel hard, though not hard enough to keep her from changing back to human. Several times, she struggled to swim up to the edge of consciousness. Each time she slid back down into the black hole of oblivion before she could break the surface of the water. It didn’t surprise her, this subconscious use of water analogies. The lake—and Colton—had become the center of her existence, a shining symbol of hope.
She refused to let that spark go out.
Stubborn, she kept trying. She wanted to open her eyes. But the lids felt too heavy. Finally, after her fifth or fiftieth attempt, she succeeded. They’d put her in a small, windowless room. Most likely a storage closet. There were no clocks, no pictures, nothing but unfinished walls and the cold cement floor. She had no idea how much time had passed—hours or days—but she was still alive.
Leo would keep her that way, until he’d had his fun. Knowing him, the sadistic bastard would torture her for months, maybe years, until she finally expired or he accidentally killed her.
But she was still optimistic. She had one advantage. Unless Bettina’d had time to tell, Leo didn’t know she could change again. If she could speed up the process of becoming a wolf, she could rip out his throat before he had time to change himself. Not entirely impossible, and right now, her only chance.
Clank. The sound of a lock turning, a bolt sliding back. Unable to help herself, she tensed, then feigned unconsciousness. Eyes screwed shut, she worked to slow her breathing, to steady the fine trembling of her hands.
The door opened with a creak. Someone entered the room.
Despite herself, her nostrils flared. Leo’s scent. Pungent. Strong. Evil. She swallowed hard.
He didn’t speak and she kept her eyes closed. She heard the sound of metal rasping against metal. Her heart started pounding, feeling as though it would leap from her chest. Had he brought a knife? Knowing he could cut her until her skin shredded like ribbon and she wouldn’t die?
Giving up the pretense, she raised her head and saw he waited, silently watching her. Silver glinted in his hands. Not a knife, but some kind of pendant. Prison hadn’t changed him as far as she could tell; if anything the experience had taught him to hone his cruelty to an even sharper edge. His dark gaze glinted with malice.
“Finally, the princess awakes.”
Princesshad been his nickname for her, given only when he meant to do something painful to her to give himself pleasure. Unable to help herself, she shuddered. His voice repulsed her. She knew if she could succeed in keeping her face expressionless, not allowing him to see her instinctive terror, he wouldn’t be pleased. Good. He was going to hurt her no matter what. She’d deny him his satisfaction as long as she could.
She gave him her best blank stare. “Why don’t you kill me now and be done with this, Leo.”
Though she’d expected it, his laugh chilled her to the marrow of her bones. “Now that would deprive me of my fun, wouldn’t it? You know better than anyone I’ve always found my greatest pleasure in torture.”
At least he didn’t try to claim she’d enjoyed his vile acts, too.
“What, nothing to say?” he taunted. “Cat got your tongue?”
Though she wanted to speak, to pop off some snappy and snide comment, the old terror clogged her throat. Too many years of conditioning and pain, too many times of being shown exactly who was boss in their marriage, and why.
Heart pounding, she had to look away. Looking at him sickened her.
As if he knew, he came closer. She tried to lift her hands and dimly realized she was tied. “How did you find me?”
His grin was pure evil. “Your necklace. That stupid, ugly piece of jewelry you never took off. When you sent it off for repair that time, I had a tracking device installed in the wolf charm. That way, I always knew where you were.”
She closed her eyes. He’d even defiled the one thing she’d thought solely hers. Opening them again, she chanced a quick glance at him before staring at the wall to his right. “From prison?”
“I had help.” Glee rang in his voice. “Though keeping you from changing was all me.”
Since she knew he’d tell her whether she wanted to know or not, she kept silent.
“Contacts been bothering you lately?”
“What?” She couldn’t believe he’d managed to do something to her contacts.“How?”
“The solution.” Grin full of pride, he tilted his head. “You always bought two large bottles of cleaning solution, so you’d have a backup. I doctored those.”
