“Don’t get me wrong, you nailed the whole musty dungeon atmosphere, but I just don’tbelieveit, you know? I want to; I’m really trying here. It’s not that the cot is too lumpy or the toilet bowl is too clean, but”—as suspected, when I paused, he glanced at me over his shoulder, so I gave him two thumbs up and a big, toothy grin—“major props for the silver bars. Those are how you lost your third star.”
Of course, he gained a star with the cuffs. Like, who decided to chain a victim’s hands in front of them? That rookie move served as a clear underestimation of my abilities—an underestimation that was, frankly, offensive. My brother had taught me to pick handcuffs before day one of enforcer training. Then my alpha’s black ops agency had refined the skill after recruiting me.
“Shut up,” Hulk grunted.
“No problem.” I wandered to the other side of the bars caging me in and tapped one with my finger. “Ouch!” The fiery pain on the tip of my digit zinged across my nerve endings, but I managed to contain my shudder. I did, however, make a high-pitched yelp, rattle my cuffs around, and hop from foot to foot while cradling my “poor, abused” hand.
As I’d hoped, the man whipped his head around to take a gander at what had caused my outburst. After a quick assessment, he rolled his eyes so hard that he could have checked out his own ass, and went back to his paperwork. “Had to be an airhead,” he muttered in a low, exasperated tone.
“I was just curious,” I said, pretending to defend myself. “Besides, if I don’t thoroughly inspect the accommodations, how will I know what to put in my review? Oh, that reminds me, is there a continental breakfast? I hope you don’t just serve moldy fruit. I do a lot of yoga and shit, so I can enjoy a morning pastry. Provided it’s not filled with anything delicious. Wouldn’t want to boost your—”
He twisted around and glared at me. “Shut. Up.” The words held a bit more bite this time.
“Sure, sure. Sorry about that.” I mimed zipping my lips and walked with deliberate slowness toward said lumpy cot until he’d turned his back again. Halting in my tracks, I pivoted and studied my captor.
I’d taken on this hybrid asshole pro bono after I saw the news about Valaria Crimson’s death. The famous heiress had made all the headlines, but that wasn’t why I took on her case. No, I had two reasons.
First, Valaria Crimson was a shifter. Not that humans knew that about her—mortals had no idea supernaturals existed around them.
And second, the moniker the news agencies had given the culprit had piqued my interest.
But this guy was so not living up to theBloodsucker Serial Killertitle.
I expected something grander after all my digging into his background. He was supposed to be some sort of human trafficking king. As someone who had studied multiple cases like this—and solved them—I was seriously unimpressed.
I could only imagine what my mentor would say right now. Probably something snarky about this being a colossal waste of time. I agreed.
Speaking of…
“You know, actually, this sort of reminds me of my first visit to this, uh, city. Only, that dungeon had torture devices and a witch in it.” One I’d helped save and return to her appropriate realm—my realm.“Maybe you should consider acquiring a witch? Might knock you down a quarter star or so. I wouldn’t suggest letting her be rescued, though. That’s how that dungeon gained stars. Shame, really, as they had such potential. So that’s why—”
Hulk shoved his chair back from the table, sending it flying out from under him, and stalked over to stare at me with a thunderous expression. “I said,shut it.”
I put my hands up in a surrender pose. “Shutting it.” I only paused for a second before adding, “Except, um, just wondering, what are you going to do with me? I can’t exactly rate my stay if I’m dead.”
“Oh, we’re not going to kill you.”
We. Interesting. I’d noticed a plethora of lackeys, but his use of the wordweseemed to imply he had partners.
His reddish eyes flashed black, his animal near the surface.Totally a wolf under that skin.He scanned me from head to toe, and back up, lingering on my breasts before returning to my face.
I had to hold in a snort.Bad idea, dude. There were two killers in this room.
“Does the carpet match the drapes?” he asked in a slimy voice before licking his lips.
Years of self-control kept me from delivering a swift dick punch for that shitty-ass line. I didn’t trust my sharp tongue, though, so I kept silent.
“Too bad I won’t have the opportunity to find out. You’re slated for review tomorrow. Then you’ll likely go to auction soon after.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. I opened my mouth to push for details, only to be interrupted by the door opening at the top of the stairs.
The sound of hurried feet on metal steps followed.
My nose twitched, my inner wolf groaning in irritation.Vampire. Ugh.
A short, scraggly guy with a head slightly too big for his body appeared a second later. His eyes went straight to me, and his pupils flared with lust—or hunger—I couldn’t tell which reaction was more prevalent.
I cocked my head to the side and stared at him coolly, deciding to drop the act and step up my game. Pissing off both jackholes would lead to more informative verbal vomit. “Bleed out, Sir Wanna-Bite.” Seemed like an appropriate nickname. “Never going to happen. Not even if my life depended on it.”
