At least I could go out on my own terms.
My gaze locked onto Nano again, and this time I didn’t try to look away. His eyes were burning. Feral. The predator barely contained, held back only by Morpheus’ hand on his shoulder and the threat of consequences. But I could see how badly he wanted to break free.
How badly he wantedme.
And God forgive me, I wanted him too. Not because I was brave. Not because I had some death wish. But because at least with Nano, I knew what I was getting. Violence. Pain. The terrible, shameful pleasure that came with being hurt.
It was familiar. It was what I deserved.
“Why?”
My word came out hoarse, barely more than a whisper.
Morpheus’ eyes narrowed. “Why, what?”
I dragged in a breath, my ribs ached, and my throat burned. “Why should I give you the money now? So you can kill me sooner?”
The basement went deathly silent.
Every brother in the room stilled, their attention snapping to me like a physical force. I could feel their eyes. Could feel the weight of their focus, the anticipation crackling in the air. But I didn’t look at them. I kept my gaze locked on Nano. On the man who was going to destroy me.
“I would rather take my chances with him.”
My words hung in the air for a heartbeat.
And then the laughter started.
Low at first. A chuckle from somewhere to my left. Then another, deeper, rougher. Within seconds, the entire room was laughing. But it wasn’t the kind of laughter that came fromhumor. It was dark. Eerie. The sound of men who had seen terrible things and were about to see more. The sound of anticipation.
“Oh, sweetheart,” someone said. Cerberus, I thought. “You have no idea what you just signed up for.”
“She thinks she can fucking handle Nano,” another voice added, laughter threading through the words. “Bitch is fucking priceless.”
“He’s gonna break her in half,” a man to my right said, his tone flat but laced with something darker. “Gonna choke her out and fuck her while she’s dying.”
“If she’s lucky, he’ll let her pass out first,” another said.
“She’ll be awake for all of it,” someone else finished. The laughter grew louder, feeding off itself, building into something that made my skin crawl. They were taunting me. Painting a picture of exactly what Nano would do. How he would hurt me. How he would use me. How I would beg him to stop, and he wouldn’t.
“You think you’re tough?” Cerberus said, his voice cutting through the noise. “You think you can take what he’s gonna give you?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat was too tight, and my pulse was hammering too hard.
“He’s gonna make you scream,” someone said. “Gonna make you beg. And when you do, he’s gonna fucking choke you harder.”
“Gonna watch you come while you’re dying,” Cerberus added. “And he’s gonna get off on it.”
“And when he’s done,” another voice said, “there won’t be enough left of you to identify.”
The laughter swelled again, cruel and anticipatory. They were enjoying this. Enjoying my defiance. Enjoying the knowledge of what was to come. Because they knew. They allknew what Nano was capable of. What he wanted to do to me. And they were going to let him.
My hands curled into fists against the concrete as my nails bit into my palms hard enough to draw blood.
You should be terrified. You should be begging. You should—but I wasn’t. I was angry. Angry at them for laughing. Angry at Morpheus for thinking he could control me with threats. Angry at myself for being so fucking broken that part of me wanted what they were describing. And underneath the anger, there was something else.
Defiance.
It was the only thing I had left. The only power in this powerless situation. They could take my freedom. They could take my body. They could take my life. But they couldn’t make me submit.
