The door begins to close behind them, and despite all the logic and reasons that have brought me here, I brush against Ares’ wrist, signaling him to look at what I’m seeing.
He catches my signal instantly, and his eyes follow mine, darkening as he catches a glimpse of the scene that’s about to unfold behind closed doors.
I drop the act and establish our priorities, even though they might hurt our plan.
He understands that. His semi-polite mask drops away, and darkness sweeps across his features, warning everyone of the danger.His pupils dilate until his eyes are fully black, and the vein at his temples begins to pulse visibly beneath his skin as he grabs Ashford by the collar and yanks him off his feet.
He moves so fast that Ashford doesn’t have a chance to react. His eyes bulge in shock as Ares drags him backward into the private room he just stepped out of.
“What the fuck?” Ashford gasps, but his voice doesn’t come out right because it’s strangled by the grip on his collar.
Ares kicks the main door shut behind us, then reaches back without looking to flip the deadbolt. The sound is just like a jury verdict, separating us from the outside world.
Inside, the massive man has frozen in place as the bound girl struggles in his grip. But I can see her strength is fading.
By the looks of it, and the blood smeared across her skin, this isn’t the first fight she's had today.
The man’s free hand moves toward what I assume is a concealed weapon, but Ares’ voice cuts through the room.
“Touch that gun, and I’ll feed it to you piece by piece,” he says, his voice dropping to that slightly inhuman register as he pulls out his own gun.
I instantly back him up. Now two weapons are pointing at the man.
Everyone in the room goes still. Ashford dangles from Ares’ fist, as the other man hovers near his jacket.
The only sound now is the whimpering of the bound girl. Her eyes are darting between all of us, unsure if we represent herrescue or just a different kind of danger. I don’t blame her. I bet she’s been through hell.
That makes me meet her gaze, and I blink slowly, then nod. For some reason, I need to give her the safety I’ve never had.
I move toward the girl while keeping an eye on the two men, gun in hand and ready to fire.
“Your gun, now,” I order, and notice Ares is ready to end him at the slightest inclination of him not surrendering.
The man reaches into his jacket, one hand raised for us to hold our ground, and the other takes out the gun gently. He knows he’s outnumbered, and judging by his posture, he also knows there’s no chance he would take Ares out in combat, even if by some miracle he would escape our weapons.
As soon as I get his gun, my attention goes to the girl's wrists. They’re tied insome kind of bondage—against her will, obviously. Looking at the marks the restraints have left on her wrists, I remember the leather straps Ezekiel used to tie me to the chair, every fucking day.
There’s a part of her gaze I recognize as well—not the scared one, but the part where she’s already given up.
My chest feels tight, and it feels like I’m not getting enough air to fucking breathe.
“Little curse,” Ares calls to me, making sure I’m okay, immediately sensing I’m losing my grip on reality.
I blink hard, forcing the damn memory to the back of my mind. I wish I could force it all the way to a place where it will eventually be forgotten, but it never leaves.
Still, this isn’t the asylum. I’m not the one tied down.
I’m the one holding the power. The one in control.
“It’s okay,” I whisper to the girl, but more to myself as I reach for the first knot. “I’m going to get you out of this.”
Behind me, Ares slams Ashford against the wall with enough force to knock down a few paintings.
“Don’t even think of trying something,” I warn the other man without even looking at him. I don’t need to. The gun in my hand is enough to convince him he should listen to my words.
With the knot closest to her hand out of the way, I pull out the knife I keep close to my thigh to cut her free. She jolts at first, seeing the weapon, but then relaxes, waiting for me to release her.
Another flash of memory hits: Ezekiel’s hot breath on my face, as he was pulling the restraints tighter until they were cutting into my wrists as I struggled. All that talk about me being the one insane in that equation.
