Page 61 of Cries of Cassie

I'm already woozy, trying not to pass out, sweating even though I'm shivering, and so fucking thirsty I don't think I can cry anymore. How would I know if I had an infection if I'm already feeling worse than I ever have before?

The party going on above me steals any hope I have of escape. Even if I thought I could escape these chains and ropes, I'd never be able to sneak out of here.

I'm screwed until Victor makes a move. Honestly, I’m not sure if I want him to. Anything he does to me will only hurt my men more. The contraption he took from Ripley is bad enough. I don't want to think about how my love will feel seeing me in something he uses to torture his enemies.

What a mindfuck for my sweet stalker. God, he has such a soft heart; all I want to do is protect it. Me being here, getting hurt, will snuff the light out of him so fucking fast I don't know if he'll ever be the same.

That goes for the other three as well. None of us will be the same after this. Not even Jake.

Please be okay, guys.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Victor slams the metal door shut behind him and smiles at me. I was definitely not conscious, but I'm glad he's a big enough asshole to scare me awake. No fucking way do I want to be caught unaware with him around.

"What's that?" I whisper hoarsely, eyeing the tripod-looking thing he sets up a few meters away from me.

My stomach plummets right along with my heart when he clips his phone into it. No. It is a tripod, which means...

"We're going to make a movie. A horror film, if you will," he says joyfully. Is it just me, or is he more unhinged than when I saw him at the Shadows compound that first day? He's giving psycho killer vibes.

Blinking the blood out of my eye, I watch him shuffle around and adjust the stand. He's going to put on a show for my men...

"Why?"

The laugh that explodes from him causes me to flinch and groan in pain. "To fill Maddox with horror, obviously. Okay, are you ready, cow?"

Jesus. Who let this guy stay on Earth?

I stiffen at the sound of him hitting record on his phone. A red light blinks on the backside, and it's all I can do not to cry. Don't give them more to anguish over! Be strong for them, Cassie.

"First things first," Victor mumbles, making himself known on the video. "We need to fix a few things."

Before I can glance from the phone to him, his leg flies forward and kicks one of the legs of the chair clean off. It clatters across the room at the same time my left shoulder pops out of its socket. "AHHHHH!"

Red hot, throbbing pain steals the breath and life from my body as I hang limp and stunned. A sob catches in my throat when I realize there's no holding back the tears now. This is going to hurt more than just me, and that's...devastating.

They're going to see me dangling from these chains, bloody and bruised, attached to a broken chain that keeps me from getting my feet under me.

"Don't watch!" I shout, pleading with my men through the camera. "Please, don't wa⁠—"

A stinging slap across my face shuts me up real quick. Then Victor's fist slams into my stomach, and the meager contents in my stomach come spewing out for the phone.

I don't even care to protect myself from this anymore. Each punch, kick, and knick of a blade on the bottom of my feet cease to matter. All I care about is saving my men from this pain.

Please don't look, Ripley. Don't blame yourself, Maddy. Take a deep breath, Parker. Turn the phone off, Koa.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ripley (Ripper)

"What more do you need, Connor?" Koa asks, trying to be the voice of reason.

I have his back silently while everyone else is throwing out threats like candy at a fucking parade. We're in the middle of a goddamn police station. Control yourselves.

Connor runs his hands down his face. "A warrant for starters. I can't just get a group of officers together and bust down their door based on a hunch."

"We can," Parker snarls, turning on his heel, but Maddox grabs the back of his cut to keep him from doing something stupid.

I would love nothing more than charging right into Victor's club, but we would lose so fucking fast without backup. The agents or officers or whatever they are behind Connor look antsy and determined. Some have their phones out already, calling to request a meeting with a judge to grant them the warrant we need.