Page 88 of Grim

He crouched in front of her, gripping her chin hard enough to add to her bruises. His fingers dug in just enough to make her gasp, not enough to injure, but enough to terrify.

“And when they do,” he murmured, leaning in until she could feel the heat of his breath, “I’m going to make them regret it.”

Sophia’s pulse spiked. “Grim will kill you.”

Viper’s grip tightened, jerking her face upward. “Grim is going to watch you die before he even gets close.”

Her stomach dropped. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” he hissed.

He released her abruptly, pacing in front of her like a man trying to hold himself together and failing. His boots echoed off the walls, each step sharp and unpredictable. He raked a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath, then spun back toward her with a suddenness that made her flinch.

“Last chance,” he snapped. “What did Reyes tell you?”

Sophia’s voice trembled despite her best efforts. “Nothing. He didn’t tell me anything.”

Viper stared at her for a long moment — too long. The silence stretched until her skin crawled.

Then he laughed, a low, humorless sound that made her stomach twist.

“You’re either the bravest woman I’ve ever met,” he said, “or the stupidest.”

He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper that scraped down her spine.

“And I’m going to enjoy finding out which.”

He nodded to his men.

“Put her back.”

They moved instantly. One grabbed the back of the chair while another stepped in and sliced through the zip ties binding her wrists to the armrests. The plastic snapped, burning her skin as her arms came free.

She didn’t get a second to react. Hands clamped around her upper arms and yanked her out of the chair so hard her feet skidded across the floor. The chair clattered behind them, forgotten.

Cold air hit her face as they dragged her through the doorway and out into the night. Gravel crunched under their boots. Sophia stumbled, barely catching herself before her knees buckled.

They didn’t slow. One man jerked her forward, another shoving from behind, hauling her across another strip of pavement within the compound. She couldn’t see the buildings, but she could feel them; close, looming, all part of the same place.

Her breath hitched. “No—wait—”

But they were already dragging her again, through turns she couldn’t track, down hallways that smelled different. Colder. Emptier.

Another building. Another corridor. Still the same compound, just deeper and darker and farther from any sound that might reach her.

She tried to count steps. Tried to orient herself. Tried to stay conscious.

It didn’t matter.

She was lost.

A door screeched open. Hands shoved her forward. Concrete bit into her knees.

The hood was ripped off.

She blinked against the dim light.

A cage.