Page 58 of Shai

“Just not as special as Taylor.”

“I’m doing what’s necessary. It was an impossible choice.”

I didn’t try to hold back my sneer. “Yet you managed to make it very quickly. How long ago was it that you spoke to McIntyre? One hour? Two?”

Shai reached out with the intention of touching my face. I batted his

hand away before he could. “Don’t touch me! Don’t agree to hand me back to that monster and think that I’ll just accept that. We’re not going to have some sort of touching fucking farewell.”

Shai stood, his hand dropping to his side. “Suit yourself.” His gaze

remained on me for a few moments before he grabbed my biceps to pull me to my feet in a move that brooked no argument. “We need to get you ready.”

“Ready?”

He didn’t respond as he steered me out of the room I’d come to think of

as mine and down the corridor until we stood outside his bedroom. He opened the door and ushered me inside, leaving me stood just inside the entrance as he walked over to one of the wardrobes and flung the door open to reveal the clothes inside. “I was going to give these to you later. Choose what you want to wear from here.”

I let out a laugh completely devoid of humor. “You think I should dress

up for McIntyre. What do you think that’s going to do? Or maybe you think I should choose something dark, something that doesn’t show the blood quite so much.”

Shai didn’t deign to answer, his hand already on the door to leave. “Shai?”

He turned, one eyebrow lifting in a question.

“What about Void?” I hated asking, but the tell-tale signs of withdrawal

were already starting to make themselves known. If I was going to die, I could at least avoid the agony of going through withdrawal first. “Are you going to give me some before we leave?”

Shai’s lips curved into a smile. “Of course. I would never deliver you

into McIntyre’s hands at such a disadvantage.”

Yeah, it’s after that, that I need to worry about. The door closed and I

found myself alone in Shai’s bedroom. I’d been in it numerous times, but he’d never left me alone before. I walked over to the wardrobe Shai had indicated. There was everything from expensive designer suits to jeans and T-shirts inside. I imagined McIntyre’s reaction if I strolled into his compound in a Gucci suit, the outlandish idea making me swallow down a completely inappropriate urge to laugh.

Bypassing the suits, I went for jeans and a hoodie, plucking out

underwear and trainers as well. I’d stopped wearing underwear weeks ago, so the fabric felt strange against my skin. I dressed as quickly as I could, the beginnings of withdrawal symptoms already starting to render my fingers uncooperative, the familiar throbbing in my head a warning that it was only going to get worse until Shai made good on his promise and injected me with Void. It would be my last dose. McIntyre was hardly likely to feed my drug habit when he was going to kill me anyway.

Shai still hadn’t returned by the time I was dressed, my gaze falling on the snake tanks. I walked over to the one that housed the black mamba, a crazy idea starting to take root. I didn’t have to go back to McIntyre, did I? All I had to do was lift the lid and let the snake bite me, and then McIntyre’s plans would be thwarted once and for all.

There were issues with the plan. The biggest being the likelihood of Shai pumping me full of antivenom, so that he could still swap me for his beloved Taylor. Only to do that, he’d have to know what had happened. Could I get the snake to bite me somewhere it couldn’t be seen? Could I hide its effects until it was too late? Anything was possible. I could see the mamba, the majority of its bulk concealed beneath a log that stretched the length of its tank. All I had to do was pull the lid back and thrust my arm into the tank. The mamba would do the rest.

Fingers trembling, I rolled my right sleeve back to expose my forearm. It was tempting to go for the other side, where the bandage was more likely to hide the bite, but knowing my luck the snake would hit the razorblade. Gripping onto the lid with one hand, I took a deep breath, my heart pumping so hard I felt dizzy. All it needed was one move. Two, if I counted putting my arm in the tank. As if sensing something was going on, the snake lifted its head, its forked tongue darting out to taste the air.

“Come on, Elijah.” The pep-talk didn’t help. I’d count down from five and then I’d do it. “Five… four… three.” My fingers tightened around the lid. “Two… one…” I didn’t pull the lid back. Fuck! I couldn’t do it. Either the will to survive was too damn strong, or I was too scared. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get my body to cooperate. I staggered back from the tank, a sheen of sweat coating my forehead, withdrawal and frustration combining to form a potent mix.

My gaze strayed to the cupboard where Shai kept his bottles of venom, remembering my attempt at taking one ending in a lesson on why it wouldn’t have worked, and with Shai delivering his own brand of retribution for my actions later. It seemed like such a long time ago.

Despite knowing it would be locked, I walked over and tried the handle

anyway. It slid open, the array of bottles looking just the same as they had before.

I flicked a quick glance to the bedroom door, but it was still closed and