Page 92
Ryker rolls his eyes. “You give me one, or I kill Zayden.”
“No,” Silence says quickly. “Please.”
“Ooh, she’s begging, Z. I like the sound of that.” He stands, swiftly closing the space between us, and takes something out of his pocket. A flick knife. The blade flips out, and he buries it into my shoulder. I bite down on my cheek, turning my face away, refusing to let Silence know I’m in pain.
I squeeze my eyes closed, grinding my teeth together as Ryker twists the blade. “Don’t give him anything, X,” I grunt. “Not a fucking thing.”
“You okay, Z?” Xavier asks.
“I’m fine.” Ryker pulls the knife out and plunges it into my other shoulder. Hot blood pours from the wound, and he twists again, smirking down at me. I wet my lips and breathe. “Where’s Yale? And Bullet?”
“Right here, Z,” Yale says. “We’re fine.”
“Good. Leave.” I pant as Ryker continues to twist. “Get Silence as far away from here as you can.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you!” she insists.
Ryker tuts and pulls out the knife, then sticks his finger into the wound.
Now, I shout. I can’t help it.
Silence whimpers. “Stop it, Ryker. Please.”
Ryker grins. “Beg me again, baby girl. I like it.” He pushes his finger deeper and I roar, trying to twist away, but it only makes it worse.
My heart thuds, the beat focused on the pain points, and I clench my fists. Sweat dots my brow and I fight the dizziness that threatens to take me away from the moment. I have to focus.
“Ryker, stop!” Silence screams. “Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
“No, Silence,” I breathe.
Ryker removes his finger, wiping my blood on his jeans. “That depends. What am I getting? You or the Agency?”
“Not me,” she whispers, her voice tight. “We’ll sign it over to you. You bring him back to us and you can have it.”
I’m dizzy from pain, sweat pumping out of me. “Silence—”
“Shut up, Zayden. I don’t care about this fucking business. I care about you. I need you.”
Ryker takes his seat again, balling up the panties and gazing at them longingly. I’m clenching my fingers so intensely they’ve numbed, leaving a trace of tingling behind that I try to focus on so as not to pass out.
“Perfect. But I want you to be the one to meet me.”
“Not a fucking chance,” Xavier says.
“Either she does it, or I start cutting things off your brother. It can be public. I’m not planning on snatching her.” His grin widens as he sniffs the panties. “Something tells me Silence might want to come with me, anyway.” Even through my pain-filled haze, I focus on those words. “I’ll send you a time and a place, Q. I love you.”
“Rot in hell.”
He laughs and disconnects the call. “She’s so feisty. She looks like a decent fuck, too.” He pulls something up on his phone and shows me the screen. It’s footage of that night, of all of us. Of Silence writhing in ecstasy. “I was coming dust by the time I’d finished playing with myself over this. She’s such a filthy whore, isn’t she?” I raise my gaze to him, breathing fast through my nose. “Did you really think I’d know all I do and not know where you were? How do you think I got the explosives in there, Z? They’ve been there for months, because I knew that would be where you’d run to, and I knew I’d want to watch while you thought you gained control. People-watching at its finest.”
It was an illusion. All of it. I was always going to end up here, and he was always going to get what he wanted. “Why? Why fucking play with us?”
“Because you killed someone who meant something to me.”
“Your brother was a rapist piece of shit.”
He shoots out of his seat and hits me. It’s a weak punch, and it snaps me out of the pain I was dangerously close to sinking into. A low laugh leaves me and I exhale deeply.
