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Hell, I knew better than to leave thePredatorscompound in the first place.
But Tati wanted it.
And Tati… was a weakness.
That weakness made me soft, and the softness made me stupid, and the stupidity landed a sedative dart in my ass.
The stupidity was costing me more than I could afford.
But there was nothing I could do now except see how it all panned out. Beyond the conclusions I could draw from the camouflaged voice, there wasn’t much for me to go on. Especially not with a hood over my head, the thick fabric inhibiting my breathing and shrouding my vision.
When I didn’t answer thewhat are you doing in Vegasquestion, the captor near me swung—maybe a bat?—across my shins, making me dig my teeth into the gag stuffed in my mouth. I breathed through the pain, putting everything I could into withholding the satisfaction of audible discomfort.
Torture was much easier to bear when you had something to focus on.
“Answer the question,” the voice demanded and the bat—I was sure of it now from the feeling of the rounded end—pressed to the side of my head. Its wielder shoved it into my already pounding skull, a warning as I tipped my head forward just enough to let the coppery results of the last blow to my mouth spill through my teeth before I choked on it.
Although… maybe if I did just choke, this shit would be over sooner.
Can’t think like that.
Not when I didn’t know where Tati was or what state—mental or physical—she might be in. Beyond my selfish reasons for wanting to live, it was imperative to make sure she was good.
Or ruin anybody who was responsible for her being anything else.
That was the question though, right?
Who was responsible?
In the current conditions, that wouldn’t be an easy answer to find.
There were too many options, some more likely than others.
But the most likely was the least plausible, which threw a wrench in my mental calculations. With me outing myself as aThornto Rojas and his crew, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d made myself a target.
Either he was coming for me, or Renard’sThornswere coming for me, or maybe all the above. But it wasn’t conceivable that either of those parties could make their way in and out, pastPredatordefenses without making at least alittlenoise.
Maybe if it was one person alone, but no one with good sense would have come for me alone—not if they had any idea what I was capable of.
So that begged the question:whocould have gotten past thePredators, gotten on to Tati’s property, and known to disable me from a distance while my guard was down?
It was bizarre.
Unless there was—
My analyzing was interrupted by a sudden snatch of the hood from over my head. I blinked hard to clear the blurriness from my vision, forcing my addled brain to take in my surroundings, trying to figure out if anything appeared familiar.
…plants?
Lots of damn plants.
Notexactlyfamiliar, but… maybe?
A sudden stab of fear slid through me as I realized… it was reminiscent ofThe Garden. Reflexively, my limbs pulled against my restraints, everything in me screaming that it was time togo.
“We’re done playing nice with you,” a voice spoke right into my ear, undisguised, with a handful of my locs clutched in a tight fist. “Youwillstart giving up some answers.”
My eyes went wide as the owner of the voice stepped into my view.
The entire time I’d been conscious, long,painfulminutes and hours I’d lost count of, I had not uttered a syllable.
But now, looking into familiar eyes, confusion and apprehension mixed together as I spoke one muffled word through my gag.
“You?”
