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“What are you called?”
“Josh,” the boy replies, still not raising his head. I note the slight tremor in his voice and lift his face to look at me, smearing blood along his chin.
Large blue eyes greet me, and I can feel the secrets winding beneath them. Despite the tremble, he doesn’t avert his eyes from mine. Brave boy. There are few men who can meet my stare, and my measure of him raises despite how small he is. I release his chin roughly and he falls back into place.
“Leave,” I tell them all, and the prisoners start to stumble out the door and into the new Hell that awaits them. I’ll let the other inmates introduce the rest of them. I turn to leave before I hear a small voice cry out behind me.
“He’s a cute one,” Rik, one of those in my inner circle, comments and I turn to see he has a grip on the boy. “Can I have him, boss?”
Now I see fear fill the boy’s eyes and I feel the fury rise inside me. This little shit is more scared of Rik than me? Surely me disemboweling him is worse than being raped by that fucker? I growl and step forward as Rik releases the boy, taking a step back. Josh drops down to his knees again and I glower over him. The rest of the prisoners finish scampering out and it’s only me, Rik, Ethan, and the boy still in the room.
“Look at me!” I shout and Josh raises his eyes to meet mine again. My body burns from the inside and I roar before plunging my knife deep into Rik’s chest. My own chest heaves and I don’t take my eyes off Josh, whose eyes are as big as saucers.
Good. Fucking fear me.
Rik drops to the ground, and the only sounds are the distant shouts of prisoners welcoming the new fish. The smell of fear still permeates the room under the thicker scent of coppery blood. My favorites.
“Leave us,” I finally tell Ethan, who nods and exits the room, dropping the thick curtain over the door.
Five
Ana
Iwant nothing more than to flee, run from this room and hide, but my body is rooted to this spot on the floor. I’ve always thought of myself as brave. I’m no stranger to violence, but this man terrifies me in a way I’ve never felt before. His presence is larger than life. I keep my head down, but my eyes are wide, and I blink rapidly to prevent the tears from falling.
That was close, way too close. I can only imagine what would have happened if that man had taken me and found out the truth. Not that I am in any better of a predicament now. Axle is still standing over me and I can hear the huffs of breath blowing out his nose. I don’t fully understand what happened there.
When Axle lifts my face to look at his again, I don’t see lust in his eyes like I did when the other man leered at me. When he looked into my eyes, it was like he was trying to pull my secrets—my soul—through them. His dark, almost black eyes.
But that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t like to rape little boys. This is prison after all, and The Tomb has the worst reputation of all.
For some reason, the thought saddens me. I don’t know this man who claims to oversee Hell. When he looked into my eyes, I felt a twinge of something. Something I have suppressed for a long time, ever since Josh sacrificed himself to save me. Dangerous feelings I should not be having.
Desire.
Attraction.
Longing.
It takes a lot of will to not look away, but since I’m here I take in the rest of his features. Unlike the other man who brought us here, his hair is short on the sides but on the top is longer than my own. His cheekbones high and still visible beneath the blonde beard. Black tattoos cover his arms and neck, flexing over the muscles that I can’t seem to look away from. I must stop myself from imagining what it would feel like to run my hands over those muscles. Something must be wrong with me if I’m attracted to the man who literally killed several people in front of me. Then again, I’ve known something was wrong with me for a long time.
He releases me and paces the room and as quiet as I can I take a deep breath, recovering from his stare.
“Why were you more scared of him?” Axle finally asks, his voice a low whisper. A warning. I swallow deeply. So, that’s what upset him. He saw I was more afraid of Rik than him.
“I didn’t want to be raped,” I whisper back, keeping my head down. I hold back a shriek when he rips the hat from my head and thrusts my head upwards to look at his. I hate how weak this man makes me feel.
“You think I won’t rape you?” he growls at me. I can feel the tears gathering behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall in front of him.
“This is the Tomb,” he says darkly, “and men have needs. You want to keep your asshole untouched, then you learn to fight. You want to know who to be scared of? How about the man who would give you to the worst sadists and torturers in this place without a second thought?” With that, he drops my face, not too gently. Heat rises up in me unbidden.
“I know how to fight,” I spit back, unable to contain it. It’s true, too. Josh and I taught ourselves when we were young, and I have managed to keep myself safe for many years. I’ve been in my share of fights. Axle turns back to me and barks a laugh.
“Good,” he says, “I like your spunk. You’ll need it if you want to survive here, but it won’t be me you will have to fight over your sorry ass.”
I blink a few times.
“Get the fuck out,” he finally says, and without delay, I scramble up and run from the room.
