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I can’t see his face, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hear the annoyance in his voice. “Why work for someone who doesn’t appreciate you?”
He shoves me forward. “Walk.”
“Do you always do other people’s dirty work without knowing if you’ll die for nothing?” I press, since he avoided my first question.
The knife presses further into my skin, drawing blood. “Shut the fuck up before Iaccidentallykill you.”
His sinister voice has me doing as he says, watching my surroundings as he guides me around the back side of the house, through a door where there isn’t anyone else that I can see. The blade is pulled from my neck as he pushes me toward a set of stairs, knocking me down. “Walk.”
Not a fucking chance in hell.
I turn over like I’m going to get up, but I brace myself on my elbows and pull my right leg back before pushing it forward with every ounce of strength I can muster.
The sole of my boot connects with his groin, forcing him to hunch over, gasping for air. I stand and rush for him just as I hear the sound of gunshots much closer than the rest. While I don’t let myself get distracted, my attacker is stronger than I anticipate.
As soon as I reach for the knife still clutched in his hand, he arcs his arm and drives the tip of the blade into my thigh.
“You’re fucking lucky he prefers you alive,” he says, leaning closer with his face only inches from mine.
His pale skin and blue eyes hold little life in them, and the scars covering his skin make me wonder if he works for Titan, uncaring about respect because he has a death wish.
His fingers tangle with my hair, lifting me back to my feet by the strands as he snarls. “Stand and walk. Now.”
With the searing pain expanding through my leg, I do as he says, but with considerably more effort. “Where are you taking me?”
His chuckled breath moves over the back of my ear as he puts the knife back to my neck, staying only half a step behind me. “After the gunshots I just heard, hopefully to see the dead body of your boyfriend.”
I suck in a shuddering breath. I want to believe he’s wrong, that Luca couldn’t be so easily defeated, but there’s a fear inside me that grows stronger by the second, increasing my motivation to get upstairs.
I say nothing else. No more trying to reason with the deranged man behind me, no more hoping that this night isn’t going to end without considerable loss, some I may not be prepared to process.
When we’re finally at the top, he shoves me against the wall and turns me before we can see around the corner. “If you don’t want your vocal cords cut out, you won’t say a fucking word unless spoken to. Not even a gasp. Do you understand?”
More blood leaks from what I hope is the same place he cut me before. I want to nod instead of speak, but I’m afraid to move my head.
“Yes,” I whisper so as not to make my throat move more than necessary.
The sinister grin on his face makes my stomach churn, and I hope like hell he’s dead sooner rather than later. Though, with my current position, I’m not sure how that’s going to happen.
He turns me back around, and when we step onto the landing, he wraps an arm around my waist, holding me close as if he’s using my body as a shield against whatever we’re about to find up here.
I close my eyes briefly, preparing myself for the chance that Luca’s lifeless body could be on the ground, but when I open them back up, I see his back and Titan in front of him, holding a gun.
A situation nearly as bad as Luca being dead.
“And there’s our guest of honor,” Titan says joyfully. “Come here, Daughter.”
I don’t make a move to go to him. I have zero desire to stand by his side, but when the fucker behind me digs the knife into my side this time, encouraging me forward, I know I have no choice but to listen.
While not great, there’s still a chance Luca and I can make it out of this situation, together and alive. I’ll do whatever I’m forced to if it means increasing those odds.
The man behind me never leaves his position, even when I’m standing next to Titan as requested. My eyes meet Luca’s, and the relief at knowing he’s not dead increases the hope I have within me that we’ll survive this. Somehow.
Titan skims the tips of his fingers over my jaw. “You’ve turned out better than I could have dreamed.” The reverence in his voice nearly makes me gag considering he wanted to kill me a week ago. “Please tell me that you’ve reconsidered my offer and you’ll join me.”
“As what?” I ask, though my eyes never leave Luca’s hardened stare. “Your daughter, someone you respect, or your prisoner, someone you still intend to kill?”
I have no desire to join Titan in any shape or form, but I need time for Luca to snap out of whatever rage-filled stupor he’s in and make a fucking move.
