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They’ve taped Jane’s mouth shut.
And John is ripping more duct tape for a go at Lindsay’s face.
Once you mute a person, you remove a distinct part of their humanity. If they won’t let Lindsay talk, then they’re done with her. If they were smart, they’d pump her for information, but they’re not smart. They’re tools of evil and evil, apparently, doesn’t give a shit what Lindsay knows.
She’s a tool, too.
One that gets the job done by being dead.
I finish scoring the square and grab my weapon. Then I pause, closing my eyes, imagining in my mind’s eye the next set of steps. Muscle memory can’t be accessed for this set of maneuvers. I have to go deeper, to the part of me that runs entirely on instinct, with a singular goal:
Save Lindsay.
Everyone else is collateral.
Including me.
Chapter 8
Lindsay
I can’t breathe.
Duct tape covers my mouth, my tongue retreating as the cold, sticky tape smacks over my lips. If I were thinking, I’d have made sure my tongue protruded so I could fight the tape later.
But I don’t believe in “later” anymore.
Later is a luxury for people who have a future.
I sink into the bed, my body a tense noodle. I’ve collapsed and given up, but my muscles haven’t received the message yet, tight and reactive, ready to flee or fight.
I can’t do either of those, and I already froze.
Time to just wait to be killed.
“Let’s do her first,” Stellan says to John, looking overtly at Jane.
Stellan walks quickly, a flash of movement coming toward me out of the corner of my eye, and suddenly my face is on fire. The shock of having the duct tape ripped off my face makes my jaw pop, my mouth screaming in agony, tears filling my eyes and making it impossible to see.
“Before we do that, I want some answers from Lindsay after all,” he says, giving John a series of weird looks, his eyes flitting to the wall to my right.
What the hell is so interesting about that wall? Someone’s doing maintenance work next door. Who cares?
“Leave Jane alone,” I choke out, looking at her. She’s gagging, and I hope she doesn’t throw up, because she’ll suffocate to death. Tears stream down her eyes and she’s just standing there, completely shut down, Stellan holding her arm, giving John hell.
“Fuck off,” he says to Stellan. “You keep changing orders, and we’re running out of time.”
“Why are you doing this at all?” I croak out. “You won’t tell me why me, but tell me why. Why do you want to do this?”
Stellan lets go of Jane, who crumples to the floor, as if she’s been held up entirely by his grip. He moves with catlike grace, a sickening athleticism to his motion. It’s captivating.
I’m captivated.
Or just captive.
His hand reaches out, my body jerking in strange movements as I struggle to breathe properly, my throat still swollen and hot from John’s choke hold. The sizzle of his skin against mine makes my abdominal muscles curl in, as if they’re trying to roll me away from him. Protect me. Secure me.
“Oh, Lindsay,” Stellan says in a sad voice, as if I’ve disappointed him. He sounds like every teacher who realized I didn’t understand a math concept, like my mother after a campaign appearance where I didn’t smile enough, like Daddy when I tried to do better.
