AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t need time to think about it.
“Done.”
CHAPTER13
BRAM
Alaric gave me a job to do, but how can I test Ivy’s loyalty if she doesn’t come to the dungeon?
While I’ve been waiting for her to show over the last few days, he’s given me a few privileges: better food, regular hose-downs, and clean clothes. It’s not a luxury spa stay, but it’s an improvement.
Is this how the Killers Club usually secures their agents? Do they kidnap and break people down until they can’t take anymore, only to give them a lifeline they have no choice but to accept?
101… 102… 103…
I recount the points on the floor tiles, running my fingers over the cracks. When I’ve finished that, I’ll count the number of bricks, then start over again. It helps pass the time and keeps my mind occupied. Time blurs together. I’ve lost track of the days passing, and it’s impossible to tell whether it’s day or night.
Sometimes I hear voices. They talk in my head. I have conversations with myself and think about how things could have been. The lack of sleep doesn’t help. Whenever I drift off, I’m woken by their screams. Screams of women and children. Then, when I wake, I remember this is exactly what I deserve.
Stephanie and Alaric come and go. Sometimes together. Sometimes apart. I listen to snatches of their conversations. They’re both here now. They left a ketchup and butter sandwich for me and are heading back into the depths of the building.
“Fishy wants to hire for another job,” Stephanie says. She talks quietly enough that most people would struggle to hear her, but my senses are amplified. I know every sound in this place. I distinguish the noise of the dripping leaking pipe, the boiler’s whir, and the opening and closing of the doors trapping me here. “What do we tell him?”
They never address their clients by their names around me and only use code words, but I recognise that nickname. It’s distinct. Unless it’s a strange coincidence, I think they’re referring to Christopher Trout—one of Spencer’s right-hand men. A man who was there the night Spencer forced Ivy and Daisy’s car off the road.
“I’ll sort it myself as soon as we receive payment,” Alaric says venomously. “Have him send it to the usual account.” He stops walking. “Don’t give me that look, Steph. Quit worrying about—”
“I just think you need to be careful, that’s all,” she interrupts. “We have to handle this delicately.”
“Like how you deployed the Lotus to kill Doyle?” he sneers sarcastically. “Yeah, real fucking delicate. Don’t lecture me about how to do my job. You need to remember your place here. You’re not the boss; I am. Maybe it’s time you remember that.”
She yelps like a wounded dog. I hear his shoes hitting the concrete as he storms away and slams the dungeon door closed with a crash. I can’t hear her footsteps. She stays put. She sniffles and takes a few deep breaths before following him and clicking the door softly behind her. It’s the first time I’ve heard them argue.
A few hours pass, and I return to the monotony of counting to keep my memories away.
56… 57… 58…
Suddenly, the dungeon door hits the wall, and I jump to my feet. It’s too soon for them to be bringing my next meal, which means…
“Ohhhh, Bram!” Her sing-song, playful voice makes the raised, angry mark on the centre of my chest sting. I’ve become accustomed to the constant pain, and it doesn’t burn as much as it used to. “Are you awake? It’s time to play.” She makes her way to my cell and opens the hatch. Her brown eyes peer through and her skin crinkles at their edges, from a smile I can’t see. “Have you missed me? It’s time we had a catch-up.”
My expression remains deadpan. She doesn’t know it, but she’s the one undertaking a test… and she’s my ticket out of here.
When I’m breathing fresh air again, I’ll have more control over what happens next, and I can come up with a real plan.
“I’ve brought you a present.” She lobs a notebook through the hatch, followed by an onslaught of biro bullets. I imagine her pouting as she mocks me in a high-pitched voice. “You’re not being very grateful. I thought you’d be pleased to see me.”
If she expects me to be thankful, she can choke on my fucking dick. She snaps the hatch shut, and I hear her back slide down on the other side of the door to sit on the floor. I don’t move. Not yet. I must plan my moves carefully, so she suspects nothing.
I need her to trust me enough to set me free. 4830. That’s the code to my cell door. All she needs to do is put in those numbers. There’ll be no violence involved. No blood. No killing. I’ll approach testing her like a good old-fashioned puzzle. All I have to do is work out how Ivy Penrose’s brain works and dissect it like a complex code until I get my answer. She’s going to be my most challenging code to crack.
“Are you ready to answer my questions?” she asks.
Game fucking on.
CHAPTER14
CALLEN
