AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, well,” he said, his voice light. “That was entertaining. Did you come on to him like that just to shock me? I’m not so easily shocked, you know.”
“Y-y-you fucking m-m-monster!”
“Ah, ah, ah! Language. Come on, girl, help me get him back over to his side of the glass. We certainly can’t leave him out here.”
“I will not help you, you sick son-of-a-bitch!”
“You’re very agitated, Cassandra,” he said a soothing tone. “Calm down. Breathe deeply. And, ah... if you would make yourself decent? Please? It’s a bit much for my delicate sensibilities.” He gestured at my naked torso, his face faintly pained.
Oh, God. I’d actually forgotten. I tugged the dress straps back up over my shoulders with fingers that shook.
Halliwell crouched to grab Shane’s ankles, and dragged him briskly back into the part of the cell delineated by the tracks for the sliding glass wall, leaving a long red smear of blood from his lacerated throat.
Shane’s head bumped heavily over the tracks, making me wince. “He needs medical attention! Antibiotics, bandages! You should send someone down to?—”
“You just don’t get it yet, do you?” He dropped Shane’s bare feet to the floor. “This man’s need for medical attention is directly proportionate to how useful he is to me. Which at the moment is, not at all. Except for entertainment value, of course. These last few minutes… my goodness. My poor heart. Who knew? Naughty minx.”
“You are a goddamn pervert,” I said. “Who are you spanking? Me, or him?”
He straightened up, rolling his shoulders. “I don’t see why you’re so distraught,” he said coolly. “I didn’t give you any electric shocks. Are you just angry because I stopped him before he was able to complete the sex act with you? You oversexed vixen.”
“You are disgusting,” I told him. “Don’t make light of this. It’s horrific.”
“Possibly, but think of your sister, all alone in the Cascade Clinic, fighting for her life. You are in no position to scold me, girl.”
I let out a shuddering breath, my hand pressed so hard against the rough textured wall, I scraped off my own skin. Reggie. Oh, God, I was in such deep shit.
Halliwell tugged his suit jacket into place and adjusted his tie. “He can look after himself. If he has a stroke, or his heart stops, or that wound goes septic, or whatever else, it’s just destiny, looking after itself. Don’t concern yourself.” He keyed in a sequence on his phone, and a mechanism began to hum. The thick glass slab once again emerged from the groove in the wall and ground across it, sliding deep into the recessed opening on the other side. “In any case, you’ll be glad to know that I’ve decided he has nothing left in his head worth prying out. And as a special favor to you, I’ve decided to eliminate him humanely. No interrogation experts. You’ll come down with me tomorrow and witness his termination.”
“No!” I yelled. “You can’t do that to him!”
“I can do anything I want, Cassandra. It’s time. He’s a dangerous distraction for you. You cannot fixate on anything other than your job right now. I need Glow-worm finished, and here you are, spending all your time mooning over this fellow. Watching shower videos, for God’s sake. It’s ridiculous. Tomorrow, you cut that bond. Snip-snip, and on you go, marching toward your ultimate destiny. No more frivolous diversions.”
“I will not witness that! I cannot watch you murder him!”
“So you won’t offer the poor man a single kindly face to gaze on as he breathes his last?” His eyes were wide with fake compassion. “You’d deny him that?”
“But I… but he?—”
“You need a sharp lesson about choices and consequences. It’s always a problem with extremely gifted young people like you. They aren’t used to things not going their way. It’s such a rude surprise to them. Often, they behave badly.” He held up his passcard. It flashed green. The door clicked open. He offered me his arm.
I shrank away. He rolled his eyes impatiently. “For God’s sake, Cassandra,” he grumbled, as I lurched out the door after him. “You’re being such a child.”
The door shut. The lock clicked shut. We walked in silence to the elevator bank.
He hit the button for Level Three, where the apartments were located. I winced away from my own reflection in the gleaming metal wall. My hair was a wild hag’s mane, my dress was crooked, my boobs were clearly visible through the dress… Jesus, had they been that visible at the restaurant? No wonder Andrew had sussed me out for sex. No wonder Shane concluded that I was his farewell pity fuck. I was dressed for sex, and I looked like I’d had a rough night of it already. Face hot red, makeup smeared, lipstick worn down, lips puffy and swollen. Red scrapes from Shane’s beard stubble. Eyes bright with terror, and other complicated emotions.
Shane was lying there, injured and untreated, on the floor. And tomorrow, he would die… right in front of me.
The elevator pinged, the door opened. Halliwell held it open for me.
“Sleep well, Cassandra,” he said briskly. “I need you in top form tomorrow. You’ll be my hostess for another business dinner tomorrow night, after we deal with the prisoner’s disposal. I’m holding this party right here, at headquarters. The OlgarCorp team responds well to eye candy. Another dress will be delivered tomorrow. That one you’re wearing appears to be… well, not salvageable, after tonight’s adventures.”
“I am not eye candy,” I snapped.
“You are whatever I need you to be, girl, so shut up and behave.”
I backed away from him, as the door closed on his low, mocking laughter.
