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“Does my uncle know that you betrayed us?” I ground out, my shoulder throbbing like a son of a bitch. At least the stitches had healed already.
“Ah, come on, Jagger. Don’t be a bad sport about it. I got paid well to not kill you.” Tiny chuckled. “It wasn’t personal, man. It was just a job.”
“Not personal?” I was so pissed, my voice shook. “Nothing is certain. Who’s gonna draft someone with a shot shoulder? You might have ruined my chance at going pro. Worse, you could have hurt someone else.”
“It’s all business, kid. I needed the money. Ma has cancer and someone’s gotta pay the bills.” He had the audacity to shrug. I glanced at Ari, but it seemed that she was still unconscious. If we lived long enough for me to explain how Tiny had betrayed us, she would be as shocked as I was.
I pressed my lips together, wishing I hadn’t lied about where Ari and I were. Even if Teagan didn’t hear from Ari for a day or two, she would have no idea where to tell the cops to look for her. Fuck!
“You know damn well my uncle is looking for Ari and me. He won’t stop until he finds us, Psycho. He hates your fucking guts.”
Psycho’s expression turned grim. “That makes me so sad, Jag.” He and Tiny burst into laughter.
He looked at his watch. “I gotta jet, but I wanted to make sure Tiny hadn’t drugged your and Ariana’s drinks enough that they killed you both. I’ll have to give him a bonus for a job well done.” Psycho slapped Tiny on the back as they walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.
As soon as the footsteps down the hall subsided, I looked at Ari. “Are you okay? Ari?”
She raised her head slowly, her blue eyes tormented. She spat on the floor, blood mixing with her saliva.
“You shouldn’t have bit Psycho’s tongue. He’s probably soaked in disease.” I winced when the words left my mouth. It was stupid to add one more fear to Ari’s plate.
“It was disgusting, but I just reacted.”
I was thirsty as hell, and I suspected that she was too. My heart slammed painfully against my rib cage. I’d led Ari straight into the devil’s den when I thought I was protecting her. Tiny had watched us, waiting for the right moment. The son of a bitch had been working with Psycho the entire time. Hate simmered beneath my skin, threatening to drive me over the edge. If I got free, they would both regret ever touching us.
“Jag?”
Ari’s voice pulled me from my murderous thoughts.
“Tiny shot you.” Sadness flashed in her blue eyes and she swallowed. “I’m so sorry. From what I could tell, you considered him family.”
My shoulders slumped, and I stared at the ceiling, the bitter, fiery aftertaste of betrayal burning my insides. “I never saw a sign, but I wasn’t with him on a regular basis.” A flicker of hope ignited in my chest. “If Uncle Gunner can find us, we have a chance to get out of here alive.”
Ari didn’t even blink when I said alive. Maybe she thought we were dead people walking. She might be right, but I couldn’t afford to entertain the what-ifs.
“The hall is long. I think we must be at the end of the building. Usually, there’s an exit door. I can’t swear to it, but maybe.” Ari offered me a wistful expression.
I frowned at her. “How did you come up with that?”
A haunted look flashed across her face. “When Peter locked me in closets, it wasn’t always the same one. It took a while, but I was finally able to calm my heartbeat down enough to listen to my surroundings: footsteps, voices and how far away they might be. If they were closer to the room I was kept in and shit like that. I had three years of practice but eventually, I could close my eyes and kind of piece together the layout and halls. I wasn’t great at it, but half the time I was right.”
Stunned, I gawked at her. “It’s crazy what you can learn when it means you live or die.”
“Jag, you watched Tiny walk in. What was behind him?”
I racked my brain, attempting to think of any detail that might help us, but I came up empty.
“It’s okay. When the door opens again, let’s try to see what’s out there. Once we know, we can figure out what to do next.”
“Ari, unless we can get to my gun sitting on that tray over there, there’s no use. Psycho won’t get close to you again.”
“Oh, stepbrother of mine.” I flashed him a grin, using the exact phrase I had before he kissed me the first time. “Peter might have helped more than we gave the bastard credit for. I hope he’s burning in hell, but I underestimated his usefulness.”
I suspected disbelief was written all over my face.
“I need to think, so help me and keep an eye on the door.”
I nodded, unsure of what was running through her head. “Hey, Ari?”
