Page 24 of Ace of Shadows
“Huh?” The dude squints and leans forward. “Cat got your tongue?”
Soon as he’s close enough, I throw my head forward and headbutt him on the nose. It crushes on impact and it’s well worth taking the hell of blows that rain down on me afterward. Fists against my jaw, in my gut robbing me of air. Something solid slams down against one knee and then finally, they getcreative when one uses his belt to wrap it around my neck. He pulls it so hard that my back teeth cut into my tongue.
It’s not my first rodeo, but time is of the essence.
“Not laughing now, are you?” one spits in my ear as he tightens the belt and robs me of what precious little air I was able to snatch between my teeth.
My heart pounds loudly in my ears, deafening me as my lungs burn and my throat fights with itself, trying to gag to dislodge something that isn’t there. The belt grows so tight that I see my own heartbeat pulsing in the edge of my vision and my limbs twitch against the restraints keeping me bound to this chair.
Is he going to kill me?
Does it really end here?
What about Ivy?
Poor Ivy.
“Don’t kill him, you fucking idiot,” comes another distant voice, and after the sharp impact of flesh against flesh, the belt slackens.
I drag in a desperate gasp of air. Then another and another. Each one is raw against my throat so I cough and gag, hacking up mucus and spit while gagging on desperate breaths.
“Fucking hell.” The man from the street stops in front of me, then he grasps my damp chin and jerks my head up to the light. “You gonna tell us what family you’re with?”
“Or why the fuck you’re around that fucking bitch,” snarls the second man.
My attention slides to him. “Watch your fucking mouth,” I croak.
“I didn’t say you could speak to him, you piece of shit!” The first man suddenly slides into my lap and presses the blade of a knife just under my ribs. As he leans forward, the tip pierces into my body and I grit my throbbing teeth.
“He asked me a question,” I croak. “I answered.”
The blade slices deeper and deeper until throbbing, burning heat radiates across my chest. “Family. State it, now.”
I narrow my eyes and grunt through the pain. “Fuck. You.”
He retracts the knife and stabs me again, this time lower in my abdomen, and a grunt of real pain escapes me. As he pulls back, warm blood spreads through my shirt while I pant.
“Maybe he needs a little incentive,” says the second man.
“Or maybe he knows nothing,” comes a third, bored voice. “Look at him, he’s nothing but a pretty boy. Hired muscle. The girl will talk once we’re done with her.”
Ivy. I seek out the third voice in the dark and when our eyes meet, he smirks at me.
“Maybe I’ll fuck it out of her. I hear it runs in the family. Though I bet her pussy is sweeter than her mother’s.”
My hands curl into fists and I strain forward, ignoring the man in my lap. “I’m going to kill you,” I hiss. “I’m going to kill you so slowly that you’ll be begging me long before it’s over.”
“Shut the fuck up,” snarls the man in my lap, and his blade slices clean across my abdomen.
I yelp and jerk my chin out of his touch, gather the next mouthful of blood leaking from the cuts inside my mouth, and spit in his face.
Even as he explodes in a rage and repeatedly punches me until I’m dizzy, it’s somewhat calming. As long as they’re busy with me here, they’ll leave her alone.
“S’that all you got?” I ask as blood drools like a fountain from my lower lip.
“Nah,” snarls the man in my lap, and he fists one hand into my hair. “I’m just getting started.” He climbs off me after a light snap, flips his knife around, and starts cutting my T-shirt off with little care to how the blade cuts into my skin.
Water sloshes behind me, along with the ding of metal against metal while the last man, the one who threatened to fuck Ivy, remains steadfast, watching me. He smirks coldly, but just as his lips part to speak, he hesitates and his brow lifts.
