Page 89 of Gatsby's Starlet
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I KEPT MYhead down even after the light shifted, even after the opening above scraped wider and the air changed just enough to make it easier to breathe, because looking up too fast felt like giving something away, and right now we couldn’t afford that.
Boots hit the edge above us, slow and deliberate, followed by the low creak of weight shifting, like whoever it was wasn’t in any hurry, like they already knew we weren’t going anywhere.
“Still alive?” a voice called down, rough and edged with something that didn’t sit right, something that sounded almost amused.
Ruby’s fingers tightened around my arm, hard enough to hurt, and I could feel the tremor in her grip even before she spoke.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice thinner now, not steady anymore. “We’re—”
I squeezed her arm once, just enough to cut her off before she said too much, before she gave him anything we didn’t need to.
I lifted my head then, slower, controlled, letting my eyes adjust to the light enough to make out the shape above us, broad shoulders, a shadow blocking most of it, but not enough to miss the way he leaned forward slightly, like he was trying to get a better look.
Kane.
Even in shadow, I knew it was him.
“That so,” he said, his tone shifting just slightly as his gaze settled on me instead, something possessive slipping in underneath the casual edge. “Didn’t think you’d last this long down there.”
“You don’t want us dead” I said, keeping my voice even, not giving him the shake that sat just under it, not giving him anything that looked like weakness.
His mouth curved faintly at that, not quite a smile.
“No,” he agreed. “Not yet.”
The way he said it landed wrong.
Too easy.
Like the ending was already decided and this was just a step on the way to it.
Ruby shifted beside me, her grip tightening again. “You can’t keep us down here,” she said, the words coming out faster now, breaking at the edges. “Drago will—”
Kane laughed. “Drago is too busy losing his shit,” he cut in, his voice flattening as he straightened slightly, his attention drifting back to her like she was something already dealt with. “He doesn’t give a fuck about you Ruby.”
Something in Ruby cracked at that.
I felt it.
The way her body went still, the way her breathing hitched like she’d been holding onto something that just slipped out from under her.
I didn’t look at her, didn’t react, because he was watching.
And that mattered more.
“You got a reason for coming down here,” I said instead, pulling his attention back, forcing it onto me where I could control it, even just a little. “Or you just checking to see if we’re still breathing?”
His eyes flicked back to mine, something interested sliding in now, like I’d given him something he hadn’t expected.
“Maybe I like the view,” he said, leaning forward just enough that more light hit his face, enough for me to see the way his gaze dragged over me slow, deliberate, like he was taking his time with it.
My stomach turned.
I didn’t let it show.
“Or maybe,” he went on, “I’m decidin’ all the things I’m going to do to you.”
