Page 2 of Requiem
A face.“Song request?”
Honey brown eyes. But her hair is different.
No. You can’t be here. Leave. I fucking hate you.
My vision flickers, her hair shifting, color bleeding in and out. I don’t recognize her…but I do. I whip my head sideways a couple of times, trying to clear it.
My hands are around her throat.
I flinch like I’ve been shocked again, fingers spasming against the mattress. Her eyes are wide with terror, looking at me like I’m someone she doesn’t recognize, either.
I’m killing her.
I’mfuckingkilling her.
“Stop—” The word slips out under my breath. There’s shouting behind me. A voice cutting through all of the screaming inside and outside of me.
Micah.
There’s a gun in my hand. I’m pointing it at him. What the fuck—
Then I see the man beside the bed, and the crack of the gunshot splits everything apart.
My gaze drops to my leg, breath catching at the thick bandages wrapped below my knee. The fabric is stiff with dried blood, and a deep ache pulses beneath it.
The bullet. Then the needle he jammed into me.
A dark flicker catches at the edge of my vision, and it shifts in and out of the wall. My head snaps toward it, but it’s nothing. I suck in a breath, and my eyes cut back to him, a feral anger rising fast.
“You drugged me,” I rasp.
One corner of his mouth twitches. “Sedated,” he corrects calmly. “Everyone else seems to be drugging you, so I decided to join in on the fun.”
My hands curl into fists as I pull against the restraints again. “Get these off.”
He doesn’t move. “My name is Rafe Vaughan.”
My chest rises too fast, breath shallow. “I don’t give a fuck what your name is.” Another tremor rolls through me, my fingers twitching uncontrollably. It’s gettingworse.
He notices. “You’re withdrawing.”
My jaw clenches. “Where the hell am I?”
“Safe.”
A hollow laugh slips out. But it doesn’t stop. It turns almost hysterical, rising and breaking when I pull on the restraints again. “Yeah,” I mutter. “Feels real safe.”
He leans back slightly. “You and Adriana were extracted from my event.”
Adriana.
My head turns toward him. Wait. I recognize him. From before. “What? Where is she?”
“Upstairs.”
My stomach twists. “She—” My voice cracks.
“Is safe upstairs,” he says quietly.
