Page 85 of Collateral Love
Silence unsettles men like him more than screaming ever could.
“You know,” he continued, stepping inside, “I imagined this moment a thousand times.”
I lifted my chin slowly, meeting his eyes.
“Then you wasted your imagination,” I said. “Because this is small.”
That was when he hit me.
Not hard enough to knock me out, but it was hard enough to remind me I was restrained. What a fuckin bitch, I thought.
He hit me again, and this time, my head snapped to the side. Pain bloomed sharp and clean across my jaw. Blood filled my mouth this time with iron and heat.
I swallowed it.
He leaned down close.
“You're still talking like you got leverage,” he whispered.
“I do,” I replied calmly. “You just haven’t realized which one yet.”
He laughed.
Men who aren’t really in control always laugh too early.
He nodded to the men.
They grabbed me by the arms and hauled me upright, dragging me across the concrete like I weighed nothing. Myshoulder screamed when the left side slammed into the metal wall. My shoulder blade popped, but it wasn’t broken. The woman watched closely and I saw her chest rise and fall. She was uncomfortable with the men hurting me, and that slight look of empathy told me she was the weak link.
I made sure to wince. It was less about the pain, more to ensure she saw the loom of pain in my face.
“Put her in the chair,” Charles said.
They didn’t have a real chair.
Just a folding metal one bolted to the floor. Cold. Unforgiving. Designed for discomfort. They shoved me down hard enough that my spine rang like a bell.
Cuffs stayed on.
“Now,” Charles said, pacing slowly, “we’re going to have a conversation.”
I let my head fall forward, chin to chest.
“Zayden thinks he’s smarter than he is,” Charles continued. “And your whore of a sister?—”
My head snapped up.
That earned me another hit.
This one came from the woman, but she hesitated.
“Don’t talk about my family,” I said quietly.
Charles smiled wider.
“Still protecting Chanel,” he said. “Even now.”
My chest tightened.
