Page 87 of Collateral Love
I smiled through the blood.
“And you’re not as in control as you need to be.”
That was when he signaled for them to leave me there alone.
Even the woman.
She hesitated at the door.
I caught her eye one last time.
I mouthedTell Zayden for the restie.
I knew that look. She had empathy. She was afraid of the infamous King brothers. She wanted to save herself and was thinking about switching sides.
Her eyes widened just a fraction. She nodded her head, then the door slammed shut.
Darkness fell fast.
I sagged against the chair, letting my head roll back.
Pain pulsed everywhere.
But pain was data.
And data was power.
Time didn’t move normallyin that room.
It stretched and folded in on itself, but I didn’t panic, I counted breaths instead.
In for four.
Hold for two.
Out for six.
Pain lived in the background like static. My jaw, my shoulder, my wrists all ached, but pain wasn’t the point; pain was the language they used when they didn’t have leverage yet.
There were no windows, no clocks, no sound but my own breathing and the faint drip I’d clocked earlier as water seeping through concrete, steady and patient.
They came back an hour later. Maybe two. I knew because the cold had settled into my bones in layers first skin, thenmuscle, then the quiet ache that made people talk just to hear themselves speak.
Three people came to make sure I was still restrained.
But of the three people who came, Charles did not.
Good I thought. I can get the fuck out of here. The woman came in first.
Her name was Denise. I heard one of the men speak to her affectionately.
She wore cheap boots and a jacket that didn’t quite fit right, sleeves pushed up like she wanted to look tougher than she felt. She didn’t meet my eyes right away. People who avoided eye contact were either cruel or conflicted.
Denise was definitely conflicted.
Behind her were the same two men.
Denise cleared her throat.
