Page 34 of Bound By Blood and Lies

Then Robyn screams.

The sound tears through the corridor violently. I spin around just in time to see a shadow detach itself from the darkness at the edge of the hallway. A man barrels into her with brutal force, slamming her back against the concrete wall. The knife flies from her hand and clatters across the floor as they collide. I don’t think. I just move. Adrenaline surges through me as I launchmyself toward him, the wooden slat lifting in my hand as I aim for his head and my entire body is driven by one instinct.

To get him off her.

But I’m a second too slow.

A hand grabs the back of my neck and something sharp punches into my skin. The needle sinks in deep. Cold fire floods my veins instantly, spreading through my body with terrifying speed. My muscles seize; my limbs jerk violently as the drug hits my bloodstream. The slat slips from my fingers and clatters to the ground as my hands stop responding to my brain.

“No!” I scream, turning to focus only on Robyn and hoping with all hope that she can break free.

“Fae!” Robyn screams, the sound so guttural it physically hurts my heart.

“Save yourself,” I try to say but the words come out slurred and broken.

My knees buckle beneath me. The corridor tilts sideways as the world begins to blur and the strip lights overhead stretch into long streaks of white. Through the haze I see another man grab Robyn from behind. She fights him. God, she fights. Her nails claw at his arms, her body thrashing violently as she tries to break free, but he’s stronger. He traps her against the wall and before she can twist away, the same needle plunges into the side of her neck.

Her scream cuts off mid-breath as her eyes find mine across the corridor.

Wide and terrified.

“The boss would like to see you now,” a voice murmurs somewhere behind me; the words are thick and distorted, like they’re being spoken from the bottom of a lake.

I try to turn toward it, but my body won’t obey.

My limbs feel heavy and useless as the drug pulls me under faster than my mind can keep up. The hallway spins in slow,nauseating circles as the darkness creeps in from the edges of my vision. My limbs feel like they’re made of cement as I try to reach out inch by inch across the cold concrete towards Robyn. Through the haze I see her collapsing beside me as the drug takes hold.

Her hand reaches out blindly and our fingertips brush. It’s barely a touch, nothing more than skin grazing skin, but it feels like the last fragile thread tethering us to each other. Like two people drifting through water that managed to catch hold of the same piece of wreckage before the current pulls them under.

That contact feels like proof that we’re still here.

Still together.

Because if we’re together, we’ll survive this.

And then…

The world goes black.

CHAPTER 11

ROMAN

The panel at the top of the stairs is already open and Dad is waiting by the hidden door, exactly where he said he’d be. His suit is immaculate and his hands are calm at his sides. Two of his men flank him, silent in that specific way that is trained into you. On the floor between them is a body in everyday clothes, sprawled on its side with their wrists bound and ankles tied. Dad’s gaze meets mine.

“Roman,” he says quietly as I step closer.

“This is him?” I ask as my eyes flick from the man on the floor to Dad.

“It’s him,” Dad replies. He gestures toward the unconscious figure with a small movement of his hand. “I sent my best guys out to dig for traitors and we found him.”

He reaches into his pocket and produces a set of keys. The small red cross catches the low light of the church and my teeth grind. I close the distance between us as my fingers curl around the keychain when he offers it to me.

“Does he work for The Company?” I ask.

Dad gives a small nod.“Yes. He was in the security sector.”

“And you drugged him?” I ask, looking down at the man again.