Page 83 of Us Defiant Few

Khalani swayed side to side, trying to gain momentum to slip free when the chair tipped over. She crashed sideways on the ground, still tied to the chair.

“Shit,” she muttered, in an even worse situation than before.

But she kept pushing her body closer to the bag.

It was at that moment when two male figures strode into the tent. The angle of her head on the floor made it difficult to see who’d walked in, but one of them chuckled.

“Trying to escape, are we?”

One of the men moved behind her, out of view. She felt her body being lifted as he righted the chair on all four legs. The rope scraped against her skin, and she flinched as a loud thud reverberated through the tent.

A short man with blond hair, tan skin, and a scar splitting his right eyebrow plopped into an identical metal chair across from her. He wore brown pants and an off-white tunic that was cut at the shoulders, revealing muscular forearms with black geometric tattoos covering his skin.

He leisurely sat in the chair, steepling his hands in front of him.

“I know you came from Desert Spring,” he said, his beady eyes making her feel naked. “But I don’t recognize you or your friend. So, you’re either one of their recruits or...you’re something else.”

His voice hardened, and he nodded to the man behind her.

She heard a soft click. Turning her head, she saw the brutish man pull out a sharp switchblade. Her eyes widened as he stepped closer.

“Whoever you think I am, I’m not.” Panicked breaths escaped her as the man’s large frame stood inches away now.

“That remains to be seen,” the blond man said cryptically before nodding to his accomplice.

All Khalani could hear was her ragged breathing as she tried pushing against her restraints, but the man gripped her wrist. A moment later, his knife prodded her forearm, and he started slicing.

Her cries ricocheted across the tent as he drove the knife deeper into her skin. Her limbs quaked as she begged for him to stop, but the man seated across from her showed no emotion.

Torturous seconds later, the knife was finally pulled away, and she had a tiny moment to catch her breath. But then, the man knelt and stretched the wound apart.

That’s when Khalani truly screamed in agony.

She had no idea what the man was doing behind her.

She didn’t care to know. All she wanted was for the pain to end.

She needed Takeshi.

Tears of misery streaked down her face.

When the man behind her finally released her wrists, he made some hidden gesture to the blond figure across from her.

“You sure? Just like the other one?” he asked with a deep frown.

“Yes, Ansel.”

Khalani’s blood turned cold.

Ansel.

She recalled everything the Chief had said about him.

He was the leader of the Sinners. Violent. A cannibal.

Her palms continued to shake, and she felt warm blood sliding down her wrist as Ansel scratched his chin, staring at the ground.

“How did you come to be with Desert Spring?” Ansel raised his scrutinizing gaze, locking eyes with her.