Page 49 of Deadfall

“There will never be any stipulations attached to anything I give you. Understand?”

My lips thinned. I didn’t believe him, but something in his eyes made me want to. They were like honey or whiskey, more gold than brown. He seemed to be trying to study as much of my face as possible, like he would run out of time. There was an earnestness about him that was urgently attempting to gain my trust, and for a brief moment I wondered what that would be like to give in—damn, he was good.

My unease returned and I pulled my hand away. He didn’t protest, only smiled one last small smile before he turned and left. I wouldn’t be fooled. I didn’t care what he said or did, he was just doing all this because he wanted something. I just had to find out what it was.

Later that night, another bowl of oatmeal and a cup of water arrived on a tray. It was delivered by the short, leering guard from earlier. He took one look at my sweatshirt-covered body and scowled, pissed off he couldn’t see anything revealing. There was a moment where he seemed to debate something sinister, but thankfully he dropped the tray by the gate and left.

I tucked the fabric tighter over my legs and burrowed deeper into the hood. I’d learned to live with being naked in front of men who stared, but being cozy in an oversized sweatshirt was infinitely better. I thought briefly about whether or not to eat the food, but I still had my stash of protein bars and another water bottle. I definitely didn’t want to chance being helpless if I got another visit from the men who’d assaulted me the night before, so I stared at the tray in disgust and didn’t touch anything.

Instead, I ate a protein bar and shortly after, I drifted off to sleep, enclosed in the warm fabric that smelled like spiced whiskey and tobacco, with a hint of something sweet.

However, just as I feared, the shadows came again. I woke up as I was being dragged across the ground. I thrashed in their grip and landed a punch to a face I could barely make out in the gloom.

“Fuck,” The voice hissed. “Grab her hands.”

I twisted and lunged at the one with a grip on my ankle. He gave a yelp of surprise as we went down in a heap. I punched him solidly in the nose and felt the crunch before I sensed his partner closing in from behind. An arm wrapped around my neck and dragged me backward.

“Fuck! I thought you said she was drugged!”

The man pulled my wrists behind my back. I yelped as he succeeded, and went limp to avoid a broken arm. The man pushed me onto my stomach and dug his knee into my neck. The other shadow approached and I could smell the blood from his nose.

“She hasn’t been eating her food,” he said.

“Could have warned me beforehand!”

A hand grasped my ankle and I kicked out and landed a solid heel to his jaw. He fell back and cursed viciously.

The one on top chuckled. “Dude, just fuck her already, this is already a blood bath—”

“Fuck off,” he snarled. “You have her?”

The sweatshirt was yanked above my ass, and I heard the sound of a zipper. I attempted to move out from under him, but he pushed my arms up and I resigned myself to the fact I could either let them do whatever they were going to do, or break my arm in an attempt to stop them. I’d decided a broken arm just wasn’t worth it when I caught a blur of movement near the gate.

Two more shadows advanced into the enclosure. There was a grunt and the sound of a fist as it impacted flesh. The pressure on my neck and arm disappeared abruptly. The man between my legs yelped and his curse was cut off as he was dragged into the heavier shadows. The sounds of violence were muted as hands were held over mouths and fists punched flesh. I scrambled to my feet and backed into the bars where there was at least some light coming from the pathway. Two shapes materialized nearby as one slammed my assaulter against the wall of the enclosure and growled low in the man’s ear.

“Get the fuck out.”

The two dark shapes stumbled toward the gate with whispered curses and minimal protests. I was so focused on their undignified retreat that I jumped in surprise when a form materialized directly in front of me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” The word was nothing more than a breath, but it seemed to satisfy him. I still couldn’t make out his features, but I thought it might be the one who’d given me the sweatshirt.

“She good?” Yeah, that was definitely the moody one.

“Yeah. She’s fine, G.”

“I’ll take first shift.”

The man moved away to consult the gruff one. “I don’t think I should leave you—” He lowered his voice, like he didn’t want to be overheard.

“That’s an order, Seven,” the other one said quietly.

There was that authority again and I sensed the submission from—Seven—at least I learned both of their names. Although, I’m sure “G” stood for something.

Both of the shadows disappeared and I heard the lock of my enclosure door click. Oppressive silence followed. I should have felt grateful for their intervention, but instead I felt only apprehension. If they kept helping me, eventually I was going to owe them something. I didn’t like that. I didn’t want to be indebted to them.

A few minutes later, a shadow came back, but he posted up next to the gate and didn’t move to come inside. It was still too dark to see much, but somehow I could just tell it was the moody one. He had his back to the gate as he watched the main pathway.