Page 4 of Sin

Mike stomped over to my cot, and it took everything in me not to cower when he grabbed me by my jumpsuit and lifted me into the air like I weighed nothing.

I always forgot how fucking strong he was. He supposedly didn’t have powers, but he was stronger than most of the men in this place. I suspected he had some Super strength I didn’t know about. Because sure, prison hadn’t done me any favors, and I’d lost a lot of weight. But despite my weight loss, I wasn’t short by any means. It should have taken him more effort to whip me around like this.

My skin crawled at his touch. I would have rathered someone covered me in maggots. But I kept my face neutral, bored even, as he scowled.

“Think you’re funny, do you?” He gave me a little shake that made my bones rattle.

Grasping his wrists for some sort of leverage, I attempted a shrug. “Been told I was a few times.”

“Well, you’re not.”

“We can agree to disagree.”

He took several calming breaths before he spoke again. Then he smiled. At least, I think it was supposed to be a smile. “Missed you at dinner tonight.”

His gaze roamed over my face, taking in the bruising and lacerations. When his examination zeroed in on my torso, my fear skyrocketed.

He knew. Somehow, he knew.

“Heard you got into a bit of a fight in the yard earlier. Had to see the doc. Figured I’d come and see how you were doing myself. Make sure you were okay, of course.”

My lip curled back. “Wow, so kind of you. But as you can see, I’m fine.”

His grin turned bloodthirsty.

“Jack, ribs,” Mike called, his voice laced with unspoken command, not even taking his eyes off of me. A man I recognized from past “checkups” with Mike stepped up to us and unzipped the front of my jumpsuit.

I couldn’t hold back my fear now. I didn’t care how cowardly and pathetic it made me look either. I thrashed in Mike’s grip, kicking and shouting as I fought to get away from Jack. The other two guards rushed to grab my arms while Jack produced a pocket knife and sliced off the gauze wrapped around my ribs. Mike stood back to watch as Jack returned his knife to his pocket and slid his palm along my battered ribs.

Knowing what was coming couldn’t prepare me for the pain. My broken ribs screamed and screamed and screamed under Jack's power, the throbbing, cracking sensation becoming unbearable. With the power to increase sensations, Jack could make someone feel anything from incredible pleasure to insufferable pain with one touch to the specific areas.

I wheezed, my lungs shriveling and refusing to accept any oxygen. Agony flared too hot to think, and my vision blacked out. It felt like every nerve in my torso was shattering over and over, never giving me a break.

By the time the pain in my ribs eased, the sound of Mike and his buddies laughing was too loud in my ears. Mike said something to me, but I was too dazed to understand him.

He must have gotten frustrated by my lack of response though, because his fist collided with my cheek a moment later.

Blood flooded my mouth as I bit my tongue. Anger brewed within me when Mike balled the front of my open jumpsuit in his fist and dangled me in the air again.

“That the best you got, Ci´clope?” I spit out the taste of copper and bared my teeth. “Pretty sure my abuela would have packed a harder punch than you.”

“You’re just a piece of shit who’s going to rot down here, Gonzalez,” he sneered, pinning me against the wall. My broken ribs protested, and I wasn’t able to hold back my next gasp of pain. “You’ve got no one here who cares what happens to you. You hear me? No one.”

“Shut up, Mike,” I growled, my fury building. I was so tired of this. Of being beaten over and over and over. When would it end? Why wouldn’t everyone just leave me alone?

Mike laughed, spurred on by the insults his lackeys tossed in the background. He grinned, white teeth flashing in a way that seemed more predatory than anything. “Even your daddy didn’t care about you. Just manipulated you so you’d break him out of this fucking prison.”

The rage grew and grew with each cruel word, bubbling under my skin until my blood boiled with it. I was too raw from my earlier dark thoughts, my memories too close to breaking out again to be taunted like this.

The men in the room laughed and laughed and laughed. Their jeers grated on my nerves, and I just wanted them to stop. They were too loud. Why wouldn’t they just leave me alone?

The dampening cuffs burned around my wrists as my power flared within me, urging me to release it.

Faster than I could blink, Mike spun me until I was face first against the wall, my cheek pressed against the etched curve of London’s jaw. He pinned me to the cold stones by my neck. My hands, while now free from his grasp, were stuck painfully between my chest and the mural.

Mike’s gaze flicked over the mural with a smirk before he leaned closer until his hot, wet breath greased my ear. I closed my eyes as bile rose in my throat. Because he was too close. Too fucking close. His disgusting dick pressed against my back, the smell of his unwashed hair enveloped me, and the sound of his excited breathing made my panic rise all that much more. And I couldn’t do anything about it. His natural bulk gave him too much of an advantage against me in a fight. But fight, I would.

“Your boy hasn’t been to visit in a long while,” he said in a deceptively concerned voice as he continued his perusal of London’s image. “What? Trouble in paradise?”

---