Page 17 of Burn It Down

I suppressed another shudder at his depraved plan. “It… won’t work. Save your… time.”

He burst toward me and grabbed my cuffed hands and used them to slam me back against the wall, the cuffs scraping across my face in the process, a burning sensation abrading my skin.

“You don’t tell me what I can and cannot accomplish! You’ve fucked up everything! And you’ll not only pay for that in pain and blood, you’ll help me to fix it! There’s no hope of ever escaping me now! This is your life from here on out. This room and functioning as a shell! You did this, Asher! You brought it here! All because you couldn’t fall in line! Your girlfriend is dead and your brothers won’t be far behind! It’s over! You’re beaten.” He released me roughly. “You’ll be made to accept that soon enough.”

“Can’t… break me.”

He started toward me again, but Samuel blocked his way. “He’s not fully cognizant. Stay your hand until then.” He brushed his fingers through his hair in a sensual move that surprised me. I’d never seen them display an intimacy like this before. Things had altered there then since I’d left for Hexwood. “It will be all the more satisfying when he’s fully aware of everything. The pain, punishment, and humiliation will be that much harder to endure, which is what we need in order to fashion him into a shell.”

Carson took a moment, then nodded and stepped back.

“When he’s ready, call me.”

“I will. If you track down my son in that time, make sure you notify me.”

“You’re still fine with the kill order?”

“So long as I get to see his body before he’s buried.”

“You have my word.”

With that, my father took off out of the room, the door scraping shut.

Kill order?

“You can’t… Killian… he’s your son. And what about Reed with Jonah?”

“Reed is a coward who turned tail at the first sign of trouble. He’s in the wind, tried to take Jonah with him, but failed like the fool he is.”

What?

He turned and grabbed something from the corner, then turned back to me, and I took in a giant water bottle clasped in his hand.

“You can’t kill your own son.”

He couldn’t kill either of them. I couldn’t allow it. I couldn’t… this couldn’t happen. Fucking ever.

He merely sneered, then opened the bottle with one hand, and grasped my jaw with the other.

“No more talking. You need to hydrate.”

In the next second, he was forcing the cold liquid down my throat, choking me in the process, making me splutter and flail but to no avail in my bound state.

Just before my vision blackened entirely, he pulled it free, allowing me to catch my breath.

A few seconds of reprieve were all I got, before he shoved it into my mouth again and had my lungs burning, my throat in violent spasms.

He laughed. “The fun is already beginning, little prince.”

4

~Jonah~

“Anything yet?”

Caleb looked up from his laptop at the island and raised his gaze to me, taking me in leaning against the door, tracking from my white tank, down to my ripped jeans. It felt weird without my raven’s head belt buckle, but that was back at Hexwood House, no backup included in the supply of clothes I kept here for everybody at the safehouse.

“You’re stealthy for a musclebound wrecking ball type.”

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