Page 41 of Wanted
“Nah. I like to see you squirm.”
“What are you planning, Fylox?” I inquired heaving.Take my dick. Do you think you can refuse me? I’ll have that car you love so much towed. You can forget your home. You’ll live in the cellar, right here.
Fylox exhaled. “You didn’t enjoy the guns as much as Mandy did.”
I shook my head.
“And you’re shaking like I’m about to rape you.”
“How dare you say that,” I scoffed, hating the fact that I was easy to read.
“I think it’s time we lay down some ground rules,” Fylox announced. He cleared his throat, and I flinched at the sound like a pathetic little bitch. “You like being told what to do.”
“No,” I countered.
“You can quit lying to me,” he insisted. I studied his long fingers. He had his fingers crossed on his abs. He almost looked like he was praying, but he didn’t believe in God. Not at all. “Your pride can take a backseat when you’re in my presence.”
“What are you going to do about it, huh? I refuse to take orders from you. We’ve been locked in one space for months now. I can’t… I just need my peace and quiet again,” I told him. All the blinking in the world couldn’t help what was happening right now. Fylox reached for my hand, and he gripped it. His touch was hot, sending bolts to my core.
“You like being told what to do. I like telling people what to do. It’s a coping mechanism,” Fylox explained.
“And?”
There was a light chuckle from his side, and I bobbed my head in his direction to catch a glimpse.
“We’re going to play a game.”
“What’s the price?” I asked.
“There’s no price. We play to silence the demons in our heads,” he replied, and I shuddered. “I know you have them. I can see them talking in your eyes. They tell you how worthless you are. I know the feeling very well.”
“I don’t want to bond with you over such banalities,” I commented, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
“Who says that we’re bonding?” The nonchalant tone of his voice killed me. It wasn’t a joke.
“What are the rules of our game?”
“There are no rules,” he revealed as if it was nothing.
“You people always have rules. Safewords. Come on. I won’t judge,” I teased him.
Fylox shook his head. “No safe words, like Katantia. It’ll make you feel just like home.”
What did Fylox know about my home?
MANDY
This couldn’t be true. I refused to believe what this doctor had told us.
Jordan drove while I sat in the seat next to him, sinking into nothingness.
“Are you sure we can rely on them?” I asked. My throat was dry. The feeling of imminent danger had resolved into pure agony. “Maybe they’re trying to trick us into panicking.”
Jordan sighed. “No, they’re not lying.”
What made him so sure? This was my body, my pain. Why did it have to escalate? This was a simple stomach ache. Occasionally, I threw up. I fainted. It was nothing special. I wasn’t special! I was just another girl.
“You’re sick,” Jordan reminded me of the one thing I didn’t want to believe. He took a turn, harsher than expected. I held on to my seat. “And we have to do something about it.”
