Page 193 of The Sinner's Bargain

He shot me a look of disappointment as he hurried to grab a mop.

“That was not necessary, Naya. They get confused when you let them out.”

I stared through a wall of sharp tears as he idly started mopping up the rancid fluid off the floor. I was vaguely aware that it covered my feet and had soaked into the hem of my tights. My attention was on the other eight barrels.

Eight.

Stuffed into the corner.

A choked sob lodged in my throat as I scrambled back, like that would make a difference.

“What have you done?” I whimpered.

“I made it possible for humans and animals to interchange parts. If you can use a pig’s heart to keep a human alive, why can’t you give an amputee fins? Or gorilla arms? What if we could use dolphin lungs to help humans swim better? The possibilities are endless and I’m not hurting anyone. Everything is donated.”

I had more questions, but I couldn’t think past the circle of darkness threatening to pull me under. It kept pulsing, making the putrid air thick.

Oliver cleaned up the mess before turning to me. He took in the vomit running down my front and sighed.

“Well, we can’t take you back like that, can we?” He exhaled again, louder. “You have certainly made this quite difficult, my dear. I was hoping we could make this look peaceful, but now it seems we might have to make it look like you were trying to hide and died of fright from all the chaos.”

I couldn’t even rationalize what he was saying when my ears were ringing, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the barrel with the lid slightly askew. A tiny tentacle curled the edge.

I recoiled, tender stomach muscles seizing.

“Okay, I am going to go get you clean clothes. You stay here.”

“No!” I crawled on weak limbs to him. “Please. Please don’t leave me alone with those things. Please.”

Oliver smiled. “They won’t hurt you. Just stay there.”

He started for the door and I threw myself off the table to hurry after him, refusing to be left alone with those things I could now hear shifting against the metal walls of their prisons.

I grabbed his arm, not caring that he was the one who wanted to kill me when the alternative was so much worse.

“No. No, please. Please.”

Oliver opened his mouth when something popped and groaned, and my head snapped around to the corner, expecting an army of mutated things to be crawling towards us.

But there was a gust of cool, fresh air against my back, ruffling my hair and I spun to see the most beautiful face.

“Thoran!”

He stood in the open doorway, his amber eyes dark and focused. They found me immediately. Took me in. Took in the room, but only briefly before returning to me and narrowing.

“Come here, Naya,” he said sharply.

I didn’t need telling twice. I was running. I started to.

Oliver twisted his hands in my hair, tearing out strands from the root. I cried out as I was dragged back into his chest. But the pain of my ponytail twisted in his meaty fist was nothing to the needle against my neck.

I froze.

So did Thoran.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Goddamn it, Thoran,” Oliver muttered. “You just can’t...” he blew out a breath. “You were supposed to be gone a little longer.”

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