Page 46 of Darkest Deeds

“Nope.”

“Are you joking?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No, you look like an asshole,” she grumbles.

Typing the last few words of my text, I hit send and place my phone on the nightstand. “Ava, your attitude is becoming a problem. Do we need to rehash the rules again?”

“I thought…” She glances at her feet, her body tensing. “I thought after what happened that…”

“That what? That after sucking my dick we’d play house?”

“No.” Her tone is flat, all emotion draining out of her.

I study her. “Then what did you think?”

“I thought you’d at least treat me like a human being. You said you didn’t want a pet, but you’re keeping me tied up like a dog.”

“That’s not—”

“You’re giving me whiplash, Niko,” she groans, leaning against the doorway. “One minute, you’re screaming you want to kill me, and the next you’re naked in the shower with me telling me I’m yours. Which one’s the real Niko? Do youeven know?”

I could answer that question, but I’m not particularly into being psychoanalyzed by my captive. “I have water,” I say, lifting the same bottle I brought in hours ago.

“I’m not thirsty.”

She could at least put some effort in selling that pile of bullshit.

“What’s happened to you, Ava? You’ve become a terrible liar.” She tosses a scowl at me, which I ignore. “Be smart about this. When someone says they’ll eventually kill you, do you think a liquid strike is an effective countermeasure?”

“I hate it when you make sense.”

“Logic tends to anger the irrational.” I pat the mattress beside me. “Sit down and don’t argue with me.”

She doesn’t argue, but when she barely sits her ass on the edge with her back to me, I’m pissed. I’m not living this way for another hour, much less however long I decide to keep her here. Hooking an arm around her waist, I drag her onto the bed and flip her onto her back. “Sit up so you don’t drown.” If looks could kill, I’d be dead, but she does as I ask. Once she’s in place, I tilt the bottle to her lips, and she guzzles half of it down.

“I don’t get a thank you?”

She licks her lips and smirks. “Sorry. Thanks for not killing me tonight.”

“I’ll let that one slide.” I tip the rest of the water bottle up, letting her finish it while I drown myself in a more eighty-proof version.

“Are you hungry?”

She shakes her head. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“You said before that a contract was put out on my life. Who ordered it?”

A moment of silence passes. “Ava…”

“Please, Niko. If I’m going to die anyway, don’t you think I deserve to know who put all of this in motion?”

“Fair enough, but answer some things for me first.”

“Like what?”

---