Page 92 of Beyond Reason

As long as he was safe.

Chapter 28

Axel

My entire body ached. There weren’t any windows for me to judge by, but if I could guess, I’d been here for at least twenty-four hours. After I hadn’t ooh’d and ahh’d the way Nathaniel West wanted me to when he showed me all of his little experiments, he’d promptly taken me to a new holding cell with a bed and a bucket. His guard came back into the room while he and Otto stood in the corner and watched.

This time, his muscle hit me a little harder. I was pretty sure my ribs were bruised, and my lower lip had blossomed into a mess of blood and an impression of my teeth.

As much as I was waiting for Xavier to burst through the door to save me, a small part of me hoped he just… didn’t.

I knew it would hurt him, but at least it wouldn’t kill him. Being here? Around Nathaniel West and his blank-but-charming smile, around Otto who looked like he’d just as soon shoot anyone as shake their hand? Around the muscle who seemed to enjoy coming into the room and trying to break me?

Well, he was better off being anywhere else.

I would still hold out for him for as long as it took, for as long as I could. There were a million and one ways in the room they’d thrown me into that I could easily take myself out of the equation, if it came to that. Hell, I probably could have goaded the asshole who was beating me into breaking my neck before Nathaniel could call him off.

But I would wait, because I knew how it felt to lose the person you loved. I would wait, because I knew Xavier would find his way here eventually… and the last thing he needed was to find me dead on the floor.

I knew how that felt, too.

It didn’t mean a small part of me didn’t want to cringe when my door opened again. I lifted my head, expecting to see Nathaniel there with a bullshit-grin on his face. It was just Otto, with his hair down in soft curls that fell over the shoulders of his loose black sweater.

He didn’t even try to hide the gun holstered at his hip, but I suppose there was no point to it when I already knew how dangerous he was.

He looked me up and down where I was stretched out on the bed, then jerked his head behind him.

“Boss wants to see you.” He didn’t hesitate to add, “You know, if you want to die quick, you’d be better off just telling him whatever you know. Or telling him you don’t know a damn thing. If you’re lucky, maybe he’ll just pump you full of drugs and see who you were in a past life.”

I stared at him for a second, wondering if I wanted to give him the silent treatment too, or if there was something to be gained from having an actual conversation with him.

“I understand revenge, but what do you think he’s going to do when you’re finished, and you want off your chain?”

“I’m not worried about that,” he answered quickly. There was no hesitation in his words, no hint of concern.

“Really? It’s not like he’s going to just let you go. I’ve met men like him before.” My father had been like him. When he thought I was going to go my own way, he’d done everything he could to keep me complacent at his side. Everything.

I managed to force another vision of Xavier’s body from rising to the surface and turned my attention back to Otto.

“We’ve all met men like Nathaniel West before, Axel. They’re the entire reason people like us exist—they’re too weak and afraid to handle problems themselves.”

He sounded so… ambivalent. Disgusted even.

“And what are you going to do when he realizes you’ve noticed that? When you’re done with…” What, torturing the men who’d killed him before? Playing along with this when I was beginning to realize it was just a game to him?

“When I want out of here, I’ll get out of here. When I’m done with Nathaniel West, I’ll make sure he knows I’m done with him. Can you say the same?”

No. I really couldn’t, but I could read people well enough to tell that Otto wasn’t loyal to the man who held his leash.

I’d keep that in mind.

For now, though, I’d probably do well to be cooperative, even if I wasn’t helpful. I had no doubt that the man in front of me would incapacitate me if he thought it would benefit him.

“Lead the way.” I gestured to the door behind him, and he snorted.

“You really should just give it up, Axel.” The warning came again, but he turned without saying anything else and led me out of the room. We were going in the opposite direction they’d shown me before, into a hallway deeper into the facility.

“Exactly how big is this place?” I wasn’t sure if Otto was going to answer any questions I asked, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

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