Page 156 of I Will Break You

So, I’m a captor now?

I breathe hard, my hands breaking out in a sweat. Heatradiates from my body, getting trapped beneath my disposable lab coat. I thought basements were supposed to be cold, but this room is full of the heat of the men’s despair.

“Amethyst,” Xero snarls.

“I’m the one asking the questions.” I jab the knife at the man’s eye, making him flinch back into the man attached to his ass. “Now, why did you target me?”

“What did you do with Jake?” he says through clenched teeth.

“He’s dead,” I reply.

The man’s eyes widen, and his gaze darts to Xero. “Jake was my brother.”

“Don’t look at me,” Xero says, and I can almost hear the grin in his voice. “I only slid her the knife.”

The man’s gaze snaps back to meet mine, only his eyes are hard with accusation.

“You’re the man whose name was on the missing person poster?” I ask.

He raises his bound hands to lunge at me, but I sidestep.

“Hey,” I snap. “Nobody would have gotten killed if you assholes didn’t come after me. Why am I your target, anyway?”

He just stares at me through eyes so hard that the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I search my mind for the name on the poster. “Dale, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he snarls.

“You just tried to attack me. Again. Now I don’t see you as so much of a victim. I want to know why the hell you and your brother came to my house.”

“At last,” Xero mutters.

Ignoring him, I raise the knife, making Dale swallow. His Adam’s apple bobs up and down, and I wonder how it would look if I took a slice.

“Tell me everything,” I say.

“So you and your sicko boyfriend can torture and kill me?” Dale snarls.

“It’s not like you have a choice,” I answer. “Tell me why I became your target, and I’ll keep Xero at bay.”

Xero scoffs.

I run the tip of my blade beneath Dale’s eye, making him freeze. “That’s right,” I say. “You’re going to tell me everything.”

“You ain’t shit without Xero Greaves at your back.”

“I never said I was.” The blade presses into his skin, loosening a bead of blood.

Dale’s nostrils flare. “There are much more frightening people than a wannabe who twerks in front of the camera.”

My jaw drops. He’s seen my videos? Of course, he has. He’s the brother of my most belligerent online troll, JakeRake69.

“Who are you talking about?” I ask.

He clamps his mouth shut.

Xero pulls me away and places me in the corner. “Stand back, little ghost. I need room to maneuver.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

---