Page 14 of Absentia Mori

With all of her body weight pressing on the barbell that’s threatening to crush my chest, she looks like the fucking angel of death. Her blonde hair is messy, her blue-green eyes wild. A thin layer of sweat glistens across her brow. It’s a far cry from her usual polished look of designer clothes and perfectly manicured fingernails.

Two days awake in this place, and she’s already feral. I wonder what another few weeks will do to her. I can’t believe she waited for me to wear myself out before attacking.This bitch. This beautiful psychotic fucking bitch.

My anger fuels me, sending a rush of adrenaline through my veins. “When I get up, you better run like hell, princess.”

She grips my hips between her knees and leans harder on the weight. “It’s going to be hard to catch me with your chest caved in.”

Fucking hell.

There’s a flicker of amusement in her eyes. She’s enjoying this way too much. It’s like a game to her. And I can’t help but admire her fucking balls.

But it’s my turn now.

I jerk my hips hard, throwing her off-balance. She lets out a yelp as I push back and send her crashing to the floor.

“Fuck,” I yell. My arms feel like they’re about to break, but I force them up and over my head, careful not to drop the barbell until it’s back on the rack. Libra Thorn killing me on a weight bench is not the way I plan to go down.

Despite the pain in my chest, I jump to my feet and spin toward her. She’s perched on the ground like a feral fucking cat. “You should’ve run. Not that it would matter because I’d find you. I’ll always fucking find you.”

“Just giving you a taste of your own medicine. It’s no fun when people sneak up on you, is it?” she hisses.

I get to her in two short strides. Before she can back away, I grab a fistful of her hair and drag her over to the bench. “You want to play games? Let’s fucking play.”

I yank her tank top up over her head and use it to tie her wrists to the barbell rack.

“Get off me!” She tries to kick me in the nuts, but I see it coming and pivot out of the way.

Once her wrists are secure, I straddle her the same way she did to me. I’m fucking exhausted, but my adrenaline is on overdrive, and my heart is racing. But as I look down at her breasts, I’m mesmerized by the tautness of her nipples. Fuck. The way her sweat trickles down and around them…

No. Nope. Stop thinking about sucking those perfect fucking nipples.

When I finally look back up at her face, she’s staring at my scars. “Did you pass out… from the pain?”

I run my hands down my abs. “No. They wouldn’t let me.”

She curses under her breath as she turns her head away. “I-I didn’t know they were going to do that.”

I grab her face and yank it back, forcing her to look at me. “Yes, you did. You just never thought you’d have to look at us ever again. You never thought there would be consequences.”

Her chest begins to heave again, more rapidly this time. “Well, they shouldn’t have. It’s fucked up that you all sided with Zeke, but Nocturnus went too far.”

I can’t let this woman trick me into thinking she has a heart. I’ve seen her in action for the past two years at Tenebrose. She steps on everyone who doesn’t matter to her.

I slide one of the weights off the barbell and place it on her stomach. She gasps, and a look of panic flits through her eyes.

“Wedidn’tside with Zeke. We were outnumbered by the other initiates. The only mistake I made was thinking Riot, Atlas, and Valentin’s were honorable men.”

She snickers despite the heavy weight that’s impacting her ability to breathe. “You know nothing about loyalty. Shocking. That’s why you’re in here. You did this to yourself.”

A tick of anger flickers through me as I reach for another weight. I slide it slowly off the barbell. “As if your kind knows anything about loyalty. I worked myself to death in your father’s fields, went to Tenebrose when he sent me, and served Nocturnus without question.”

She whimpers when I place the second weight on her belly. “Why did he send you to Tenebrose?”

Libra Thorn is a tough bitch. I’ll give her that. I’m crushing her, and she’s still asking questions. Still trying to distract me. “The why isn’t important. Not anymore. You should be more worried about what’s going to happen to your stomach when I add another weight to it.”

She purses her lips in defiance. “Go ahead. Kill me already. Your empty threats bore me.”

I tense. I’m so fucking tempted to do it. But something holds me back. I don’t know what it is. But the verbal sparring between us sends my adrenaline soaring. It makes me feel alive. She’s clever and quick-witted, and it’s a refreshing change from the Terror Twins and the half-baked orderlies.

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