Page 37 of Marked

“Who are you?” I ask again, holding the injection in my left hand now. Good thing about this drug, there’s no need to be specific where it’s injected. A leg muscle, a neck, chest, doesn’t matter. So long as it goes under the skin, this fucker’s gonna have a world of problems once it’s in his system.

“I said. Fuck. You.” He tries to grapple, but he’s not as strong as me. Not as experienced with monsters as I am.

I jam the needle through his shirt, into his arm, and shove the plunger through the barrel, sending every drop of the liquid into his body.

“What the fuck!” he yells as the medicine makes its way into his tissue. It burns like a motherfucker. Right now, his skin feels like it’s on fire. His insides are heating up, too.

He tries to lunge at me again, but the medicine works fast. There’s no mobility in his muscles.

I sink back, sitting on his stomach as I catch my breath.

Fuck. I may need to start hitting the gym again. It’s been a while since I had a good wrestle.

“Now.” I lean over the prick, pressing my palms into the floor on either side of his head. “Who the fuck are you?” I yank off the black ski mask.

“What…did….” Each word is harder to get out. “You…do…” His head rolls to the side and he’s out.

Well shit. I’d hoped to get at least one answer out of him before he passed out.

“Zack?” Harley’s sweet, questioning voice hits me and I look up.

She’s standing in the doorway of her bedroom. The oversized T-shirt she’s wearing for a nightgown hits just above her thigh. Her hair’s all messed up in a ponytail, and she’s rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Fuck, the woman is gorgeous, no matter what time of day.

“What’s going on? Who is that?” She steps into the room, pointing at the man asleep beneath me.

“I don’t know yet.” I climb off him and goto her.

Her brow wrinkles. “You’re dressed already. Were you waiting for him?”

“I had a suspicion someone would be coming tonight; I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Did Agent Laurens send him?” She’s sharp, this girl of mine. “To hurt me?”

“I was hoping I was wrong about her. We’ll know for sure once we talk to him. But we can’t do that here.” Cupping her face, I pull her attention to me. “Go get dressed for me, all right?”

She nods.

“I can’t make out his face. Do I know him?” She tries to lean toward him, but I get in her way.

“You’ll get a better look when we get where we’re going. Go get dressed now.” I turn her toward the bedroom and send her on her way with a slap to her ass.

She looks over her shoulder. “Are we gonna hurt him?”

The woman knows exactly the way to my heart.

“Yeah, baby. We’re gonna hurt him. But first, he has to answer some questions. No more questions from you, though. Go.” I point to the door as I give the command.

She tucks her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to hide the smile playing on her lips, then does exactly what she wants to do.

She obeys.

My stomach flutters as we pull into a storage facility. It’s one of those places that looks like a bunch of garages butted up against each other.

“Here we go.” Zack drives right up to the last garage door in the row. It’s three thirty in the morning, but the parking lot lamps are dead.

“Is he going to be able to talk?” I climb out of the car and meet Zack at the trunk where he’s put the mystery man.

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