Page 95 of King of the Cage

I decided to follow Regina. Who knew how close she was to breaking, and maybe I could get the confirmation that her husband was the ringleader. Once I knew that for sure, we could take them out and land the entire society a lethal blow.

I walked quickly down the hallway that led to the ladies’ restroom, past those wooden confessionals.

Ahead, a woman strode quickly in the direction of an arched doorway.

“Regina?” I called.

The woman turned to glance back at me. I realized belatedly that the woman wasn’t wearing Regina’s designer getup.

The woman’s face caught the light for a second, and her gaze landed on me, before she turned away and slipped through the doorway.

I stumbled, surprised into falling over my own feet.

I’d only caught a glimpse of her face, but there was no mistaking who I’d seen.

Alice No Last Name.

“Alice?” I said loudly and took off after her. When I got to the top of the stairs, I found a winding staircase descending to the basement level. Was I going down there alone?

I could hear Alice’s footsteps echoing up the staircase. I followed. Alice was one of the reasons I started all of this, and I wasn’t going to let her get away, not when I was so close.

I jogged down the stairs and made it to a wide stone hallway just as Alice disappeared into a room ahead. I went after her. My footsteps rang out loudly on the floor. It was cold down here, and a whistling draft made it clear that a door to the outside was open somewhere.

I passed by a few rooms that appeared empty. Laundry and kitchen facilities. The Tartarus was so unpopular, it had so few guests, that those rooms seemed unused.

I carried on, heading for the doorway I’d seen Alice go through. Once I reached it, I was faced with a door with a sign on it.

No entry to guests or members. Authorized access only.

The door stood ajar.

Had Alice left it open on purpose?

I glanced around the corridor. I was alone. What harm could cause to check and see if I could find her? I pushed the door open and went inside.

Another corridor led from my position, with doors studded along the stone walls. This section of the hotel felt older than anywhere I’d been before. Alice was nowhere in sight.

I tried the first door, but it was locked. I peered through the window set in the wood.

I froze.

It was dark inside the room, but I could make out most of it. A hospital bed sat in the middle, and the walls held metal shelves, packed with medical supplies.

I went to the next door and tried it, then checked through the window. Same shit, but this bed had restraints tied to the railings on either side, and a small metal tray sat next to it holding all kinds of sharp metal implements.

The area was dark and dingy-looking, and utterly terrifying. Was this where they tested their mind-controlling drugs? Was this where Z Juice was born?

I pulled back, nervous that I needed to get back upstairs before anyone noticed I was gone. This was huge. This was a big step in finding out what we needed. We were on the right track, as awful as it had been to hear Bran being grilled about everything in his life.

“Does she love you?”

“No.”

It was the way he’d believed it so completely, his heart rate hadn’t changed. He hadn’t lied.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.”

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