Page 82 of Sinful Beauty

“One. Plus one worker bee currently alive, but maimed.”

“It’s easier when they’re all dead.”

“Would you like for me?—”

“No, you beast. He’s restrained?”

“Yes.”

“Get out of there. Authorities are on their way.”

“Penny, the one alive is the one who abducted her and gassed her.”

“And you let him live?”

“He’s done jobs for these people before. He needs to be interrogated.”

“Understood.”

Chapter29

Lucia

It’s hard to swallow. My tongue feels distended. My mouth dry. I rub a hand over my face.

A memory of passing our turn flashes. My fists on the gray felt.

I sit up in a lurch and blink rapidly, straining to take in my location.

Where am I?

Through a narrow window, a full moon casts a glow. I’m on a bed, above the covers. My boots are still on. I’m still dressed. My hands go to my chest and I finger the outline of my bra. The walls are rough stone. A rectangular frayed oriental rug lies over a worn wooden floor. To my right is a small table with a glass of water and a ceramic pitcher.

I can break either of those and use the remnants as weapons.

But wait…I rub the back of my head, attempting to remember something. The back of the car.

How did I get here? Where am I?

My limbs shake. Dizzy, I lean against the wall and, using it for support, slide my body to a window.

The glass panes are vintage, and the view is blurred, but I can make out an expanse of forest. It looks like a stream curls beneath a break in the trees. But that stream looks far away. I’d need to break the glass to be certain, but it appears I’m too high to jump out the window.

The massive wood door has an arched top and features a small square closed door in the center, resembling the type people used on front doors to check who was there before opening it. Slowly, I make my way to the door and twist the heavy metal handle. It doesn’t budge. It’s locked.

“Hello?” I holler.

I listen, but hear nothing.

What the hell is going on? Did Tristan do this?

What the hell is he planning?

He can’t keep me here forever. In a tower. Like seriously, what the hell?

I scan the room for my work bag, but it’s not here.

Which means…no phone. No laptop. No connection to the outside world.

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