Page 65 of Falcon's Prey

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Ember

My breathing was coming in shallow pants as I tried to remain composed so the bastard wouldn’t know how much he was affecting me. My head was throbbing where Ren had hit me, and it mixed with the insane need I had for my fix.

I. Was. Dying.

I tried to get up, only to be pulled back by my neck.

He’d collared me.

The memory of walking down the stairs came to haunt me. All the times I’d called him a dog, and he silently took it because it was me who had the power. That was the thing about power, wasn’t it? Power was always changing.

I glared at him but didn’t say a word. Not when his gaze caused more fear in me than yelling from Silas ever did. Silas was never close enough to hurt me the way he wanted, but Ren was there, and I was right—he was going to destroy me.

“I have to go out, but that way, you can stay put,” he said as he walked out.

I waited until the door closed before I brought my hands to my neck, confirming what I already knew. Spikes.

One thing was for sure, Ren was a patient son of a bitch.

Moving my hands around my nape, I found the clasps from the leash and took it off. It allowed me to sit straighter. I kept trying to open the collar but found small clasps that seemed to need a key to make it open.

But of course.Ren was the type of guy to think of everything.

Sitting up took effort I didn’t have and made me feel like I was seasick. I needed answers, and Ren owed me that much. I’d betrayed him, but he did it first, coming to my house after the conversation we’d had. I closed my eyes briefly to gather strength when I started to feel hot.

Or maybe I was already beginning to burn up and I had yet to feel it.

Everything hurt.

All I knew was pain.

My body was in a constant ache.

My head throbbed. It didn’t matter if I was awake or asleep; it got to the point I couldn’t outrun it. My mouth was dry and sour, the bitter taste of desperation on my taste buds.

My body was hot, and my blood felt heavy. My skin itched, and even if I scratched, the sensation wouldn’t go away.

Part of me was ready to claw my skin away, to try to find some relief. It was the drugs or the lack of drugs. I twisted and turned, sure that I was going to go crazy. At moments, I was in the room Ren had thrown me in, and at others, I was back with Silas.

“Damn it, Ember,”was growled but sounded far away.

My head tried to loll toward the sound, but just the thought of doing that had me drained.

“So stupid.”

I woke later, shivering. This was irrational because earlier I was hot, my skin flushed and sweaty. There was a blanket wrapped around me, but that wasn’t enough. My head felt full and fuzzy. Pressure all around that had me whimpering in pain.

Make.

It.

Stop.

It was too much.

My body shivered again, a violent wave of coldness rushing over me. I tried to lift my head to see if I could find something to give me relief.

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