Page 86 of Queen Of WildCards

Forcedto hunt.Isuppose there are worse homecoming gifts.

AndonceIhad my hands around her pretty little throat,I’dchoke the fucking life from her for leading me around by my damned nose.Ididn’t like the lack of control she made me feel, the absolute unmooring of my iron-fisted lead over this crew.Atthis point, ifIgave an order the bitch didn’t like,Ihad no doubt they’d mutiny to make her happy.

Dammit!Thiswasn’t supposed to happen.

Shewas supposed to be a pretty little distraction, not something they fell head over heels in lust with.Spadehad been gone from the moment she drove a knife into his shoulder, andI’dbeen too blind to see it.Jokerfollowed not long after, but he and his drunken bullshit having got us in the situation in the first place had nothing on the fact that the man was so starved for affection and attention that he’d take it however he could get it.

AndBlackJack.Cuddlingon the couch with her like he hadn’t cringed away from any sort of physical touch for the last ten years of his life.

Whatthe fuck had happened to my men?

WasIthe last sane one of the bunch?

“Comeout, come out, wherever you are, little bitch,”Igrowled, sliding around the corner at the end of the hall to peer intoSpade’sroom.

Nothing.

Buthis torture room door was cracked open.

Interesting.

Ifshe went in there, perhaps she was braver thanIgave her credit for.

Myfootsteps were silent asIcrossed the pin-neat room in darkness, half-crouched as every step brought me nearer to my target.Iwas so convinced she was behind that doorIdidn’t bother with preamble;Isimply thrust it open and strode in like a confident fuck, knowing damn well there was no possible way she could overpower me.

“Okay, the game’s over,MissStanton, time to pay up.”Ispread my hands wide and pretended that every nerve ending in my body wasn’t alight with lust, the same desire to rut and dominate her that no doubt flowed through my men’s veins now raced through mine.

NotthatI’dever admit that to her or anyone.Hell, if it were between me and my gods,Istill wouldn’t utter that out loud.

Yeah, so what, she got my cock hard.Mostpretty women could do that.Shewas a nuisance, a distraction, one my men andIcouldn’t afford anymore.

SoI’ddo what was needed.I’ddominate her, break her, and take away their little plaything so they could focus on the task at hand–sussing out our enemy and eliminating the threat on our lives.

Likethey should have been doing all along, not playing house with a fucking captive.

Iwas so ensconced in the trenches of my own victory, so distracted by my guaranteed win, thatIdidn’t notice the sound of the door swinging closed behind me until the latch and slam home of a bolt echoed in the empty room around me.

Andthen the lights went out, and fuck all ifIwasn’t left in the damn darkness, silence surrounding me, no chance of escape, no hint as to where the little minx was hiding, nothing.

“Idon’t know what you think you’re going to do, but you can’t overpower me,MissStanton,”Ichuckled darkly, closing my eyes, listening for anything–a telltale footstep, the drag of a heel, the sound of a breath, even a rustling fabric.Shegave nothing away, damn her, and there were any number of weapons on the walls in here thatIhad no idea ifSpadeeven locked up.

“You’reright,” sounded her voice to the left of me, andIspun, only to realize it had moved with her next words. “Ican’t overpower you.ButIcan make you feel helpless.Weak.Afraid.”Ispun once more, but she shifted again, and now the words were behind me. “Likeyou did with me.”

Thefeel of cold steel pressed against the base of my neck had my blood running cold, the heat from our little game of cat and mouse replaced by something more visceral, more dangerous.

Shehad a fucking gun.

How?

Evenin here,Spadedidn’t keep firearms, andIdidn’t think any of the guys were stupid enough to have given her one, so that meant she’d found one stashed around here somewhere.

Ididn’t feel comfortable assuming that she also hadn’t found ammo.

Whateveridiot left an unlocked weapon lying around would get an earful whenIgot out of here.

“Okay,MissStanton,”Imuttered, calmly taking a deep breath.Irefused to let her think she’d won somehow.ButIalso wasn’t an idiot, soIsimply stayed calm and held my position. “Whatdo you think you’re going to do with that gun?”

Sheshoved it harder into my spine, andIwinced at the bite of the steel, the way my skin curled around its’ invasion. “You’regoing to do whatIsay with no argument; you got that, boss man?”

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