Page 197 of Steel

“Go to hell,” I croak.

They drop me again quickly, leaving me no time to catch a breath before I’m sucking in a mouthful of water.

Thankfully, they don’t keep me under as long. Over and over, he drops me when I don’t give him answers that satisfy him until it gets to the point that I don’t want to fight anymore.

I just don’t have the energy.

I hang limply the last time he brings me back up.

As much as I want to be reunited with my loves, my heart is heavy with the realization that I won’t be going home to them. Even if Steel stages a rescue, it’s going to be too late for me. I just hope he shields Lyric from my death as much as he can.

“Bring them in,” Killer orders. “Seems I’m not the only enemy you have, sugar.”

Killer works on bringing me back to an upright position, and I’m so angry at myself because I don’t have any energy left to fight him.

“Ladies, welcome,” Killer announces jovially at the two women who step through the doorway with his man.

I laugh weakly. “Of course, it’s them. The drug-addicted sexual abuser and the rejected club whore.”

I shouldn’t taunt them, but I can’t help it. I’m dying here anyway, so there’s no need to hold back what I want to say to them. They don’t like my words, judging by the way their fists connect with my face.

I peer at Heather after licking the blood from my lips. “Why are you doing this?”

The skin along my jawline is stiff and has me pronouncing my words weirdly, but they’re still clear enough to be understood.

Killer walks up behind her, a syringe in his hand, and wraps an arm around her stomach. He holds one of her arms out and brings the needle to a vein in the crook of it. Her eyes roll back in her head, and a blissed-out expression crosses her face as he presses the plunger down and sends the filthy poison swirling through her bloodstream.

“This is why she’s here. I give her what she craves so badly,” he croons, licking up the side of her face.

“Oh, Heather,” I murmur, my heart aching for the woman I’m sure she was before she started down this path and for the daughter she’ll never get to truly love.

I turn to Rachel. “You know he’ll kill you when he finds out you had a part in this,” I tell her, referring to Steel.

“He’ll forgive me when he realizes I was doing it all for him. I love him.”

“You’re delusional. Absolutely certifiable.”

“Shut up,” Rachel screams, grabbing a knife and slicing it across my cheek. She didn’t go deep enough to do any permanent damage, but I still hiss at the sting of the cut.

“I’m going to kill you both,” I promise.

“Enough,” Killer barks, and Rachel backs away in fear.

He picks up the blowtorch again, and the sight of it causes me to whimper. Rachel laughs at the sign of my terror and pulls her phone out, messing with the screen before aiming it at me. I pull my eyes away from her, not wanting to draw attention to it.

“If you kill me, those pictures of you murdering Swirly go straight to the FBI,” I inform him.

Darkness fills his face again. Spittle builds up in the corners of his mouth, and his neck cords. The muscles and veins strain against his skin as he turns the torch on. Without saying anything, he brings it to the side of my breast.

I scream as my skin bubbles and heat eats through me.

Heather and Rachel laugh, spewing taunts at me as Killer repeatedly places that wicked flame against my bare skin. He is so focused on torturing me for information I’ll never give up that he doesn’t even notice Rachel recording this little torture session. As much as I want this pain to stop, I’m hoping against hope that Rachel will be dumb enough to send it to Steel. It might be too late to save me, but at least it’ll let him know who the fuck to kill and to keep Heather away from our girl.

She’s too fucking dangerous.

Blood drips from the cuts inflicted by Killer when he got tired of burning me. He even hands the knife to Heather at one point, instructing her how to cut me without killing me.

Oh, no.

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