Page 67 of Soul Bound

He doesn’t move or stir when we prowl into the room. He doesn’t wake when I move closer to him, his head just bobs back slightly in his sleep. He still doesn’t wake up when I move to stand behind the chair.

He does however bolt awake when I grip his throat from behind and sink my claws into the sensitive flesh that’s there.

“What the—” He gasps and tries to rip away from my hold

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Winslow plunks down in the matching club chair that faces the one he’s in. Like she has all the confidence in the world, she crosses her legs and leans back in the chair. “One wrong move and he’ll cut your carotid artery. And if he does that, you’ll bleed out in less than thirty seconds, and that just isn’tquiteenough time for you to answer my questions, you know?” She frowns.

I feel Adam swallow nervously. “Who are you people?” He speaks slowly.

Winslow tilts her head. “I don’t think it’s important for you to know who we are. I just want to make sure we’ve made it clear we aren’t leaving here without answers.”

“I think you’ve made it crystal clear,” he breathes. “You have claws.” He points out the obvious and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. “You’re clearly a shifter… what kind?”

“I thought I said it wasn’t important who orwhatwe are,Adam.” Winslow sits forward in the chair, an air of annoyance around her. I feel him stiffen in my grasp when she uses his name.

“I know whatyouare.” I bend down and speak close to his ear. “A weak, pathetic human who likes to cut babies out of mothers and then leave them there to bleed out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adam stutters. I can smell his fear, the scent heavy in the air. For someone who works for the infamous Sterling, I thought he would be stronger—braver. “You people can’t just break into my home… I have cameras, if you do anything to me, there’ll be proof.”

“You’re an idiot if you think we didn’t disable your security system.” I chuckle.

He stiffens even more in his seat.

“Three months ago, you helped take a baby from a mother in a facility in Vancouver—yes, we know all about that hellhole.” Winslow’s gaze is unwavering as she stares him down. “You flew on a private jet to Kansas City where you then boarded a flight back here, with you was a newborn baby. We want to know where the baby is. Is she here?”

Adam stays silent, refusing to answer her question. “You can either answer our questions willingly or I’m going to start breaking your bones one at a time. Starting with this one…” I reach down with my free hand and grip his index finger. “Will you answer our questions?” I give him one more chance to do the right thing.

He tilts his chin up defiantly.

“Very well then.” I roughly twist his finger backward, it makes a noise similar to a carrot stick snapping in half. Adam bellows in pain, but I don’t give him time to recover, moving on to his next finger. “We can do this again if you’d like,” I warn. “Answer the question, is the baby here?”

Adam starts to shake his head but thinks better of it when my claws dig deeper into his skin. “No, not anymore. I don’t know where she is now.”

His heart rate spikes, and I can see the sweat starting to bead on his forehead. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” he insists.

Winslow scowls. “Adam, a word to the wise? Don’t lie to him. Your life and bones are depending on you telling us the truth. Again, where is the baby?”

“I don’t know where she is. She was here temporarily, but a procurer came and picked her up,” he blurts after I give his finger a warning tug.

“What the hell is a procurer?” I growl.

“They’re in charge of collecting the babies andspecial individualswe find. They bring them to our various facilities around North America or to the auctions.”

Auctions.

I let the tips of my claws sink into his neck, the scent of his blood assaults me. “Explain.”

He nervously licks his bottom lip, his eyes darting between us. “What did you think we did with the babies once they were bred in the facility? That we kept themallthere and raised them there—observingthem? Yes, that’s the case for the children who are born with extraordinary gifts and powers. We like to keep them around; their skills can be helpful to us and the organization.”

Jax comes to mind. He was raised and kept in the facility his whole childhood until Nicolai deemed him an asset and he could exploit Jax’s powers. Jax can infuse a person with his hellfire, it’s the most effective torture there is. The pain is unimaginable, most people don’t live through it. Pruitt did though when Jax was forced to use it on her.

“Keep talking,” I order him.

“Even though we genetically modify the embryo, they don’t always turn out how we expect them to—to put it bluntly, sometimes the baby’s adud. They turn out to be mostly human, which is not the goal. They can’t all be magnificent, like some of our more successful creations. We have no use for those babies, yes wecouldkeep them until they’re mature enough to carry a baby themselves, but frankly, it’s just easier to procure an unexpecting woman off the streets for that—lesswaiting time.”

If Winslow is affected by what he’s saying, she doesn’t show it. Her eyes are emotionless, not giving anything away. Meanwhile, I can physically feel my blood start to boil with rage and it’s taking every ounce of control to not tear this guy’s throat out.

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