Page 67 of Psycho

“You stole it!” Damon roared, hitting me again, “I want it back!”

“It won’t save you.” I changed tactics, forcing myself to be brave and look up at the monster standing over me as blood trickled down my freshly split lip. “They’ve started the hunt, and they won’t stop until you’re dead.” I turned to face The Duke head on, “Your name is on their list too.”

“Who, your big, scary boyfriend? You just couldn’t do what you were told!” Damon screamed, his facade slipping from the power-hungry egomaniac to what he really was deep down inside. “You had to go and fuck it all up for everyone!”

A scared little bitch.

Mentioning the long list of men that Maddox and Dane had killed was exactly the right move, even if it cost me my life.Because judging by the look The Duke was aiming my way, he knew nothing about the others.

“He didn’t tell you, did he?” I addressed the actual power in the room, drawing his darkness back on my skin. “There are monsters out there that are hunting down the men involved in this scheme. The ones with a hit on my head. And one by one, they’ve eliminated them. Moving their way up the list to you and Damon. The only two names left, out of thirty-two.”

“Who?” The Duke asked cooly, almost like the threat of being hunted didn’t scare him. Although he was usually the predator, not the prey, he had probably been on that side of the list before.

I wasn’t brave. I wasn’t fearless.

But I had to pretend I was.

“It doesn’t matter.” I replied, “You’ll never see them coming until it’s too late. That’s their specialty.” I shook my head and gave a little shrug. “Your only bargaining chip is keeping me alive and offering me back in exchange. And even then, you might not survive.”

“Why?” He asked, keeping everything so short and to the point.

“Because my sister was in that car.” I glared over at Damon, where he paced back and forth. “And Peyton is the wife of The Ghost.” I used Dane’s nickname, eluding information to the man, hoping maybe he ran in the same circles to at least be familiar with his reputation. “And I have no idea if she survived. But if she didn’t, then you can bet your ass that the ground will open beneath your feet and swallow you whole. Even if my boyfriend spared you, The Ghost never would.”

The Duke’s face didn’t change for the longest time as he stared at me, but his eyes roamed over my face and down my body, where I sat behind the desk with my crippled arm and giant belly. And then a small smile pulled up one side of his face and my blood ran cold.

Oh no. No, no, no.

I misjudged him.

He wasn’t familiar. He wasn’t sane.

His darkness would make Dane and Maddox’s look like sunshine.

“You’ve given me quite a gift here tonight, Olivia.” He walked across the room and leaned down with his fists on the desk in front of me. “Because I’ve wanted Maddox Renner dead for decades.” He tilted his head, speaking the name I didn’t give, and I swallowed audibly. “I’m going to enjoy making you watch as I do it, too.”

He stood up to his full height as my heart raced wildly in my chest. The Duke turned to Damon, “Call the doctor. Get her arm set and put her in a room. We’re going to need her whole if we’re going to use her as bait.”

And with that, he walked out of the room again, just like before, leaving me alone with the slimy monster who made the big mess we were all in to begin with. The way his own smile grew made my skin crawl and my stomach roll.

I was so fucking fucked.

If I thought getting hit by a car hurt, getting my arm snapped back into place without a drop of pain medication was even worse. The doctor had been friendly enough, but he didn’t haveany drugs that were safe for me in my heavily pregnant way, so I had to endure it dry.

That was hours ago, and I laid on my side, cradling my arm over the swell of my belly because it still throbbed from the violent jarring of it being replaced. But at least I could feel it again. Which was reassuring.

And at least I was warm in a bed, instead of on the cold concrete floor again. In a way, I suppose the Duke was to thank for that. Though I didn’t feel particularly lucky.

I had misjudged him so badly, which was out of character for me. As I lay in the darkness as sleep avoided me, I replayed as much as I could remember of the terse conversation, trying to figure out where I went wrong.

Also, trying to figure out what I was going to do to get myself out of the situation I was in. Not even knowing where I was didn’t help. There were no windows in the van that Damon used to kidnap me and all I knew was that we were still in the city somewhere, but I had no clue where.

Confined within the windowless room, a sense of claustrophobia pressed in, broken only by the faint smell of damp plaster. It was just four walls and a bed with a thin blanket and one flat pillow.

The longer I laid in the dark, the more times I replayed the crash in my head. Peyton’s screams tore my heart to shreds as I remembered the way she didn’t even seem to notice the metal and debris impaling her while trying to get me to leave her behind.

“Please, God. Let her be alive.” I cried quietly as my shoulders shook with sobs. “Please let her survive this.”

As if a lightbulb clicked on in my head, I remembered her last words to me before someone ripped me from the car.

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