Page 204 of Never Die for a Sinner
Just coats and old blankets and the musty smell of cedar and time.
I stand there for a long moment, pulse still racing, before lowering the weapon.
There’s no one here.
That is, until they wrap their arms around me from behind.
I try to scream, but a gloved hand slams over my mouth, dragging me back before the sound can leave my throat. My feet skid across the floor, kicking wildly, and my elbow connects with something solid—but it barely slows them down.
They’re strong. Too strong.
And silent.
The revolver clatters to the floor just out of reach, spinning across the wood like it’s mocking me.
I thrash harder, desperation overtaking fear, nails clawing at their hand, trying to twist, bite,anything—but they’ve done this before.
I’m thrown forward onto the bed, and my hands are ripped behind my back and cuffed. I wince at the pain of the metal digging into my bones, and try to fight them off, but it’s no use.
Then a voice—cool, calm, and far too fucking sinister—slithers out of the darkness like a blade against my spine.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
I twist onto my back, dazed—and freeze.
“Hello, Ava,” he says, voice smooth and low. Too calm.
My eyes dart to the object glinting in his hand.
A syringe.
No. No, no, no.
“You,” I whisper, voice barely audible. My entire body seizes with instinctive terror. “Don’t—don’t do this.”
He tilts his head, black eyes glinting as he studies me like something beneath glass. “They warned you, Ava. You should have listened.”
I push back against him, trying to kick, trying to move, but I’m boxed in. There’s nowhere to go.
“Don’t,” I breathe, trembling so hard my teeth chatter.
But he’s already lunging. The needle sinks into the side of my neck with a sickening sting. I scream—but it’s already fading into a slur.
Fire spreads from the puncture down my spine.
I gasp, trying to fight it. Trying to move. My limbs go numb. My head spins. My tongue goes thick and useless in my mouth.
“Levi . . .” I slur again, desperate. My vision wobbles, tunneling at the edges.
He leans in, brushing hair from my face with terrifying gentleness. “I told you Cross would get you killed.”
The world is spinning.
Levi was right . . .
I want to scream. Fight.Do something.
I want to tell him to go to hell.
