Page 65 of The Vampire Kingpin
“Bitch.” He stalked after me.
I danced around the table, trying to keep it between us. “You must think I’m an idiot. Whatever I do, you’ll sell me to Darkman. At least this way, I don’t have let you stick your dick in me.”
He snarled and lurched sideways, forcing me into another corner.
I tried to slip past him, but he had me blocked in now. My heart sank.
It was clear I was on my own, that no one was going to rescue me. What had I expected? Spider could’ve decided to leave me down here for a couple of days to stew.
And I couldn’t evade Troll much longer. It was either fight or be raped.
And to be real, I wasn’t much of a fighter. I could hold my own, but my family was all about the hustle. You got in a bad spot, you talked your way out. You didn’t fight your way out.
Troll leaned in. “Darkman knows about Spider. He has someone on the inside feeding him intel about you. He’s been waiting for you to leave the Cavern, but Spider’s kept you locked down. So he contacted Grimclaw, worked out a deal.”
My mouth dried. “No. You’re lying! Spider’s crew wouldn’t sell him out like that.”
“He offered one million to start. Grimclaw made him raise it.”
He offered the information like that made Grim some kind of saint or something. For enough money, Grimclaw would sell his own mother out.
I sneered. “Guess he was kicking himself for only taking Spider for that twenty-five thou he owed as tribute?—”
Troll’s hand shot out, plucking the dagger from my hand. In the next instant, he had me pinned to the wall as he threw my blade to the floor. “You’ll do everything I ask, and you’ll do it with a fucking smile.” He rocked his hips against my stomach, making sure I felt his erection. “Because if you don’t, I’ll let Darkman and his enforcers into the Cavern.”
I swallowed sickly. I’d done this. I’d brought Darkman down on Spider and his people.
I lifted my chin. “Go ahead. See if I care.”
“You wanna test me? If you don’t care about these people, then why were you sitting there looking like you’d lost your last friend? And why’d you save Velma out there? I owe you for that, by the way.”
He reared back like a cobra, his upper body curved, and backhanded me across the face.
Stars exploded behind my eyes. I swallowed a moan and brought my hand to my cheek. For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe, and it felt like he’d split my lip open. I dragged in a breath and worked my jaw back in forth, sucking the blood from my lip. Troll’s eyes sparkled with an unholy blue light, his vampire getting off on seeing me bleed.
“Darkman’s gonna get his new toy one way or the other,” he told me. “But it’s your choice. Are you gonna cooperate with me or d’you want to see him kill all your new friends first?”
My heart folded in on itself. Troll was a dickhead, but he was right. I had a choice here.
I’d done this. It was up to me to make it right.
“Chill, would you?” I said as calmly as I could. “I mean, d’you really think I’d choose them over me? Spider’s paying me to fuck him. I made my own bargain with him.”
Troll’s eyelids flickered.
“What? You think I’d still be here if I wasn’t getting something out of it?”
He needed to see me as a complete mercenary, out only for herself. Someone who’d sell her soul if the price was right. If I couldn’t save myself, at least I’d save Spider and his lair.
“Work with me,” I urged. The words felt oddly shaped in my mouth, like they were being spoken by someone else. “We can both win here. The Darkmans are billionaires. Two million is nothing to them.”
Troll considered me, and I had a flash of hope. Maybe I was getting through to him?
“I’ll take it under consideration.” He pushed me toward the cot. “But first, get on that bed and prove how much you want to work with me.”
My stomach knotted. I lowered myself to the mattress’s edge, mind blank.
Troll pulled out his own switchblade. “Pants off, little girl.”
