Page 64 of The Vampire Kingpin
My heart simply…stopped. Then it came back online, beating triple time.
I came to my feet. “How did you get in here?”
“I was right with you the whole time. Spider’s gotten complacent. Thinks no one’s got the guts to break into his precious Cavern. Which means it’s just you and me, sweet cheeks.”
Just in case I didn’t understand, he slid his uninjured hand down to his groin and cupped it.
An involuntary shiver shook me.
His mouth curled in a sly grin. “Nothin’ to say?”
“Just that you must have a death wish, because when Spider finds you in here, you’re toast.”
“He won’t. No one saw me come in here.”
“Or he’s letting you think that,” I retorted.
A hint of uncertainty darkened Troll’s square face. He darted a look around the cramped cell.
I pressed my point. “Spider’s smart. If I were you, I’d get out while you can. There are cams everywhere,” I added, even though I hadn’t seen any inside the Cavern.
Troll shrugged. “If he knew I was in here, he’d have already come. And neither of us is leaving until they open that.” He nodded at the locked door.
I shook my head like I knew better, but he was right, of course. I’d just been trying to crack his confidence. Make him nervous and he might back off.
“No, we’re alone.” Troll looked me over like he was mentally tearing off my clothes. “And I wanna taste of that high-class pussy of yours. See what the fuss is about.”
“Yeah?” I slid my switchblade from my sock. “Come any closer and this high-class pussy will cut off your fucking dick and shove it into your mouth.”
Troll winced, then took a menacing step forward to make up for it. “Does Spider know about Darkman?” His eyes narrowed. “No, of course not. He has no clue, does he? You didn’t even tell us.”
“So? There’s a lot of things I haven’t told you.”
“Two million big ones. That’s what Darkman’s payin’.”
My jaw unhinged. “Two million?”
“You heard me.” Troll pushed off the wall and prowled toward me. “Although I betcha I could get him to up the ante. He’s hell-bent on dragging you back to Vegas. Something about punishing you for leading him on.”
I circled sideways, aware he was trying to box me in.
He circled with me, his injured arm hugged to his side. It had stopped bleeding, but a silver injury like that would take days to heal. Troll didn’t seem worried, though. He seemed to think he could take me one-armed.
Unfortunately, he was probably right. The man was damn strong if he’d managed to stay in the shadows that long despite the silver poisoning his blood.
I darted a glance at the cell door. Where the fuck was Spider?
Troll crowded me into a corner between the cot and the wall.
I tightened my grip on the switchblade handle. “Back off, or I will cut you.”
He tsked. “You’d cut your own lieutenant?”
I stiffened. “You’re not my lieutenant anymore.”
“I am if I say I am, little girl. But make it good for me, and maybe I’ll tell Darkman I couldn’t find you.” His breath had gotten heavier, his eyes encircled with neon blue.
My back teeth clamped together at that ‘little girl.’ “Fuck you,” I said and shot past him, intentionally jostling his hurt arm.
