Page 40 of Furever Loyal
“Let him walk,” Kvoss said, approaching the group.
They left the Throne Room behind, heading down into the bowels of Ursidae Manor, to one of the interrogation rooms in the prison section. One of the guards opened the door and Kincaid walked inside, holding himself up proudly.
Something hit him in the back and he flew forward, slamming hard into the stone wall.
“What thefuck?” he snarled, but someone—most likely Kvoss—had followed him inside, landing two quick blows to his exposed kidneys without reprieve.
Kincaid dropped to his knees, receiving a kick to the side.
“Traitorous piece of shit,” Kvoss hissed, hauling him to his feet by his neck and hammering a right hook into his stomach.
Air fled from Kincaid’s lungs and he gasped, trying to suck in a breath for a witty retort, but Kvoss kept hitting him, keeping him off balance. Eventually, the Assassin had had his share of petty violence and stepped back, giving Kincaid time to recover.
“I should have known you wouldn’t opt for a fair fight.” He spat, blood spattering the nearby floor. “Too afraid you’d lose in a standup bout.”
“Stand up then,” Kvoss challenged. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“So you can claim I was resisting and trying to escape? No thanks. Ask your questions.”
“Why did you do it?”
Kincaid groaned. “Really?That’swhat you’re leading with? I didn’t do anything, you moron. I noticed the extra money in my account and went to Haley, to ask where it came from. We were looking into it, trying to figure out what was up. We came back to talk to the Queen about it, and you arrested us.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Of course not. Why would I ever expect you to believe the truth? You’ve had it in for me for ages, and you’re going to use this to finally extract your ‘grand revenge’ or whatever you’ve been calling it. Any proof I have of my innocence, you’d claim as being doctored, fake news. This is personal for you.” He sat back against the wall.
“Well, if you aren’t going to answer truthfully yet, I suppose I’ll have to keep working on you until you do.”
Kincaid lifted a hand and motioned the other man forward. “Well, come on then. Let’s get it over with. Do your worst.”
He later regretted those last words.
20
The sound of the cell door clanging shut snapped her out of the restless sleep she’d eventually managed to find.
“What? What is it now?” she asked, sitting up, rubbing her eyes blearily.
But there was no one in her cell.
Looking around, she scanned the floor in case someone had dropped her food, but there was nothing present. “Was I hearing things?” she asked aloud, suddenly feeling vulnerable from the silence.
The groan from the cell next to her was so quiet, she almost didn’t hear it. “Hello?” she called from her bed on the far side of the cell—althoughbedwas a generous description for a thin mattress laid out over a concrete slab with a blanket on top. At least it was plenty big enough for her.
Whoever it was groaned again, very obviously in a lot of discomfort. Though they didn’t say any words, she thought she recognized the person behind the noise.
“Kincaid?” she called quietly, getting out of bed and moving to the bars that separated her cell from the next.
They were spaced widely apart, the entire place built to scale for someone Kincaid’s size, and not hers. A smaller human could probably have fit through the bars. As it was, Haley could almost get her head through them. If she really tried, she might be able to force her way through, though it was unlikely.
“Hi,” came the reply from the figure crumpled up on the floor. “Sorry if I woke you.”
She almost laughed at his attempts to cover up the pain he was in with humor. It hurt more deeply than she’d expected to see him treated this way. Anger bloomed in her, a fire she’d not felt before.
“You won’t get away with doing this!” she shouted at the cell door.
“Shh. Please, it was nothing.”
