Page 41 of Monsters Like Us
“Go to hell,” she spits, her voice raw.
Corinne doesn’t flinch. She adjusts a strap on Katana’s wrist, humming under her breath. Then she steps to the machine nearby, flicking switches with the same calmness she might use to check a patient’s vital signs.
The hum begins low. The light bulb above us flickers as the first shock makes Katana jerk against the restraints. Her jaw clenches, a slight sound ripping from her throat.
My vision turns red. I lunge forward, roaring, but the pipe holds. My wrists scream. My teeth grind.“Stop!”
Vale tilts his head, pleased. “Ah, there it is. You only speak whenshe’sinvolved.”
“Fuck you,” I roar.
Vale chuckles. “Such language.” He points to Katana, his eyes glinting. “You see? She’s stubborn, like you. But even stubborn things bend if you apply the right pressure.”
Corinne dials the machine higher, her face serene, almost maternal. “Breathe, darling,” she murmurs to Katana. “It’ll be worse if you fight it.”
“Tell me, Katana, how long have you and Micah been friends?”
She presses her lips together, refusing to speak. Good fucking girl. I bang against the pipe, trying like hell to break free. To save her. Fuck, I’ve never wanted to save anyone so much in my entire life.
The realization is a cold bucket of water over me. I’ve had the urge to kill for most of my life… until Katana. She’s the only one worth saving. The only one who makes my life worthwhile. The only one Ilove.
Fuck, I love her.
The second shock hits harder. Katana’s back arches from the table, and her cry splits the air. Isnarl so loud it tears at my throat, feeling every shock that goes through her. My body bows, my muscles tense, as the current races through my skin, tearing me apart. Because it’s tearing her apart.
“Touch her again and I swear—” The rest tangles in my chest because I can’t finish it. Reality is a bitter pill I choke on.
I can’t move. I can’t save her.
Vale leans closer to me, savoring it. “That’s the beauty of it, Micah. You get to watch. To feel every ounce of helplessness you made me taste. You can’t save her. She’s your weakness... And now she’s mine to break.”
Katana gasps for air, her lashes wet and her jaw tight. Even through the tears, her head turns to me. And when our eyes meet—hazel clashing with darkness—I see it. Not surrender. Not pity.
Fury.
She’s still fighting.
And that steadies the monster in my chest. It turns helplessness into something sharper. Something tangible.
Iwillget us out of here.
I memorize every detail—the straps, the machine, Corinne’s hands on the dials. Every second is another note in the plan I’m already writing in blood.
Savor it now, Vale. When the tables turn, you’ll beg, but there will be no mercy.
CHAPTER 36
Katana
The door’slock scrapes shut. The smell of ozone and antiseptic lingers like ghosts. My body still buzzes with phantom current.
The straps are gone, but the leather still ghosts my wrists, the weight of buckles locking me in.
The silence that follows their departure is worse than the machine. It leaves me drowning in my thoughts, terror slithering down my shivering body.
He could kill me next time.
I curl against the cold wall, knees tucked to my chest, my wrists once again bound to the pipe. The concrete steals what little warmth I have left, but it’s better than the burn echoing inside me.
