Page 37 of Monsters Like Us
CHAPTER 31
Micah
We slip backinto the stairwell, the night air still clinging to our skin. My hand finds hers, fingers locking tight, every step a silent promise that we’ll make it back to her room unseen.
But shadows move where there shouldn’t be any.
Four men step forward, blocking the landing.
My instincts flare white-hot. I step in front of Katana, shielding her with my body. Her breath hitches, her grip tightening on my shirt, but the men don’t hesitate.
They lunge.
Hands clamp around my arms, dragging me back. I twist, snarl, and try to break free, but they’re coordinated, practiced. At the same time, another pair of hands seize Katana, wrenching her away from me. She cries out, reaching for me, nails scraping over my arm as she’s ripped from my grasp. “Micah!”
The sound of her voice nearly tears me in half.
“How cute,” a voice murmurs, silk and venom. I recognize it immediately.
Vale.
He emerges from the shadows with a calmness that makes me want to tear his throat out. He moves straight to her. Before I can even draw a breath, he presses a needle to the side of her neck and drives it home.
Katana jerks. Her eyes find mine, wide and terrified, before the strength drains out of her.
“She’s your weakness,” Vale whispers, his voice dripping with triumph. His gaze cuts to me, steady and merciless. “Nothing touched you… untilher.”
I bare my teeth, straining against the two men holding me back. Rage boils through me, black and blinding.
Vale only smirks.
He steps closer, as if my fury is his entertainment. “Don’t worry. Just like your little murderess, you’ll sleep until you’re in your new home.”
Though I struggle, it proves useless. The needle flashes, and there’s a sharp sting in my neck. Liquid fire races through my veins, slowing the world.
My eyes lock on Katana, limp in the arms of a stranger, her lashes pressed to her cheeks like she’s already dreaming.
Vale’s voice is the last thing I hear, low and mocking, searing into me like a brand. “Don’t worry, Micah. You and your girl will love your new home.”
And then everything goes black.
CHAPTER 32
Katana
The first thingI feel is the cold. Not just in the air, but all around me.
My eyes flutter open. The ceiling above me is old plaster, cracked like dried veins. Shadows sway across it from a single light bulb that buzzes and flickers overhead. My head pounds. My mouth tastes like dust and metal.
I try to move. Chains rattle, and I look down, spotting the handcuffs. Panic flares.The last thing I remember is Micah and me on the widow’s walk?—
Micah.
I twist my head, my heart slamming against my ribs. He’s here, slumped against the opposite wall, his wrists shackled, his head hanging against his chin. Still unconscious.
A figure shifts in the doorway.
“Ah. Good. You’re awake.” Vale’s voice slides across the room like oil. He steps into the dim light, his hands clasped behind his back, a smile carved on his face.
