Page 68 of Ravaged and Ruined
Lacey lifts her chin, defiant and stubborn as always. "You hit like a little bitch."
Garett’s nostrils flare.
"Touch her again," I snarl, "and I will rip your throat out with my teeth."
Sophia lifts a brow. "Still the animal I remember."
"You’re going to tell me where my shipment is," Garett says, his voice now devoid of emotion. "Or I’ll let my sister break her until you have nothing left but regret."
I flick my gaze to Lacey again. She hasn’t broken. Not once. Her breathing is steady, her gaze locked on mine. Even now, even like this, she’s holding her ground. Chin high. Not shaking. Not sobbing. She’s showing me exactly what kind of woman she is. Fucking fearless.
Sophia turns, the slit of her red dress parting just enough to show the ink creeping up her thigh. Elegant black lines etched in the shape of a crowned dagger piercing a rose, its stem wrapped in barbed wire. The same symbol Garett wears on his forearm. His is bold and brutal. Hers, sleek and precise. Two sides of the same empire.
I meet Garett’s eyes, unflinching. “You’re gonna regret not killing me when you had the chance.”
“No,” Sophia says, voice thick with false sweetness as she walks right up to me and presses the barrel of her pistol undermy chin. “Don’t pretend you’ve got a conscience now. You’re not the hero, Stone. We’re the same.”
“We’re not the same,” I growl.
"You’ve got until sunrise," Sophia says. "Then I start carving her into pieces. Starting with the baby in her stomach.”
Sophia smiles like a snake, slow and poisonous. “Thanks for that little nugget of information, by the way.”
I blink, confused, until her hand dips into the tight line of her cleavage and pulls out the pregnancy test I forgot was in my pocket.
Shit.
“No,” I whisper.
“Oh yes.” Her voice drips with fake delight as she holds it up, then flicks it casually like it’s trash. The plastic stick clatters to the wooden floor, skips once, then lands between us face up.
Lacey gasps out a sound that slices right through me and her eyes flood with tears. She looks up at me, desperation etched into every line of her face, silently begging me to stop this.
I jerk against my restraints, muscles burning as rage detonates through every inch of me. My voice is a snarl, ragged and raw. “Touch them, and I will fucking kill you.”
Sophia presses a kiss to my cheek and walks away, Garett trailing behind her. Her heels clicking like a countdown.
I drop my head, breathing hard, and shift my weight subtly, just enough to feel a piece of jagged wood under my palm. If I can work it into my grip, maybe I can get the binds loose.
Because I’m getting her out. Even if it kills me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aero
I’ve got one shot to get us out of here. I shift enough to position the jagged splinter on the back of the chair against the rope and start grinding. The chair groans beneath my weight as I twist harder, but I don’t stop, even though my wrist’s slick with blood.
I’ve been caged before. I didn’t go down then and I’m sure as hell not going down now.
Lacey’s eyes are locked on mine. She’s trying to stay calm but I see the tremble in her jaw, the way her hands twitch against the rope tied at her back. She’s terrified but she’s still fighting.
Damn, I love her.
“I’m getting us out. I won’t let them hurt you.” I whisper, barely loud enough for her to hear.
She nods once, her chin quivering, and for a split second I think she believes it. I need her to believe it. I won’t fail her.
The wood under my palm shifts again. I grind against it harder. Every tug sends fire racing through my arms, but the rope is thinning.
