Page 87 of Scarlet Mark
No more hiding.
No more whimpering.
No more escaping to that place inside while they violated my body.
Tonight, I would remain in the present and wait for the moment to fight. I would allow their torment to fuel my need for survival, to sharpen my fury into a lethal tool.
I trusted Killian. He always found a way to win, and I wasn’t about to let him down now by giving up.
Malcom slapped me hard across the face, his blue eyes simmering. “I asked you a question, slut. Answer me.”
I tilted my head to the side, done being his obedient little fuck doll. “Good luck,Malcom.” He hated when I addressed him by his first name and notsir. Well, no longer would I just lie down and take it.
His palm connected with my cheek, sending my head to the side while Taviv kept me standing. “You dare address me as your equal?”
A laugh escaped me, my mind fracturing between the need to obey and the desire to curse him.
I’d never stood up to him. Ever. And it felt oddly liberating now to do so.
Our surroundings, the violence radiating through the stairwell, and the arms holding me captive should be forcing me to heel. But instead it fueled me. Itangeredme. I had escaped once. I would do it again. These assholes could take my body, but they couldn’t take my soul. Not unless I allowed it. And I fucking refused.
I spit in his face. “Fuck. You.”
He hit me again, causing me to laugh harder.
“You’re fucking weak,” I told him, blood pooling in my mouth.
He raised his hand to repeat the action, but Amir caught it before his fist could land. “Enough,” he said calmly. “She clearly wants to play. So take her downstairs and play, Malcom. Meanwhile, I have a few things to arrange with Clarissa.” His stoic gaze swept over me before landing on Taviv. “Put Bedivere in a cell nearby so he can hear her scream.”
Killian
Ugh. What is that shrieking noise, and how the hell do I turn it off?I groaned as I rolled to my side, my head aching like a son of a bitch. And that damn yelling was not helping. Neither was the cold, wet concrete beneath me.
Had I fallen asleep in an alley behind a bar? Because I felt fucking hungover. Like I’d just spent a night out with Nikolai drinking too much of his damn vodka.
Potent shit.
Tasted like acid.
But the Russian loved it.
My body did not.
Another scream rent the air, this one familiar and sending a chill down my spine.Amara?The masculine laughs that followed had me stilling, memories threatening my throbbing skull.
Lava flowed through my veins, bringing me to life, invigorating my senses. It smelled like urine down here. And sex. Not a pleasant combination, nor was the realization of just where I’d ended up and how.
What time is it?
I had sent a text off to Nikolai the second I translated Raven’s warning. We had a pact, a code only he understood. It’d been my last-ditch effort in case something happened to me, because he was the only one I trusted to help Amara. He knew me better than anyone, and while we’d not discussed it at length, he’d caught on to how I felt about her. He’d follow my signal, and rain hell on everyone if he found me dead.
If they destroyed my phone, it wouldn’t matter.
Arthur knew where we were tonight.
It wouldn’t be too hard for the Cavalieri to track us down, even if we were moved. But something told me we were still in the Rose estate. If they’d knocked me out to transport us somewhere else, then I’d be a hell of a lot groggier.
I would have to repayTavivlater for the pistol-whip to the head. Or, at least, I assumed that was the name of the jackass who had knocked me out. He fit Amara’s description and certainly knew how to knock a guy out. Unlike her former fiancé, who could really use some boxing training.
