Page 88 of Bite of Sin

“Maybe we’re going about this wrong,” Garrett murmured. “Maybe we should be focusing on her to get you to talk.”

I bit down hard on my tongue, refusing to show a response. I wouldn’t put it past him to drag Kali into this. These kinds of groups acted like they were family and cared for each other. The truth was the people in charge would throw the rest under a bus if it helped them toward their end goal.

“How about I fuck her in front of you?” Garrett paused, studying me as I silently seethed. “She wouldn’t agree to that. Especially with her friend always at her side. But he doesn’t have to know. I could bring her down here and let you watch while I make her choke on my cock.”

This fucking slimy bastard wasn’t just going to die. He was going to suffer. I wasn’t exactly sure how long I’d be stuck down here, but Viggo and Pax would get here eventually. When they did, half the humans in this house wouldn’t survive. Garrett would be the first in fucking line.

Garrett let out a harsh laugh, pulling the stake away from my jaw and standing back up. Like he did yesterday, he unwrapped the chains around my ankles and then moved behind me to free my wrists. The chains clanked when he unhooked something I couldn’t see even though I knew what it was. The chain connected to the collar was long but stayed tied tightly against the pole to keep me in place.

Except for when they needed to wash me off.

Garrett gave me a shove, and I stumbled a step, letting out a growl and whipping back toward him. My fangs were out, and he nearly crashed into the wall trying to get away from me. Fucking coward. Only talked shit when I couldn’t fight back. Although with how bad off my body was right now, I wasn’t even sure I’d have the strength to do much.

But as I heard Garrett’s heart thrash, I was sure I could subdue him fast enough to get some blood. But they probably wouldn’t allow Kali down here if I murdered one of them. It almost killed me to back off as Garrett whipped out a gun that was no doubt filled with wooden bullets.

He jerked the gun to the left. “Ten fucking minutes.”

I glared daggers at him as I moved in the direction he wanted. Only because the faster I got this done, the sooner they’d leave. The weight of the metal collar felt heavier today, with my strength waning. The chain connected to it just reached this tiny bathroom that was in the back of the room. All there was in here was a toilet with a cracked seat and stand-up shower with no curtain. A pair of shorts were tossed in the corner, and the only reason they were supplying clothes was because of the bloodstains on the ones I was wearing now.

I twisted the faucet, stepping right under the water since I’d realized the first time they had me do this that there was no hot water. Not that cold bothered me. I let water run down my face as I stood there, hating how weak I felt. I was nearly dizzy from just standing. I had guessed I would have been able to go a week without blood before feeling like this. But with how much Garrett enjoyed seeing me bleed, it was draining me much faster. I needed to feed. Soon.

I took my time washing my body, my anger spiking when my hand hit the chain. I’d already tried testing the strength of the collar and chain connected to it. I wasn’t strong enough to even try to free myself from it.

“Let’s go,” Garrett called out gruffly.

I scoffed, his words only reminding me that I scared them. They could yank on the chain and drag me back out there, but they wouldn’t. Not when my hands were free. I rolled my neck, fucking despising that they were going to tie me back to the pole again when I got out of the water.

But then I’d get to see Kali. I’d been waiting all damn night. I’d made her stay with me all day yesterday, and I could tell she was annoyed the entire time. Only giving me clipped answers, and we didn’t talk as much as I’d wanted because of it. She was so damn stubborn. I knew she wanted to ask me questions, but she barely initiated conversation because I’d forced her to stay with me instead of going with Warner.

I muttered a curse and turned the water off, giving myself a minute to air dry since there wasn’t a towel. I grabbed the shorts and slipped them on, even though I was still wet. My mouth was bone dry, and the scent of Garrett’s blood when I stepped out of the bathroom was nearly too tempting for me to ignore.

He stood near the pole with the gun aimed at me. The floor was wet from them washing away any remnants of the torture session. My eyes cut to the man near the door to see he had his own pistol raised. I blew out a breath, striding toward the pole and resting my back against it before sliding down until I was sitting. The only time in the three days that had gone fast was when Kali was in here. Other than that, time seemed to be at a standstill. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go without trying to escape.

I’d been patient, trying to plan. Because I had every intention of taking Kali with me. She knew too much about me and the vampires. Plus, these people were going to get her killed. Not that she’d ever believe that if it came out of my mouth. My patience was nearing a breaking point, though, and if Garrett ran his mouth one more time, I was going to snap. Especially if he threatened Kali again.

Garrett grabbed my arms, bringing them behind the pole and wrapping the chain around them. Then he wrapped the other chain that was connected to the collar, making sure I couldn’t move. Before he could go for my ankles, I heard her footsteps coming down the stairs. Then she knocked on the door. The guy waited for Garrett’s approval before he moved and unlocked the door.

“Kali,” Garrett greeted her as she stepped inside.

She glanced at me first before raising her eyes to him. “Hey, Garrett.”

He sauntered over to her, completely forgetting about chaining my ankles as he focused on her. “Once you’re done here, come find me. We need to talk.”

Rage coiled through me, and I glared at Garrett’s back while Kali frowned in confusion. If this fucking bastard touched her, he was going to be begging me to kill him by the time I finished.

“Sure,” she said uncertainly. “But right now you all need to leave so he’ll talk.”

“Tim wants something bigger,” Garrett said. “He’s giving small stuff. It’s not enough.”

Kali’s eyes darted to me as she nodded. Garrett and the other guy left, shutting the door behind them. Kali moved toward the door, locking it from the inside, and I watched her curiously as I bent my knees; glad they’d forgotten to chain my ankles. That was the first time she’d locked it so others couldn’t come while she was in here.

“Were they in here with you all night?” Kali asked, her gaze sweeping my body.

I waited a little longer until I was sure no one was upstairs and within earshot. Although it was getting hard to throw my hearing farther. My head was pounding, and I sucked in a breath, realizing a second later that it was a mistake. Kali’s scent filled the room. Oh, it was so fucking good. Her blood was so unique to me that I would recognize it anywhere.

I forced out a small grin. “Why? Worried about me?”

“No,” she snapped, stepping toward me. The longer she was in here with me, the more she ventured closer when we spoke. The first time she came in here, she’d hovered near the door. This time, she was already close enough she could reach out and touch my foot if she wanted. It was progress.

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