Page 118 of Voracious

“Bring Sebastian here,” she orders her men as she wipes blood from the split skin on her cheek. “On your knees.”

She gestures to the ground at her feet, pointing the gun at his head as he’s forced down.

“Let me make this abundantly clear,” she seethes at me, cocking the gun and digging it into his forehead. “I own you. I own you both. If you ever raise your fist to me again, I will make you eat his fucking brains after I blow them out of his skull. Do you understand?”

I glare at her, the after-effects of the taser still rolling through my body. I want to tell her to go fuck herself, that I’ll fucking kill her, but I can see the panic in Base’s eyes.

I might not give a fuck whether I live or die, but he’s determined to stick around, hoping he’ll eventually get a chance with my sister.

So instead of unleashing hell on her, I force out, “I understand.”

“As I said, she’s with Christopher Fields. And if we don’t hurry, my plan will screw up, and I’ll take it out on your friend here.”

“What plan?”

She smirks. “You’ll see.” Then she steps back from Base. “You’ll both see.”

Archie barges into the room – not paying us any attention as he erratically pulls at his hair. “Fuck! Bernadette, fuck! We’re so fucked!”

I’m yanked to my feet, and so is Base. We watch Archie hurry around the room – he finds the TV remote as his wife crosses her arms, bruises already blooming on her face.

“This better be important. We were about to have a little fun. Weren’t we, boys?”

I grimace – her version of fun usually means she forces me and Base on each other. We’ll be fine – we know what it is and what it means each time it happens. It’s either that or he needs to get on his knees for someone else.

Will Stacey look at me differently if she knows that?

I want to take advantage of their panic – to slice their throats and run. I’ll find her. I’ll get her away from that prick and torture him till he forgets her name.

Archie turns on the news channel, and Bernie snatches the remote from his hand, turning the volume up while I help Base to his feet, scowling at the other guards as they step back away from us.

He mutters, “Sorry, man,” and keeps his head down. “You should’ve just beat her to death. I’m sure my own demise would’ve been worth it.”

“Shut up.”

The remote drops to the ground when the young news anchor starts speaking.

“We have an emergency announcement. Reports say that Tobias Mitchell has escaped his institution this afternoon and is currently at large. The murderer and psychopath was given a life sentence over twenty years ago.”

A picture of my father appears on the screen, and my lips part. They picked one that makes him look terrifying – his eyes burn through the screen.

“I would like to stress to everyone that this individual isextremelydangerous and may not be in touch with reality. Do not approach him. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact your local station.”

Bernadette’s eyes are wide. “Shit.”

Archie can’t get any paler – all the blood draining from his face as he nods and says, “This is not good. We have his son, for fuck’s sake. What if he knows?”

I stare at the screen in disbelief, knowing my mum will be heartbroken and terrified. I want to call her, to be there for her. The dogs will keep her company. She’ll be cuddling them every night. Ewan will probably take her to fucking Australia to hide her from him – he’ll probably try to kidnap her again.

Dad might not have his meds.

I wipe a hand down my face and step closer.

Then a picture of a piece of paper with words written on it replaces the image of my dad, and I narrow my gaze to read it.

Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them.

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