Page 26 of Reaper Razed

I hear something dragging across the floor, and the next thing I know, there’s water crashing into me, knocking me back into the wall. It’s moved up from my chest to my face, causing me to splutter and try to catch my breath, choking on the freezing water. The water’s shut off, and I can breathe easier, freer. I blink back the dry eyes, and they feel so much better.

Taking a few blinks and rolling my eyes around, I start to see more clearly. The girl is back on the seat, glaring at us both. “Do I know you? I ask her seriously, confused. She looks so familiar, that blonde hair, the scowl on her face, those blue-grey eyes. Where do I remember her from? She smiles at me, and that’s when I remember. It’s her. What the fuck was her name…? “Mary? Marny? …Madi?” I shake my head. I just can’t quite place the name. She grins again and, in that subtle Southern accent, says, “Well, looky what we have here.”

“M-Madison?” I breathe out, fucking Madison! She was at The Armoury training camps. She was pathetic and got booted out at least a few times. I think we even fucked once. I lie to myself, truth is I know we fucked.

“Madison!” I bark at her. “Let us out now. You know who we work for, and you’re fucked if you don’t let us go… NOW!”

“Well, bless your heart, Gerald, ain’t you just about fixin’ to be madder than a wet hen?” She laughs out, that Southern twang irritating as ever, that too sweet voice, that too kind, too soft girl that never amounted to much is sitting on the outside of a cage grinning like a cat that got the fucking cream.

“Madison, listen. I will call our employer. I can put a good word in for you. I can get you back into the training programme. I can help you make a real shot at it this time! I can help. You need to let us out before they come back.”

“Bless your heart, Gerald.” She smiles again.

“Is that a yes? You’ll let us go?”

Barking out a laugh. “Ahh, Gerald, ain’t you just the sweetest, and what makes you think I need your help, sugar?”

“You didn’t get in! I did… that must right piss you off, Madison!” I spit her name at her, and she just grins again.

Fuck. I need to stay calm. I’m supposed to be professional and reveal nothing in this situation, but it's her, its Madison. I haven't thought about her in years. Well, that's a lie. I may have misplaced her name, but I remember the feeling of her under me and on top of me. I’ve played it over on more than one occasion, fuck, she's still sexy.

“Who are you really working for, sugar?” She glances over at Liam, and he’s watching us both like hawks. “You and I both know you ain’t in The Armoury, sugar!”

I glance over at Liam and back to Madison. She’s still got that apple pie smile and those flushed pink cheeks. I remember her sucking my dick at one point. That sweet way she has about her always drove me crazy. There’s something in her eyes, but as I try and study them more, she blinks and moves away! Rising from the chair, she steps closer to Liam.

“What about you, honey? What’s your name?”

“Don’t talk to him!” I spit out. “This is between us, Madison!”

“Why did you want those little biker guys, sugar?”

“Madison, just let us go. You know we’re The Armoury. They will come for us, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. You know I always had a soft spot for you.”

“Bless your heart again, sugar. The Armoury will come; you and I both know that! And as far as your ‘soft spot’, we fooled around, sugar. No harm, no foul!”

I glare at her, then back at Liam. His eyes are wide, his breathing patchy. He has no clue what’s going on, but me and Madison have a history. I just need to twist it to scare her to let us go. “Where are those redneck brothers of yours, Madison? What were their names? Milton and Milo? If you don’t let us go, I’ll make sure they’re tortured or worse.” I push up from the cot I’m sitting on and lunge forward to grab the cage bars. She doesn’t even flinch, so I slam my hand through the bars and grab at her, but she’s sat just slightly out of reach. She rises from the chair, stepping over to Liam. “Who do you actually work for, honey?” She smiles at him.

“The Armoury,'' he says, standing from his cot, too.

She shakes her head at him. “Who told you you work for The Armoury, honey?” He glances at me and back at her, then at me again.

“I recruited him!” I straighten my shoulders. “I’m his superior. I’m in charge. Let him go, Madison.”

“Y'all have torn up my last nerve. I’m gonna pray for you, sugar!” She points at me in disgust.

She shakes her head and turns to grab a… tranq dart, shit! She jabs it into my thigh, and there’s a pain that feels like burning or freezing. It's excruciating, and my leg goes numb. I feel foggy and stumble. It feels like only minutes before I give out, and as I crash to the floor, my eyes roll into my head. I hear her laugh.

Liam

Gerald drops to the floor and is out cold. She just laughs. “Okay, kid, are you gonna cooperate, or am I gonna have to get creative?”

The accent’s gone, well, the Southern one, anyway. Is she British? She opens a drawer full of knives, screwdrivers, and all sorts of weird-looking clamps. I glance from her to the drawer and back again. “I’m not cut out for this. If I tell you what you want to know, you’ll let me go?”

“Of course, honey!” she drawls back at me, slipping back into that Southern accent. She grins, and I shake my head, trying to make sense of what she’s up to.

“Please, I only took this job to pay for my grandma’s residential care home. I need the money. Gerald said it was quick money.”

She drags the chair over to my cell. “Look, kid, I just want to know what’s going on. Answer my questions honestly, and I will get you picked up and taken out of here, okay?”

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