Page 9 of Where's Molly

He grins, but I've no idea what the fuck he could possibly find funny.

“If you're lucky, you'llmanage to kill one before one of them kills you. Then your sister wouldreallybe alone.”

I growl under my breath. Of course, he's right, but my goal was to tug at his heartstrings, not bring out his logic and reasoning.

Hell,I really do suck at this.

I chew my lip mercilessly, trying to figure out a different angle. The man may be fucked up, but he's proven to have empathy. Somewhere beyond the spiderwebs, venomous snakes, and flesh-eating parasites in his soul is a soft spot. I just have to find it.

Worrying my lip harder, I peek over his shoulder again. I'm running out of time. It's a miracle the others haven't returned yet.

“Do you have a sister?” I ask.

His expression wasn't exactly… expressive to begin with, yet it seems as if his face falls anyway. A dark, ominous look passes over his eyes, and his features sharpen. It sends chills down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I'm not sure if I found the soft spot or just struck averysensitive nerve.

The blood in my body turns to ice. If I hadn’t been standing in front of a beast before, I certainly am now.

“Is she alive?” I push.

What's stopping me? I'm dead, anyway.

“Yes,” he clips. “But letting you go could get her killed if they decide to retaliate against me.”

“They'll never know you saw me,” I reason, growing desperate. “You weren't even supposed to be on duty tonight.”

He considers that for a moment, and my anxietyamps up.

“Look, we’re both desperate to keep our sisters safe, yeah? I don't need to be someone who gets in your way, nor do you need to be for me.”

His upper lip curls into a snarl, frustration pinching his brow.

It feels like an eternity passes before he finally speaks again.

“Get out of my face. Now. I sure as fuck hope you know what you're doing, because I'm not helping you, nor will I save you if you're caught.”

Relief explodes in my chest, stealing my breath away.

“Thank you. I won't forget you, Rio.”

I don't wait for him to respond. With one last glance, I take off down the steps and toward the only place that offers a chance of survival—the unwelcoming arms of the forest.

It will be unkind, but I've suffered much worse.

Cage

Present

2022

“Don't let the jobtitle deter you, man. She may be a pig farmer, but she's fucking hot as hell,” Eli says from the other end of the phone. “I’ll admit, she’s showed up in a few of my fantasies when I—”

“Finish that sentence, and I'll drive off the fucking road,” I growl, curling my lip in disgust.

As if I give a fuck about who the dickhead jacks off to. I’ll sooner cut off his dick before I listen to him talk about what he does to it.

“I'm just sayin', man. Sexy as fuck.”

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