When I see the guy with Astra put his fucking hands on her arm and yank her in the direction he wants her to go, I lose it. With my hands bound with rope behind my back, I make a break for it, pushing with all my might as I lunge for him. I nearly knock over the asshole carrying Fabien in my haste to get to the fucker. I have tunnel vision, and it barely registers as I slam my shoulder into the fucker’s back. He grunts as we both go down.
I’m on my knees, pinning his forearm down with all my weight as I blindly grab at his hand behind me. I wrap my fingersaround his wrist and yank hard. I hear something crack, and then he screams. I don’t bother to wipe the smile from my face.
“Pull him off!” he wails.
I manage to get to my feet before the other three can get to me. With a satisfying smile, I kick him right in the face as the others get their hands on me and pull me away. The smile stays on my face as he gets to his feet, spitting out a mouth full of blood and, oh, look at that, a tooth. He’s cradling his limp arm close to his body, and it’s hard not to find satisfaction in that.
“You’re fuckin’ dead,” he seethes. He attempts to look menacing as he comes at me. It’s nearly laughable.
“Stop fucking around, Ted,” one of the other bullshit cops says from behind me. I recognize him, but a name doesn’t come to mind.
I mark Ted’s name in my head right as he comes to a halt a foot in front of me.
Everything in me is telling me to strike. I’m thinking of my next move as we glare death threats at each other.
“No!” Astra gasps at the same moment I feel the cold, hard barrel of a gun press against the back of my head. Feeling the panic of My Beauty wash over me, I relax and stand down. If I die now, I’m no good to her. I won’t be able to get us out of this situation. The small chance we have of surviving the night will be reduced to zero.
I can’t leave her. I won’t. Not unless it’s the last possible option, and not until I know she’s safe.
“Fine,” I seethe out through clenched teeth.
I turn my dark look in Astra’s direction, and a calm settles over me the moment our eyes collide. I have to play this right, even if it kills me.
It takes everything in me to step in line as they herd us into a warehouse. The only light is coming from the back, spilling out of a room in the right corner with a huge glass pane window. Thedoor is open, and as we get closer, I can see it’s a nicely furnished office with a huge wooden desk and a few chairs. It certainly doesn’t fit the look of the abandoned, debris-littered warehouse space we had to walk through to get here.
“Stop,” Aubert commands when we get within a couple of feet of the threshold. “I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen to them. If they start growing boils and leaking blood, I’d rather not have to clean it out of the carpet.”
Aubert’s eyes hold nothing as he looks over Astra. Her head is held high, but her gaze is cast downward, and I smirk at the clear defiance she holds as she blatantly refuses to look at him. I can feel her emotions wrapping around me. A hit of pain and hurt. Then her anger begins to prickle my skin like static in dry air.
“I pray your death is the worst,” he says as he turns his gaze on me. “Your father died without even a single scream. I’m hoping I’ll get more out of you. And if it’s not, I have no problem helping out.”
He nods to the guy beside me. He’s quicker than I am, and I have no chance to ready myself for the blow my face takes. My head whips to the side, and I instantly taste the blood leaking from the split on my bottom lip. I lunge for him, but I’m jerked back by my bound hands. I feel something pull and pinch in my shoulders, and I worry if I’ve fucking hurt myself. I stop, seeing as there’s no sense in making it worse. There will be a time to bite through the pain, but the time is not now.
As I pull myself together, his words ring in my head.
I knew it. I never had any proof, but deep down, I fucking knew Aubert killed my father.
The air changes. I take in a slow breath, holding it in for a count of five. Astra doesn’t need me going off the rails right now. I tell myself I’m going to kill him as I make sure my mask is firmly in place.
“This wasn’t the deal,” I say, glaring at Aubert, acting as if his confession hasn’t even affected me.
“What deal?” Astra asks, her voice shaking.
“Do you really think I’d let you get one up on me?” Aubert sneers.
“You were supposed to let me get Astra safely home. I said you could have me as long as you let her go.”
He has the nerve to fucking laugh in my face. Then again, I guess I am looking like the fucking fool here. He thinks he’s got me at his mercy, but even tied up, I’m no house kitten. I just have to plan my moves and make sure the execution is precise.
“Yes, but what would it get me? This way, I get you, the child that isn’t supposed to be, and the nerdy witch.” He turns his attention to Fabien, and it hits me why he isn’t bound like Astra and me. “You should join me,” Aubert says to him.
“I-I… no, thank you,” Fabien manages to get out.
“But you will be so useful to my coven,” Sandra says as she steps out from her hidden corner of the room like a bad villain. She comes to Fabien’s side and guides him into the office. I start to struggle against the assholes holding me, but Fabien quickly shoots me a look over his shoulder and shakes his head. Sandra has almost a motherly way about her as she touches his shoulder and tells him to have a seat in a chair in front of the desk. My stomach sours at her false display.
I’m so mad at myself. Not just because of Fabien, but for everyone who got caught up in this shit.
Fabien shouldn’t fucking be here.
