Wolfe.
He would come. He would be tearing apart the city already. But even knowing that didn’t make the silence safer.
The door creaked. Just slightly. Then footsteps. Slow. Heavy.Like the man attached to them had never once needed to run.
I didn’t move. Not yet. A chair scraped across the floor. Closer. Boots. Steel-toed. Scuffed.
He sat down in front of me. I could feel the air shift when he leaned forward. I opened my eyes. He wasn’t the one from before. This one was worse. Neater. Buttoned shirt. Sleeves rolled. A leather watch too clean for the rest of him.
He smiled when I looked up. Not kind. Not cruel. Just—curious.
Like he was trying to understand how someone like me ended up here. Like I was a new puzzle and he already had the first piece.
He leaned forward.
“You awake, sweetheart?”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
But the way I held his gaze made something shift in his expression. Respect, maybe. Or interest. He reached into his jacket. Pulled out a small knife.
I flinched. He didn’t open it. Just set it on the ground beside him, like a promise.
“I’m not here to hurt you. Not yet.”
His voice was soft. Clean. Too clean.
He reached up and untied the gag. Slow. Careful. It fell from my mouth like a curse. My lips were cracked. Blood dried in the corners.
He held out a bottle of water. The kind you get from a vending machine.
I didn’t take it. So he did it for me. Tilted the bottle. Held it to my mouth. Water sluiced down my chin.
I drank. Because I had to. Because my throat was fire. He pulled it back before I got more than a mouthful. I wanted to spit in his face. But I needed the next sip.
He chuckled.
“See? Cooperation.”
I stared at the knife.
He followed my gaze.
“Don’t worry about that. It’s not for you.Not unless you make it for you.”
He stood. Walked around the chair slowly.
“You made a lot of noise on the street, Cloe.”
The way he said my name made my stomach twist. Like he owned it. Like it was something bought. He stopped behind me. His hands ghosted above my shoulders. Not touching. Just hovering.
I went still.
"Men like me don't get second chances. But you gave me one. Your debts became my profit."
His breath hit my neck. I bit the inside of my cheek.
“You should feel proud,” he said. “You’re worth more now than you were on your back. That’s rare. That’s something.”
