“Drop the weapon, guard,” the voice orders. The security guard lowers his gun, and I immediately turn around to facehim. He instantly reaches out and covers my head in a thick sack, but not before I lock eyes with those of my fuckingfather.
I reach up to remove the sack, but my arms are being forced behind my back. Something is sprayed beneath, and the strong scent burns my nostrils. Shortly after, I feel myself slipping. I feel sluggish and heavy, and my consciousness is fading fast.Fuck.
I try to move, to doanything, but it’s useless. I focus on the noises in the room, searching for familiar voices, but come up short. I feel myself falling, my vision fading into the depths of whatever I’ve been drugged with. Images flash through my mindlike the reels of time, and the last one that I see before everything goes black is a set of beautiful green eyes.
38
Riven
I squint my eyes open to the blinding fluorescent lights that illuminate the bright white of Sabel’s fuckingtorture chamber.My mind is hazy, and it takes several seconds for me to recall the events that took place before this.
What time is it? What fuckingdayis it?
I have no way of knowing how long I’ve been out. As in any true torture chamber, this one doesn’t come equipped with a clock. I hear a groan beside me, and I drag my head up to look toward the noise. It’s Callum, strapped down to a steel chair by his wrists and ankles. There’s a large belt across his chest holding him against the chair. Sabel knows that his big ass could get out of this in seconds otherwise.
I look down at my wrists and ankles, which are also strapped down with zip ties.Amateurs, I think, remembering my work in the barn with Levi.
“You okay?” I ask, my mouth dry.
“I’m fine. It’s Kai.” He nods his head behind me. I drag my gaze over my shoulder to see that Kai and Raithe are directly behind us. Kai is behind me with his head hanging down. Damp white-blonde strands fall over his face, obscuring my view of it. His chest rises and falls slowly, as if he’s walking the veil between life and death. I tug on my zip ties roughly, but they don’t budge. Not so amateur, then.Perfect.
“FUUUUUUUUUCK!” I yell to the ceiling, throwing my head back. Spit flies from my mouth, showering me in its downfall. I’m panicking. My breathing accelerates, threatening to send me back into unconsciousness if I don’t stop.
“Stop, Riv.Please, stop.” I hear Raithe’s hoarse voice from behind Cal. I can’t, though, because the next thing that slams into my mind is Sloane. Her eyes, her face, her freckles, her body, her soul,her. The what ifs come crashing in like a tsunami, seeking to drag me under and suffocate the breath from my lungs. I feel my panic rising by the second. I barely hear Callum’s words over the rapid thumping of my pulse in my ears.
“Calm down, Riven. Look at me. FUCKING LOOK AT ME!” His violent and completely out of character screaming halts my panic and has my head snapping in his direction. My pulse slows, and I manage to come to my senses, for now.
“That’s it. Good. Now, please, for fuck’s sake, would you calm down so that we can rationalize a plan?” Cal speaks slowly, softly, and calmly, and it grounds me. He always knows how to ground me.
“Yeah, okay. You’re right.” I turn to look at Kai, making sure that his chest is still moving. It is … slowly. Fuck, we are running out of time. I bring my attention back to Cal.
“Okay. What do we do?” I ask, looking back and forth between Cal and Raithe.
“Dude, I don’t know. We arefucked,” Raithe says. He’s usually the optimist of the family, so his pessimistic response isn’t promising. Cal turns his head, glaring at Raithe.
“Focus, jackass,” Cal snaps. “We can get out of this. Let’s think for a fucking second.” I sigh, losing the hope that I never had. I pull at my restraints again, and they don’t budgeagain.
“Already tried that. Not gonna work,” Cal says. If Cal can’t get out of this, then none of us can.
“Great. Plan B, then,” I say.
“Riven,” Cal warns at the same time as Raithe asks, “Plan what?”
I rock violently in my chair, using every ounce of energy that I have left to tip it over in Cal’s direction. The chair falls onto its side with a loud thud.
“What thefuckare you doing, Riven?” Cal spits out. I don’t answer.
I grab hold of Cal’s chair leg closest to me and pull myself to it. Then, I start gnawing the zip tie that’s binding his leg.
“Riven,” he growls, “you know they have eyes on us, right?” I don’t answer. I continue gnawing and tugging to get the zip tie free. Do I think I can bite through this thing? Kinda, yeah. Do I know that at the very least it will cause a scene?Fucking right I do. So yes, I continue my frivolous pursuit. I make sure that I’m growling, grabbing at the chair leg, and jerking at it frantically like a psycho. When I think I might be getting somewhere with the fucking thing, the door to the double mirror viewing room opens up.Success.
“Fucking great,” Cal grunts from above me. I hear Raithe moan behind us. There still isn’t a sound from Kai, other than his shallow breathing.
I hear footsteps coming my way, and then I’m face-to-face with a pair of shiny, black Oxfords. I spit on them, laughing. I hear my father scoff at the gesture, and it reminds me of everyother time in my young life that he disdained me. I almost reach out and bite the fucking shoe. He lifts his foot and plants it directly on the side of my neck, pressing down enough to leave my already taut windpipe screaming for air.Mother fucker.
“Save your energy, son.” He releases his foot, and I suck in a breath.
“Fuck you,” I spit out. He chuckles.
