“You think I won’t shoot you again?” I twist harder, but his weight crushes me into the seat as he leans closer. “Go ahead, give me a reason.”
“Fuck. You.”
I lunge, teeth bared, going for his face.
He moves faster.
His hand clamps around my jaw, fingers digging deep. The pain’s immediate. My head’s wrenched sideways.
“You never fucking learn.” My spine slams into his chest as he yanks me into his lap. His arm locks across me like a vice.
“Get the hell off me!” I thrash—fists flying, leg jerking—but it only makes him laugh.
His free hand moves down my thigh. Straight to the wound. I don’t even have time to scream before the blade touches my skin. Steel slides into the open graze, slicing deeper. Pain detonates through my body.
I scream. I can’t stop it.
“Yeah,” Priest whispers against my ear. “That’s what I thought.”
My entire body shakes. Blood pours down my leg. My vision goes spotty, tears threatening to fall—but I blink them back. I won’t cry. Not for him.
“You like hurting people? You get off on this?”
“Hurtingyou? Yeah. I fucking do.” His fingers smear the blood along my thigh. “If you don’t learn to sit the fuck still. I’ll carve my name into this leg before we get to the Vault.”
I jerk, a broken noise tearing from my throat. His arm tightens across my chest.
“Keep moving. See what happens.”
My body locks.
The blade drags just slightly—enough to make my stomach twist. Enough to remind me he could push it in deeper.Would, if I gave him a reason.
Raze says something up front. The others bark more orders. But all I can hear is the pounding of my own pulse and Priest’s sick chuckle behind me. He presses a kiss to the shell of my ear, mocking and filthy.
“Good kitten.”
I hate him.
I hate him more than I’ve ever hated anything.
He shoves a stick of gum between his teeth. The scent of mint, leather, and smoke hits me hard, mingling with the copper tang of my blood. It makes me nauseous. Makes me want to puke all over his lap.
The SUV takes another hard turn, tires screaming. My body jolts with the motion, but Priest’s arm across my chest doesn’t budge. His forearm pins me in place, digging into my ribs like a steel bar. Every bump in the road driving agony through my leg.
Voices erupt around me—everyone shouting in disagreement on the destination. The words blur, fractured by the throb in my thigh and the ringing in my ears. I can’t keep up.
Finally, when the shouting dims, I rasp through gritted teeth, “Where are we going?”
“A safehouse.”
I squirm, trying to shift the pressure, but it only earns me a brutal squeeze. My breath chokes off.
“Stop. Fidgeting.”
I clench my jaw, fury bubbling beneath the pain. I’d kill him if I could stand.
The SUV slows as we pull into a shadowed alley. The lights cut out. A warehouse ahead looms like a tombstone. Before I can brace myself, Priest opens the door and yanks me out by the arm. My bad leg buckles instantly, sending a jolt of pain that makes me scream through my teeth.
