Elena saunters into view, all sleek elegance and cold calculation. Her eyes, sharp as ice picks, scan me like I’m a lab rat. “Well, well,” she purrs, “look what the cat dragged in.”
I spit at her feet. “Fuck you, Elena.”
She tsks, wagging a manicured finger. “Such language. What would your precious little boy think?”
My blood turns to lava. I lunge at the bars, snarling. “You keep his name out of your whore mouth!”
Elena’s laugh is like broken glass. “Oh, Wren. Still so… passionate.” She leans in close, her breath hot on my face. “I wonder if you’ll keep that fire when you hear your son screaming.”
My fingers twitch, the knife’s weight a promise. One quick slash, and I could paint these bars red. But I grit my teeth, forcing myself still. Not yet.
“What’s the matter, Elena?” I growl. “Zimniy not man enough to keep you satisfied? Gotta get your kicks torturing kids now?”
Her eyes flash, a nerve struck. Good.
“Now I know the reason,” she says in a sing-song way.
“Reason?” I hiss. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
She leans in closer, her voice dripping with venom. “That’s whatheliked about you. You’re so… unrefined. A little street rat he could play hero with.”
“Thanks for the compliment, bitch.” I bare my teeth in a feral grin. “Jealous? D always did prefer a real woman to a plastic bitch.”
“Real?” Elena scoffs. “You mean cheap. Common. Like a dog in heat.”
“Better a dog than a snake,” I spit back. “At least I didn’t have to spread my legs for every—”
Elena’s composure cracks. Her hand whips out, grabbing my hair and slamming my head against the bars. Stars explode behind my eyes, but I laugh through the pain.
“Struck a nerve, did I?” I taunt, tasting copper.
She releases me, smoothing her hair. “Enjoy your little jokes, Wren. We’ll see how funny you find it when—”
The sudden shriek of a child shatters the tension. My heart stops.
“I want my momma!”
Alex. Oh God, Alex.
“Bring him here!” Elena snarls, her arms crossing over her chest.
A woman struggles to hold onto Alex as he thrashes and wails. The moment his teary eyes lock onto mine, he launches forward, tiny hands reaching. “Momma!”
My fingers curl around the cold metal bars; every instinct screams to tear this cell apart, to rip Elena’s throat out with my bare hands. But I swallow it down, forcing my face into a mask of calm.
“Hey, buddy,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “It’s okay. Momma’s right here.”
Alex hiccups, snot and tears streaking his face. “I want to go home.”
“I know, baby. We will soon. You’re being so brave.” I manage a smile, praying he can’t see how it trembles at the edges.
Elena’s satisfied laugh grates like nails on a chalkboard. “Oh, look how the wild tiger cowers.”
I turn to her, voice low and deadly. “What do you want now? Tell me.”
Her lips curl into a viper’s smile. “I want you to tell him we have you and his baby.”
Ice floods my veins. “What? No—”
