Kiera’s scent led straight to it.
Brux slowed for the first time since leaving the shuttle. The warehouse crouched before him like something waiting with its mouth open.
He could hear the low industrial hum of refrigeration units inside. A faint vibration came through the metal walls. White vapor ghosted from a seam near the back loading hatch and dissolved into the afternoon air.
The scent of Kiera was stronger here—gods–she was somewhere inside this monstrosity. Brux put one hand on the door and felt frozen metal under his palm. Even through his body heat, it burned cold.
He opened it.
A blast of deep—freeze air struck him full in the face, carrying with it an overwhelming assault of stench. Blood…frozen flesh…canthor shit and industrial cleanser and assaulted his nose.
And under all of that, in bright sharp terrified lines, Kiera. Alive–still alive. At least she had been, not too long ago.
Relief hit him so hard his knees almost weakened—but it lasted less than a second, because from somewhere deep inside the warehouse came the metallic clink of metal striking metal. Was it a chain? A hook?
Then he heard footsteps–heavy and male.
And then a scream–Kiera!
Brux didn’t remember deciding to move–he was simply in motion all at once, surging into the freezing dark of the warehouse with every instinct he possessed exploding to the forefront.
Nothing mattered but her–he had to find her–had to reach her. Had to save her before that fucking Higgs hurt her.
“Kiera!” he roared into the cold maze of hanging carcasses and steel.
Somewhere ahead, metal clanged against metal again.
Then Higgs laughed…and Brux felt the chains on his Rage begin to break.
31
KIERA
Despite all her desperate efforts to stay quiet and hidden, Higgs found her anyway–of course he did.
The freezer was too big and too full of echoes and swinging dead things, and Kiera was too cold and too shaky and too terrified to move as silently as she wanted. By the time she saw the bulky green shape of him coming around the row of hanging canthor carcasses, it was already too late.
“Well, well—so you found my little secret.” He nodded at the swinging bodies of the dead women. “I'm afraid not all of my girlfriends have been very well behaved.” He leered at Kiera. “So I had to punish them, you see? The same way I'm going to have to punish you, girly.”
Kiera’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to break its way out of her ribcage and escape. Her whole body was shaking now—not just from fear and not just from the bitter cold, but from the sick, horrified realization that Higgs had done this before. Again and again. He had lured women here, trapped them here, hurt them here.
Killed them here.
And now he meant to do the same to her.
No–no, she couldn’t let that happen. But how could she stop him?
Higgs reached up casually and pulled a rusty butcher knife from the wall rack beside him. The blade was long and ugly, its edge darkened in places where old blood had stained it. He tested it with one thick thumb and smiled when he saw her flinch.
“Oh yeah, girly–it’s rusty but it’s sharp,” he drawled. “You’ll find out how sharp in just a minute.”
Kiera backed up until the backs of her legs hit the steel butchering table behind her. Do something–she had to do something.
Don’t just stand here and die like some stupid—ass character in a horror movie, she screamed silently at herself. Do something!
But what?
Her hands were still tied in front of her, which made her clumsy, but not helpless. She cast one frantic glance over the tabletop and saw a stray meat hook lying near the far edge—a heavy steel one, detached from its chain but still wickedly curved and sharp at the point.
