“Come on,” I whispered, “you’ve got this.”
It took a few tries, but once I finally hit it in the right spot the force of the bang against my ass broke the zip tie free. I mean, who the hell used zip ties anymore, anyway? They were so old school, and for good reason. If you wanted to keep someone bound, you handcuffed them, because outside of picking the damn lock there wasn’t a fucking thing they could do about it.
Whereas plastic broke like porcelain if you found its weak point of tension.
“Thank fuck,” I muttered.
The plastic fell to the ground and I drew in a deep breath. But a resounding crack before Chloe’s crying started back up pulled me from my trance. Even with the blood dripping down into my palms, the cuts weren’t deep enough to warrant anything emergent. So, I pulled my gun from its holster and checked to make sure the magazine was full.
“One bullet for each of you. Fucking grand,” I hissed.
“Hey. You. Go check on the asshole in there. See if he’s ready to talk,” someone commanded.
Chloe groaned and gagged in pain as a grin crossed my face.
Yes, come check on me. I dare you to.
And the second that man stepped into the room, a shocked look crossed his face.
Before I raised my gun and put a bullet right between that motherfucker’s eyes.
Eighteen
Chloe
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk, pretty lady?” the man with the thick accent asked.
I panted for air as blood trickled down my chin. “Over my dead fucking body.”
He snapped his fingers. “Again.”
My eyes widened. “No, no, no. West!!!”
One of the men wrapped their hand around my neck, cutting off my ability to cry out for him. And when a fist connected with my jaw, I yelped in pain. They shoved me over onto my side, allowing the blood from my lip to drip onto the floor. As I tried catching my breath, someone gripped my hair tightly.
Before pulling me upright once more.
“Are you sure?” the man asked.
I caught my breath before I responded. “I’d rather die than tell you anything.”
The man grinned. “Even if we go after your family? Maybe bring them here for a little one-on-one?”
I scoffed. “Joke’s on you. I don’t have any family.”
He leaned back in his chair, spreading his legs wide. “So, Lexi and Natasha mean nothing to you? I’m sure that’ll break their hearts to know.”
I snarled. “They’re both safe in a place where you’ll never find them. I hope all of you burn in hell. West! West, please!”
Someone cracked the back of their hand against my temple out of nowhere and it swirled my vision. My head fell against the wall and I closed my eyes as another blow to the outside of my thigh took place. I curled up in pain, sobbing into my knees while my ribs cried out for mercy. I hadn’t even healed fully from the last beating I had taken.
My God, they’re actually going to kill me.
“Maybe if you don’t care about their life, you’ll care about your own,” the man hissed.
I picked my head up and sighed. “Now, that threat is pointless. I don’t know what kind of information you want, but I don’t have any. I have no life worth living. I have no point except to be used by others. You kill me? You’ll just be doing me—and this world—a favor at this point.”
I hated how truthful the words felt. All my life, I’d been used for other people’s amusement. Other people’s needs. Other people’s whims. I mean, I loved Lexi with all my soul, but I knew the reason why she kept me so close was to help out with Natty. And don’t get me wrong, I loved my niece. I loved hanging out with her and spending time with her. But I couldn't remember the last time that I wasn’t the one to drag Lexi out of the house for a girl’s night.
