With the radio hanging from my pocket and the master keys held firm between my fingers like a set of brass knuckles, Islowly stride around the small metal table, my gaze dancing between the three men.
“This is going to hurt,” I tell the cameraman, grabbing the front of his camera and slamming it right back against his face, shattering his nose. As he crumbles to the ground, I grab the sound guy’s head and ram it against the concrete wall, knocking him out cold. Leaving only one little cockroach to go.
“No,” Jedd panics, holding his hands up in horror. “No, take Aria instead. This is all on her. She’s the one who insisted on this interview and kept harassing your lawyer until he agreed. I told her to stop, but she insisted. She’s been defiant since the moment she came to work for me. I swear, you and I, we could still work together. I could win you the public vote you need. I just . . . I have too much to live for.”
He truly is a little cockroach.
The banging on the door grows more insistent, especially now that word is starting to spread about a woman being trapped in here with us. The other inmates start working together to break down the door, distracting Jedd, and I drive the master key deep into Jedd’s throat.
He goes straight down and, unlucky for me, I missed the artery. He might survive, he might not. Who fucking knows. All that matters to me now is the terrified woman cowering in the corner of the room.
I stalk toward her as the inmates slam anything and everything against the door and walls, quickly chipping away at the reinforced concrete and ruining any type of structural integrity it had, weakening it by the second.
“COME ON, BLACKTHORNE,” Knox Mercer growls, his face up against the small window in the door. “DON’T BE A COCKBLOCK. SHARE THE BITCH AROUND. I SWEAR, I’LL MAKE IT QUICK.”
Fucking sick asshole.
I can handle a lot of shit, but men like Mercer need to face the firing squad. No amount of heinous torture will ever be enough.
Putting him out of my mind, I keep my attention focused on Aria, rage boiling through my veins and spurring me on.
“STAY BACK,” she screams, her voice trembling, which only serves to irritate me more, knowing damn well this woman is not capable of fear. That much is clear by her showing up here today. She has a death wish, and I’m more than happy to grant that wish. But it won’t be happening here. I intend to take my time, revel in the beauty of her death, and take everything from her that she took from me. “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME.”
“YEAH!” Mercer and a few of the other men roar from outside the conference room. “TAKE THE FUCKING BITCH!”
“SHOW US THAT PRETTY CUNT!” another demands.
The door rattles as portions of the wall crumble from within. “OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, BLACKTHORNE. LET ME AT HER.”
Stepping right into Aria, my hand settles around her pretty throat, and I push her back against the wall as I slowly begin to squeeze, letting her feel the overwhelming power in my fingers. I could break her neck with nothing more than a quick flick of my wrist, and judging by the look in her eyes, she damn well knows it.
“You really want to know why I’ve kept quiet all these years?” I question, pressing all of my body weight against her.
Aria’s gaze flicks between me and the men trying to break down the wall. “Why?” She trembles, tears forming in her eyes, but the conviction is no longer there.
She no longer gives a shit about the long list of questions she spent hours working on. All that matters is finding a way to survive, but there’s no chance for her here, especially if I choose to leave her behind.
“I’ve been biding my time, my pretty little menace. I’ve been waiting for this very moment, because I knew that no matter how hard you tried, you’d never be able to keep away. I knew you would come for me, and when you did, I was going to be ready for you.” I pause, feeling the rapid thrum of her pulse beneath my fingers. “Oh, my pretty, I’ve waited for this moment. Dreamed of how it would play out, and now that I finally have my shot, I promise you, Aria, I will revel in ending your life.”
6
ARIA
What the fuck is this asshole talking about? He knew I would come one day? How the fuck would he know that? I’ve never met the guy in my life, yet he seems hell-bent on the fact that he knows me. It makes no sense. He’s clearly got the wrong girl, and for whatever reason, I’m now the one suffering her consequences.
It’s almost ironic how Stone is doing the exact same thing. He’s spent years paying for the crimes of other men. Well, kind of. Okay, not really. He killed them fair and square, and after the two guards he just murdered in cold blood right before my eyes, Stone more than deserves the sentence he received. But it doesn’t change that gut feeling I have telling me that the men in Stone’s case were not innocent in the least. But I suppose I won’t have the chance to find out because there’s no way in hell I’mleaving this prison alive. If Stone doesn’t kill me now, the other inmates will.
Chunks of concrete fall from the wall and smash against the floor as Stone’s hand tightens around my throat, completely blocking my airway.
My gaze flashes between Stone’s haunting stare and the men shamelessly trying to break down the wall. It’s clear as fucking day that I don’t stand a chance.
I should have let Janette steal the case out of my too-eager hands.
The door continues to rattle as the prisoners slam heavy objects against the crumbling wall between us. Stone leans harder into me, his whole damn body pressing against mine, and I start to wonder if he’s even aware of the assholes trying to get in.
My lungs begin to scream as stars dance through my vision. I’m desperate for a breath, but Stone doesn’t ease up. The fear is like nothing I’ve ever felt. The uneasiness. The way my body trembles. My heart races faster than it’s ever raced in my short twenty-four years of life.
I can’t die. Not yet. I haven’t experienced the world yet. Haven’t had a chance to even discover who I really am. Hell, I haven’t left the state. Haven’t learned how to cook. Haven’t experienced any wonders of the world. I live in my little apartment. Go to work. Come home. Hell, sometimes I go to the gym, but that’s predominantly so I can screw Nathan Cole in the bathroom and thoroughly get off. But apart from that, I haven’t lived, and I’m not ready to give it all up now.
