“Agreed,” the blue-eyed man said. “This isn’t the place.”
The blond looked around. “It’s as good a place as any. It’s why she came.”
“Not the only reason,” the blue-eyed hawk said.
The blond shrugged. “Still. It’s what she wants.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Hawk said.
“Only if you make it complicated,” the blond said.
Hawk paced a couple more times while the other men waited. “Get her off the fucking wall.”
15
CASSIE
I hadno idea where we were in the tunnels, but the bird men leading me through the labyrinth seemed to know where we were going.
After they’d freed my wrists, they’d removed the chain from around my neck, releasing the clamps from my nipples and pussy. The blond had pocketed it like it was a set of keys and the blue-eyed man had scooped my clothes and shoes off the floor as we’d started back through the tunnels.
I barely noticed the cold dirt floor on the bottoms of my feet. I was too steeped in the triple humiliation of my Hunt loss, my confessed virginity, and the fact that I was still ass-naked.
Plus the bird men moved fast, hustling me along like we had places to go and people to see.
We passed the men in bull masks — escorting one of the blondes out of the tunnel as leisurely as if they were out for an after-dinner stroll — and the black-haired girl, chained naked to the wall, blood smeared on her cheeks and forehead.
Then we took a turn and a doorway opened up in the distance. It only took me a few seconds to realize it was the door to the holding room.
I felt a swell of relief before I realized it was stupid. I had no idea what would happen to me next.
A blast of warm air hit my naked body as we stepped into the holding room, and I immediately started shaking. I tried to stop, but whether from the Hunt itself or the change in temperature, my body seemed to be in a kind of shock.
The blue-eyed man held out my clothes. “Put these back on.”
I hesitated, then hurried to slip on my underwear, jeans (thankfully my phone was still in one of the pockets), and sweatshirt (my T-shirt had been lost along the way).
It felt good not to be naked — not to be so exposed — but I couldn’t stop shaking, and my teeth clattered together like I was a cartoon instead of a real-life woman about to become a slave to three tattooed giants who wore masks and called themselves the Hawks.
The blue-eyed man disappeared through a door that seemed to lead to some kind of back room. He emerged a few seconds later carrying a leather jacket.
“This should help with the shaking.” He put it around my shoulders. “You probably need food too. I’m Jagger by the way.”
“Cassie.”
“We know who you are.” I followed the voice to the man named Hawk, staring at me like I was a problem he wasn’t looking forward to solving.
The blond walked to the stack of water next to the first-aid table and pulled out two bottles.
He held one of them out. “I’m Vigo.” I guzzled the water and he took the empty bottle from my hands, then handed me the second water bottle. “Hang onto that one. It’ll take a while to hydrate.”
The man named Jagger dropped to one knee and reached for my ankle. “Lift.”
I wasn’t sure what he was doing until he slipped on one of my shoes. “Your feet are freezing.”
He tied the laces like I was a small child, put on my other shoe, and rose to his feet.
He’d been right: the jacket had helped. I’d stopped shaking.
