I head to the kitchen, where I find a very awake senior Ainsworth eating a small piece of cake on a dainty plate at the island. I let out a small yelp, and it causes him tochortle. “Are you alright?”
I nod. “Yes, I’m so sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone to be awake at this hour.”
He digs his fork back into the cake. “Would you like a slice?”
“Yes, please.”
He serves me a slice after grabbing a second plate from the cupboard. “Milk?” I dip my chin and he serves me that as well. We eat in silence for a moment or two, and then, “My grandson says you are to marry… once your… husband is—”
“Yes,” I interrupt him, not allowing him to put‘your husband’ and‘dead’in the same sentence. “Kane assures me these…gamesdo not leave anyone alive?”
Mr. Ainsworth blinks at me. “That is correct.”
“Perfect.” I go back to eating my cake that tastes of ash and sawdust.
Chapter Seventeen
Maksim.
“He’sdamaged.”
“His shoulder has been out of its socket for a few days.”
“Well,fixhim!” Kane whines like a petulant child about to stomp his foot on the ground. “I want to make thisfunnnn! I want it to drag! Not have him die within the first few yards. There’s no fun in that. I want tohunt him down.”
The guys in scrubs glance at each other in annoyance. Well, at least we have that in common.
It’s the first time I’ve been on my feet in however long I’ve been here, and I’m embarrassed to say my thighs are fucking quivering. My hands are in electric cuffs connected to my ankles by chains like I’m a fucking prisoner in a goddamn sci-fi movie.That,coupled with the fact that I’m fucking emaciated from lack of actual food—other than the half sandwich Alice gave me from what I think was days ago—I’m starting to feel like this is all one fucked up hallucination.
“Hurry up!” Kane screams at the doctors, red in the face.
So, they get to work. There are three guards. One of them comes forward to loosen my chains but not enough for me to be able to reach up and wrap the fucking thing around his throat. I try to calculate not just my chance of survival but of getting out of here. I know there are more guards outside of the door. I have to wait for my men.
I have to get back to my wife alive.
They make me sit on the steel bed I was previously strapped down to before these sci-fi cuffs were placed on me. I glower at Kane the entire time they pop my shoulder back into place; not even a grunt escapes my chapped lips. He wants me riled up. He wants me to make a beast out of myself, but I’m saving my energy for what I’m guessing is the first ‘game.’
He hikes a dirtyblonde brow up. “Better?”
I don’t reply. I just keep staring, watching his every move, not tearing my eyes away. Psychological warfare. Physical warfare. It’s the fucking same to me.
When a few more minutes tick by, I can see the anxiety beginning to roll through him. He’s unnerved by my silence. My stare. Sure, he has the upper hand now; he’s got his little entourage, feeling brave. I can’t wait to see him dripping with blood. A bullet hole between the eyes, gray matter splattered against the wall or the pavement. It doesn’t matter to me. As long as I’m the last image he sees before he goes straight to fucking hell.
He rolls his shoulders back, squaring them, then narrows his eyes.
I blink at him, unbothered.
He leaves the room, guards and doctors behind him.
I get up and start pacing the room as much as I can, trying to get some strength back in my legs. If I’m going to run, I can’t be wobbly. I go over everything Alice said to me before. It feels like forever ago, even though I know it’s only been just a few short days. Shit. What did she say about the ground?
They stopped letting the gas pour in, but my brain is still muddled, my eyesight is still hazy. Thank God there hasn’t been a shot of adrenaline. My wrists are sore from trying to escape the fucking straps. I think I did once and was given a tranquilizer, but I don’t know if that was real or a hallucination.
Fuck. I owe Raven an apology if I ever see her again.
I keep pacing, feeling a bit steadier on my feet. I try to squat but almost fall over. My thighs are shit.Think, Maksim. What did Alice say about the ground?
“Be wary of the ground and your footing…”
