This is a nightmare.
Everything that can go wronghasgone wrong. From all four of us being captured, Theo being heavily injured to the point he can barely walk, to us being betrayed by two security team members who I’m not familiar with. And that’s not including the fact that our enemies have easy access to Haven through the hidden exit. We knew it was a risk to keep that exit open, but we hoped that it’d pay off.
It didn’t.
And now we’re fucked.
Judging from the triumphant grin on Mark’s face and the smug smirk on Luke’s, they know it, too.
“Shall we begin our negotiations?” Mark asks, sounding so reasonable. As if this is a simple business meeting we’re having and not a hostile takeover by men who are desperate to use and abuseus.
The fear that’s been pumping through my system ever since I heard Theo’s yell is replaced with anger. It’s slow at first, a steady drip, but in the face of these assholes acting as if they’ve won some amazing victory, it turns into a flood. That anger builds in my chest, burning hotter by the second until I feel like a volcano ready to erupt.
Theo tensing beside me and Alex’s barely suppressed growl tells me I’m not the only one pissed off.
“Negotiate?” Rhys asks in a bland voice, his expression carefully blank. The burst of outrage from seeing the other man—Colin?—is gone, as if it never existed.
Weirdly, it’s comforting to see him in control of himself. Surely things can’t be too bad if he’s not losing it, right?
Mark nods. “We’re both reasonable men, Rhys. I’m sure we can come to a solution that will benefit all three of our settlements. Haven would of course bear the brunt of our farming and other food-related means. And you’d have to send along young, healthy people in order to…satisfythe other two settlements.” The gleam in his eyes when he speaks that last part has my stomach churning.
Sex slaves. That’s what these disgusting predators want. What they’ve always wanted above the food and the supplies. They want human chattel.
My anger ignites into rage.
I grit my teeth to stop myself from shouting at these monsters and clench my shaking hands into Theo’s jacket. Alex’s hand moves to cover one of my fists, a slight tremble in his own hand while Theo covers the other. Rhys’s eyes dart down to the movement, and longing flashes in his eyes before he schools his expression.
Seeing that and feeling my men silently supporting me fixes something inside me I didn’t know was broken. No matter what happens here, they have my back, and none of us are going down without a fight. It doesn’t soothe the rage bubbling inside me like lava, but focuses it and hones it until it’s a deadly weapon waiting to fire.
Mark proceeds with his disgusting outline of how things are going to be once we’re done with this ‘negotiation’. It basically relegates Haven to nothing more than a work camp—much like the one we destroyed when we freed my brother and the other captives. Only this one will be worse because the walls won’t be there to keep us safe, but to keep us imprisoned.
“Of course, you five won’t be allowed to stay here,” Mark continues without a care in the world. “I believe Luke has some unfinished business with you, Rhys, and while I’m sure he’d like to have Ollie and the rest of you, I can’t allow that.”
“What?” Luke bursts out. He’s been silently gloating at Rhys this entire time with smug grins and eyes that promise violence and retribution. “You promised me the girl!”
Mark waves him off, unconcerned with the other man’s outburst. “Things change. I feel she’d be much better suited as an incentive.” His eyes flick to me, and the predatory look he gives me has my skin crawling and the rage burning hotter.
My jaw clenches so tight I’m worried I’ll chip a tooth. “I’d rather die before I let that happen,” I grit out, glaring at Mark with naked hatred.
He huffs and shakes his head. “Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll fall in line like everyone else.”
Luke continues to rant and shout at him, but the older man ignores him. Elsa looks horrified at everything he’s just laid out, her eyes wide, mouth open and face drained of blood as she trembles beside him. I almost snort at her reaction. What did she expect getting into bed with two monsters?
Rhys, surprisingly, appears unconcerned with everything. He’s still in complete control of himself. Only he’s not looking at Mark or Luke; he’s staring at Colin. And weirdly, so is Anthony, who’s been silently seething this entire time.
Colin isn’t looking at either of them. His wide eyes are darting everywhere, and at first glance, he looks overwhelmed and scared. But themore I watch him, the more I realise that there’s a calculation to where his gaze is landing. He’s checking the guards at Theo and Alex’s backs and the two security traitors holding Anthony at knifepoint.
Is he… on our side?
But that makes no sense. He said he followed Mark’s orders, and Rhys was incensed when he first saw him, so surely he’s the enemy? But then I see him dip his chin at Rhys and dart his eyes to the security guy on Anthony’s left. His knife at Anthony’s kidney has dropped, his attention on Luke as he continues his tirade at a bored-looking Mark.
Rhys nods back, the movement so slight I only catch it because I’m staring at him.
Hope bursts in my chest. Holy shit. We have an ally, anarmedally. But that hope is quickly tempered because even with Colin on our side, we’re still outgunned and outnumbered. Theo is heavily injured, and while the guards holding Anthony might be losing interest, the ones behind us are still alert.
We need a distraction orsomethingto even the odds.
A plan pops into my head, a dangerous one, but it might give us the edge that we need. Especially since Luke’s ranting is winding down and Anthony’s guards won’t be distracted for much longer.
