"I swear to the gods, Turo, you shoot me again, I'll rip your throat out," I snarled as his stupid timer went off again. "I'm working as fast as I can. Making me bleed out on your girlfriend's couch isn't really going to help me work any faster.""Hey, that's not my couch. At least, I didn't buy it," Nik said. "Gramps, you make him bleed as much as you want." She blew the sadist a kiss before she buried her nose in her computer again.Turo smiled. "See? She doesn't care if you bleed out." He raised his hand again. I braced for the impact. How many bullets could one stupid Glock 23 carry? For fuck's sake. Every single one of them had been a grazing strike. But damn it, they still hurt like the fires of hell. My phone rang before he could pull the trigger. I had it connected and up to my ear before he could say anything. Or pout. The sick fucker pouted when he didn't get to shoot me on time. "Ambright," I said quickly, my voice a little higher than normal as effervescent

Get your shit together, man. You've worked way too hard to get this high to blow this over a single skirt. I nodded to myself. I had to stick around for a little bit. It would raise too many brows if I left immediately. The sick fuckers who called themselves my brothers would never find anything in my behavior that would make them look at me harder. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I watched her sleep. Under the swelling and fractured bones, I could see that she was pretty. The photo of her I'd studied for the abduction helped shape those curves and lines in my mind as well. When she wasn't sassing people bigger than her, I could practically see the ready tension in her body. The desire to jump in with both feet. That could get her killed. Very easily. It also made for some fucking fire in bed. Most women here were too timid, too broken by the life of being sex workers for the family. My hand worked better, especially when the blank eyes and fake moans made me feel like a mon

The grating screech of the door brought me awake with a harsh jolt. Immediately, my body was locked and loaded for bear. I would do my best to escape today. Just a few pesky details needed to be ironed out. My full bladder merely one of those details.Pulling the blanket up around me, I sat up. Looked towards the door. Or at least, I thought I was looking in the right direction. Both of my eyes were crusted shut. Okay, Pesky Detail Number Two...get my eyes to open. Check. "I have come with your food. You will not get anymore until tonight." With that, I heard Arkady set something down on the floor and push it. Assuming he wasn't a complete asshole went against my common sense, but I needed at least one ally in this hellhole. "I can't see. Can you bring it to me?" I asked. Made sure to keep my voice firm. The light shifted slightly behind my eyelids. I hunched back against the wall. This whole being even momentarily blind thing was awful. I had a new respect for people

Stay upright. Stay upright. Stay upright. I chanted the words, tried to brand them on my brain. I couldn't lose consciousness now. It would ruin all the hard work. The tough façade. Whatever respect I'd just earned. I fought to stay not only upright, but to keep walking in a straight line. Who knew blood loss coupled with dehydration could be so awful? I snorted mentally. Right. Maybe I should ask some of the guys I'd helped interrogate how the body responded to such things.A few months ago, when I learned everything about my best friend/sister and the monster she'd been married to, I'd had to ferret out moles in my own line of the organization. Foster had been so helpful in that area. Foster. The Asshole. He was so fucking pretty and so fucking annoying. Bossy. Bitchy. Other than his dick, I didn't really like him. But what he did with his dick...damn. That man rocked my world in ways I didn't even know it moved. Someone grabbed my arm before I faceplanted the wall.

I stood with my ear pressed against the steel door. Tried to slow my breathing so I could pick up any sound other than the heartbeat that was thumping through my ears. What the hell was going on? And why was I supposed to be quiet?My face still ached from the hard blow of Arkady's hand. I pushed back the tears that wanted to form. He was nothing to me. Nothing but a means of escape. The fact that he was sometimes nice should hold no bearing. I needed to remember that he was doing a job. Even if he wasn't always an asshole, I was still a captive here. I had to admit that having him in my corner was really the only positive I'd been able to find. That he was willing to stand in the gap for me...it meant I could relax. If only for just a little while. And I needed that. Well, I wanted that. That comfort. That space to breathe. But it certainly wasn't a need. I needed to stay alive. I needed to get out of here. Those were true needs. As I stood at the door, I heard muted ton