Page 231 of Lethal King

“How could you possibly help me?” Leander asks. “By lunchtime, you won’t be able to walk or eat or talk without my help. You don’t—”

“You can take every last one of my limbs, and I’ll still have a hundred times more experience than you in this twisted world,” I sneer.

Leander's icy gaze drifts up and down my body. I can see him considering my proposal.

Fool.

“An experiment of mine has broken free,” he eventually admits. “It’s dangerous and unhinged… and it’s not happy that I killed its father.”

At first, the words pass over me like a gentle breeze. I don’t understand what he’s saying, or the importance of it.

But I can practically feel the gears turning in the back of my mind. Something deep inside my brain is desperately trying to connect the dots. My hackles rise, and a primal instinct screams up from the darkness.

You know what he’s talking about.

Then, suddenly, it clicks.

My jaw drops.

“… Krol,” I whisper.

Leander purses his lips.

He’s about to say something when a knock comes at the door, interrupting him.

“Don’t move,” he taunts, turning to answer.

Dread threatens to drown me when I see who’s in the doorway.

A pale bald man in a white lab coat. He’s carrying a big black briefcase by his side.

It’s a fucking doctor.

The numb fear evaporates from my limbs. I begin to shake and rattle and pull at my restraints.

They don’t budge.

“Over there,” Leander nods, gesturing to a small table at the far side of the room. The doctor nods and shambles towards it.

“You’re making a big fucking mistake,” I screech, my voice like broken glass.

Leander just shrugs. “So what if I am. If I lose you, I’ll just go after some other mafia bitch.”

“You won’t ever get my army!” I heave.

“Stupid girl, I know there’s no army. I’m just doing this for the thrill.”

My racing heart twists into a knot as Leander makes his way over to the table. The doctor is already getting set up.

“Tytus won’t let you,” I shout after him. “Rian won’t let you. I won’t let you. You may have killed Drago, but that won’t save you from their wrath.”

“You don’t have a choice in the matter,” Leander responds. “And Tytus is likely already dead. Rian… well, if he’s taken my bait. He should be meeting his end soon enough—if he hasn’t already.”

My twisted heart drops into the abyss.

“You don’t fucking touch him!” I yell.

A new wave of terrible energy comes over me, but even with the fresh strength, I can’t break out of my restraints.