Page 16 of Born Savage

I pulled them from my pocket, twisting them in my fingers as if a magic trick. “Looking for these?”

“Bastard.”

“Perhaps. Stand.”

“No.”

On any other day, perhaps her defiance would spark more interest. Not now, when I was counting the minutes from the Empire to the subway station. “Do it or I will lift you myself.”

As soon as she started to stand, so did I. Taller by a foot, I peered down at her, allowing myself to enjoy the view. She didn’t move right away, which prompted me to place my hand on her hip.

She slapped it away, her mouth twisting in frustration. All while the others were fighting amusement.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, the tilt of her chin in such clear rebellion a reminder I needed to maintain a sense of control around her. No matter how difficult. No matter if my body disagreed with my mind. I doubted she was immune to using whatever method available to obtain the upper hand.

I beckoned Vicious to join us. The child instantly moved behind Star, clinging to her legs even while her curiosity allowed her the courage to study Vicious as he approached. Children were rare, so much so he seemed more fascinated by her than interested in doing his job.

He caught my look and smiled.

“Arms out,” I told her. “Do not test me.”

“What if I like testing you?”

Her deep breath was held, but she complied. While I rubbed my hands down her arms to her sides, she never blinked. Not once. She was obtaining information, searching for scars or other physical abnormalities. Something she could use in battle. I was more than curious about who’d trained her.

I continued searching for weapons, finding knives in an X sheath strapped to her back, a small handmade explosive in the deep pocket of her cargo pants. A rare sight, the carefully crafted weapon was worth its weight in gold. Something else we couldn’t allow the Borgata to get their hands on.

With every weapon discovered, I stacked one after the other into Vicious’ hands. He was as surprised as I was, more so in knowing she could and would use every one of them.

Only when I reached her legs to pat her down did she finally stiffen. I was forced to crouch in front of her to finish the task. I forced my breathing to steady for fear or giving away my body’s desire. She closed her eyes when I reached her inner thighs, her hands fisted and I knew she’d strike me if my hands moved too close.

When I stood once again, she took a step closer, the momentary discomfort lost. “Those are mine.”

“And you’ll get them back when we reach our destination.”

“I’m not going with you.”

“You are and you will.”

“Then you’ll need to take me as your prisoner.”

Did she honestly believe her challenge would sway me or entice the beast she’d already awakened? I cocked my head, surprised to see a slight blush crossing from one side of her jaw to the other.

“They’re closing in, Rage.” Wrath stepped into the car, leaning against the opening. “Maybe we could do this another time.”

She snapped her head toward him. “How many?”

He seemed surprised she would ask. “Over twenty.”

“Damn it. We won’t survive. They managed to find a bunker housing weapons and ammunition. How much I don’t know, but I know they have a stockpile.”

She certainly seemed to know more than I’d originally believed. “Time to leave,” I told her. “Without the child and the dog.”

The girl’s whimper was immediate, her arms wrapped around Star’s legs.

“You can’t leave a child here. Do you know what those bastards would do to her? To Jake? My God, they’d have his tiny body on a fucking spit over a roaring fire in no time. I would rather die than allow that to happen.”

“Jake?”