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Cole pressed the knife deeper. “You’re not here to ask me questions, bitch. I’m here to teach you a lesson.”
The blade disappeared, and then pain exploded in my thigh. I screamed and jerked my body, needing to hold it or tear it out or something.
“That’s better!” Cole exclaimed, suddenly fully of glee. “See, that wasn’t so hard, right?”
I continued with my pathetic sounds of pain while I tried to breathe through it.
He left the knife in. It’s not even close to my artery, and I don’t think it hit the bone. Is that something I should be able to tell?
“Ugh,” I shuddered. “Gods, I’ve never been into knife play, but you might have just turned me.”
“The fuck?” one of the henchmen said.
The other one muttered something that sounded like crazy bitch.
Cole grabbed my face, fingers digging into my cheeks. “I thought my little note might set you straight. Thought it might remind you who you’re fucking dealing with. But no…by the end of tonight, you’re going to be on your knees begging to lick the bottom of my shoes. Understand me? I’m going to break you. I’m going to make you wish you’d never seen my face, much less involved yourself in my business.”
He let go and then pushed into my wounded leg with his knee, punctuating his threat.
Hot, electric heat and pain made breathing or screaming temporarily impossible. It was for the best. I didn’t exactly want to give into him and show the extent of my pain. Every little shred of resistance counted.
He pulled back and ripped my blindfold off. The dim light seared my eyes for a moment, and then I blinked them into focus. Stone walls glistened with damp, and the filthy ground was pocked with black puddles. It was a closed, square room with a steel door on the opposite wall.
We were underground. That much was clear.
Fuck. This is bad.
Cole crossed his arms and looked down on me with unrestrained hatred. It practically steamed from him. “Ember Ellis is mine, and I’ll treat her how I please.”
His fingers glowed like coals. His pupils were wide and dark. He inched closer. “You called me out in public, which is the only reason why I didn’t beat you to within an inch of your life then. That stupid report you filed made it all the way to my father’s desk, mind you. And after that, you stopped me in the middle of class and made me duel that useless son of a bitch, Razai.”
Somehow, I managed a smile. “Not so… useless… if he won.”
“I’m surrounded by idiots and weaklings,” he hissed. The fire flared in his palms, crackling and erratic. “And you are the little rat that keeps popping up at the most inopportune times. One stupid, useless little rat.”
“Fine, then. Hurt me. Make your life even harder,” I encouraged, because it’s not like I’d be able to talk myself out of this one. Gods, why did talking feel like torture?
He narrowed his eyes. The way he focused on me was strange. Wild and unhinged. “You don’t have a shred of influence to make my life harder, bitch.”
Another puzzle piece clicked as I took in Thing One and Thing Two. The way they shifted restlessly from foot to foot. “Always with the names,” I rasped, returning my attention to Cole. “So, pretty boy. Tell me you didn’t try to get me fired, then.”
Doubt crossed his expression.
I chuckled. “You probably could have gotten me fired if I was a regular employee, but I’m not. I’m here for a reason. Ask Castile.”
Cole only threw his head back and laughed. The sound rang and echoed in the room, the noise like gasoline on his fire magic. When he was done, he asked, “I don’t give a fuck. But that makes sense why you’re such a meddling little shit. Castile must be desperate as shit if he hired you to solve Benjamin’s murder.”
I wanted to curse but held back. I’d been banking on this little reveal as a distraction. Something to buy me some time. But with how dilated Cole’s pupils were and how he seemed to be sweating and flaring magic in uncontrolled bursts, I knew it wouldn’t work.
These dicks were high as fuck. And if they were on the same shit that Benjamin had been selling, they were too powerful for anyone’s good. Physically and magically.
In other words, I was fucked. And not even in the fun way. Not that this was the time to pout about my sex life.
Cole went on with a strange smile. Was he trying to be charming when he bent down and got level with me? He dismissed, “But whatever. I’m actually relieved, bitch. It’s nice to have some answers, and now, I can fully enjoy how fun this is about to be. Hey, boys, watch this.”
Cole’s hand burned hotter and hotter until the orange and yellow bled into white. Then he grabbed my other thigh.
This time, I did scream. A lot, actually. Probably tore my throat a little. But hey, a girl isn’t always elegant during her first torture session. Clothes crisped and melted and smoked away with my skin. He pressed harder, mouth stretched open in a cackle that would make a great white shark proud.
