Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Imogene
The zip ties cut into my wrists like sharp claws as a guard dragged me down the hallway, my pulse pounding louder with every step. The stale, musty air clung to my skin like a second layer. Every breath I took tasted metallic, as though the walls themselves were turning to rust around me.
The men surrounding me didn’t speak, their heavy boots pounding in rhythm with my erratic heartbeat. I strained to focus on anything else — counting the flickering overhead lights, noting the chipped paint on the walls — but nothing could drown out the knot twisting tighter in my stomach.
They may not have told me where they were taking me, but I already knew. And when we turned the corner and I saw the metal structure looming ahead, my knees buckled, all the air whooshing out of my lungs.
I’d heard Gideon’s stories. Over the past few days, I was even forced to watch videos of his fights that Myers kept like a prized home movie collection.
But nothing could have prepared me to see that cage in person.
It stood in the center of a large, dimly lit room, its metal walls stained with streaks of rust. Or blood. I couldn’t tell which. The bars looked thick and unforgiving, dull in places and sharpened to jagged edges in others, as though years of violence had reshaped them.
A foul stench rolled over me. Sweat, blood, and something acrid curdled in the back of my throat. I gagged, turning my face away, but the smell followed.
My ears buzzed with phantom sounds — fists hitting flesh, bones snapping, screams that wouldn’t stop. None of it was real, not right now, but I could still hear them echoing in my head, leaving me frozen in place.
“Move.”
The guard shoved me forward, and I stumbled, my bare feet scraping against the cold, gritty floor. The cage seemed to grow larger with each step, its oppressive presence swallowing me whole.
They forced me into a chair mere inches away from the cage, the metal biting through my thin clothes. On either side of me, the guards stood motionless, their eyes fixed ahead. I didn’t dare look at them. My gaze was glued to the structure in front of me.
A pit.
A stage.
A tomb.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The fear clawing at my chest wasn’t new. It had been with me since the moment I woke up in my cell, however long ago that was.
But now it felt sharper, deeper. Like it had taken root in my very bones.
“Quite the sight, isn’t it?” Myers’ voice slithered through the haze of my thoughts, making me flinch.
I hadn’t even noticed him step into the room. He stood a few feet away, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, his face a picture of smug satisfaction.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat was raw, my response stolen by the weight of what I knew was about to happen. What I was about to witness.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s amazing what a couple dozen metal bars and a lock will do to a person.”
I turned my head away, but he didn’t stop.
“It strips them down to their most primal instincts, separating the weak from the strong. Survival, Ms. Prescott. That’s all that matters in there. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
I wanted to scream at him, tell him I wasn’t afraid of him, that I’d survived worse. But the words died on my tongue. All I could do was sit there, frozen, as the door at the far end of the room creaked open, revealing an endless void.
I said a silent prayer, hoping it wasn’t Gideon who would appear from the darkness.
I should have known I wouldn’t get my wish.
He emerged slowly, a dark silhouette moving closer. My chest tightened, my body instinctively leaning forward, despite my restraints. As if I could somehow reach him, pull him back, shield him from this nightmare.
When he stepped fully into the light, the world around me seemed to tilt. It took everything in me not to wail at the sight of him, his feet bare, dress pants torn, his scars on full display. I wanted to call his name, but the sound wouldn’t come. My throat felt like it was closing, my breath hitching in shallow gasps as tears blurred my vision.
And when his eyes fell on me, his nostrils flared, a hint of that rage I’d seen in all those videos shining through.
He strained against the bindings, his muscles taut as he fought to get closer. “Imogene.”
It was barely more than a rasp, a sound torn from his throat like it physically hurt to say my name.
The despair in his voice unraveled me completely. Tears spilled freely down my cheeks, hot and unrelenting. I wanted to throw myself at him. Take his place. Protect him the way he’d always fought to protect me. But I couldn’t move. The guards held me in place, their presence a cold reminder of my helplessness.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I choked out, my voice cracking under the weight of the words.
“I’ll always come for you. It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”
I shook my head, unable to speak, my chest heaving as a sob caught in my throat. I didn’t see how we would be okay. How we’d get out of this.
Myers’ laugh cut through the moment, sharp and cruel. “How romantic. Now if you two love birds are done, it’s time for your surprise.” He turned his attention toward Gideon, a sadistic smile curling his lips. “Consider it a gift. After the hours of enjoyment you’ve provided me, it was the least I could do for you.”
He nodded toward one of the guards, who retreated down the same hallway Gideon had just come from. Tense anticipation filled the room as we waited to see what Myers’ surprise would be. I knew it wouldn’t be good.
I just didn’t realize how depraved it would actually be.