Chapter 30 #2
But inside panic is clawing its way up my throat. One, two, three, I count as I stare at the ceiling.
His grip finally loosens and he exhales through his nose like he’s disappointed. Another of Nathan’s screams tears through the door that separates us. My name coming from his lips in such a raw way that my chest tightens painfully.
“He cares,” he says lightly. “That’s always useful.” I say nothing in response. “You see, Thea,” he rests a hand on my should. “This could all be very simple. You tell me what I want to know and you both walk out of here with only a bruised ego.
“You’re lying.”
He chuckles softly. “Of course I am,” he says. “But I’m the one holding the knife, which makes the lie rather flexible.”
He whistles and the door opens before one of the guards enters. The man steps forward and tears through my underwear with the knife that is still red with my blood. The cold air hits me and I brace myself for what might be coming next as fear shreds through me.
Harrison leans down until his face is just inches from mine. “Now let’s try again,” he says quietly. “I’m going to ask you a question, and this time, I would appreciate honesty.”
From the other room, Nathan slams into something hard—managing to move his chair against the concrete—and shouts again.
“Did she come to you,” he asks softly, “or did someone send you after her?”
My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might crack my ribs open.
This is the moment. He thinks that by separating us, one of us will crack and give us the information he wants.
But what he doesn’t know is that since we took Claire in, even though she’s a teenage girl, a feeling akin to being maternal has settled in me. I would never betray her.
“No,” I say, shaking my head.
The word comes out hoarse, but steady. I have to make the lie believable.
“We didn’t follow her. Someone tipped us off.
” The smallest flicker of interest crosses Harrison’s face.
“Someone inside of your operation,” I continue, letting the lie settle slowly into the air.
“We never met her. We never saw the drive. All we knew was that kids were being moved through this building tonight.” His head tilts slightly and I can see the gears turning behind his mask.
He’s suspicious, there’s no doubt about that.
“Convenient,” he says.
“Maybe,” I reply quietly, attempting to buy time. “But if Claire had come to us, do you really think we’d be stupid enough to walk straight into your domain alone?”
He begins pacing, folding his hands behind his back. “If what you’re saying is true,” he murmurs, “then I have a far more serious problem than two misguided heroes.” He stops at the door and the guard steps closer to the table again, flipping the knife in his hands.
Harrison watches my reaction carefully. “Here’s the problem with your story, Thea,” he says softly. “I don’t like loose ends.” He gestures toward the guard. “Let’s see how long you can hold onto it.”
Cold dread slides through my veins, but underneath it, is a single thought I cling to like a lifeline.
Hold. Just hold. Because Fletcher is out there somewhere in the dark, figuring out how to get back inside.
And Harrison thinks the threat is inside his own operation now.
Even if he doesn’t believe it one hundred percent, I’ve planted a sliver of doubt there which is all we need. Good.
Let him chase ghosts.
Because every second he spends looking in the wrong direction is another second closer to us getting out of here alive.
The buzzing in my ears comes first. Then the pain.
It blooms slowly, like fire spreading under my skin, sharp and relentless until breathing itself feels like dragging broken glass through my lungs.
My wrists burn where the ropes have carved angry grooves into my skin, and my arms tremble every time I try to move them.
I don’t remember when I started crying. Only that at some point the tears stopped.
The room smells like metal and sweat, and something sterile that makes my stomach twist. The lights above me blur into pale halos and for a second, I wonder if I’ve passed out again.
The table feels wet beneath me. Sweat? I don’t dare to look because I don’t know what I’ll do if I see the reality of what they’ve done to me.
I know there’s blood but there’s also an ache between my thighs that has me in complete denial and I can’t begin to register how Dylan managed to survive something like this.
I can’t register that I’m now going through something similar.
Footsteps move somewhere near the table. Voices. But they sound distant.
“...still nothing?”
“Not yet.”
A chair scrapes across the floor. The world tilts violently as I squeeze my eyes shut again before I can throw up. Harrison sighs softly nearby.
“I’m disappointed,” he says.
My throat is too dry to answer, even if I wanted to. I don’t know how much time has gone by. A hand grabs my chin, forcing my head to turn. “Give her a few minutes,” he says to the guards. “Pain loses its effectiveness when the subject stops registering it.”
A pause.
“And check on our other guest.”
Nathan. My chest tightens. Heavy footsteps leave the room and not a moment later I register the sounds of pain and grunting. I lie there, barely breathing, trying to keep the darkness at the edges of my vision from swallowing me whole.
Hold.
Just hold.