Chapter 22 Fox
TWENTY-TWO
FOX
Iwasn’t sure how long I was strapped to the cold metal chair with the bag over my head, but it had to be hours.
I blinked rapidly when the bag was pulled off.
A man stood in front of me.
Blond.
Tall.
Green eyes.
Tattoos.
A small vial of what appeared to be blood was on a necklace around his neck.
“Fox Evans,” he said softly as he stared me down.
I swallowed hard. I knew who he was. I’d heard horror stories about his madness and the shit he did to people in the underground. He was a legend on the other end of the spectrum from Anson. I prayed I’d never meet the guy.
Dante Church.
Rosalie’s brother.
I stared back at him, my shoulder screaming at me, my entire being ready to give up. I knew I couldn’t, though. I had to get E out of here. He believed Rosie was still alive. I had to believe it, too, or we’d both die in here.
“Do you know who I am?” he continued, standing silent as a grave in front of me.
“Dante Church,” I whispered tiredly.
“Then you know what I do.”
I was too exhausted to answer. I let my head hang. I needed food.
“He’s hungry,” a second voice called out, moving to stand next to Dante.
I looked tiredly at the second man through my hair. I had no idea who he was.
“Eat.” The guy pulled a sandwich from his leather jacket pocket and offered it to me. I was tied down, so I couldn’t even accept it if I wanted to.
I gave him a sour look, which made him laugh softly.
“I’m sorry, Foxy. Where are my manners? Open. I’ll feed you.”
“I don’t eat humans,” I snarled at him.
“I try not to as well, but when in Rome, right?”
I scowled at him. He looked a fuck of a lot like Anson. Hell, he looked a lot like me.
I swallowed thickly.
“Easy,” the guy continued. “It’s peanut butter and jelly. Grape jelly. Rosalie likes grape.”
I widened my eyes at him, fear ripping through me. God, what if she were here too? I hadn’t even considered that. Goddamnit! My heart thudded unevenly.
“How do you know Rosalie?”
“Oh. Don’t worry. She’s not here.” He cocked his head at me.
“I spent some time with her here and there. Beautiful girl. I get the appeal. You’re a lucky man,” he said.
“I had her under me just a few weeks ago. Her legs wrapped around my waist. I like the tiny birthmark that almost looks like a star on her collarbone. If I were going to eat her, that would be the spot I’d start. She smells like heaven.”
I snarled, tearing against my restraints to get to him. I had no fucking clue how he knew about her birthmark, but he knew.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” I spat at him, my shoulder screaming at me. “Don’t you fucking talk about her! Don’t you put her fucking name in your mouth, you piece of shit!”
“So… is that a no on the sandwich?”
“Asylum, enough,” Dante snapped, grabbing the sandwich from him and kneeling in front of me. “Fox. Eat. You’ll need your strength.”
I shook as I stared at him.
“Fuck. You.”
Dante sighed. “It’s not poison. I promise. I’m not the bad guy. Not really.”
I said nothing, my jaw quivering.
“He won’t eat,” Asylum murmured, coming forward and tilting my chin up so I’d look at him. “You’re strong, aren’t you?”
I spit at him.
He wrinkled his nose and wiped at his face. “And completely fucking unsanitary.”
“Go to hell,” I said, glaring at him.
He laughed. “Have you fucking looked around you, Foxy? We’re in hell. On the sixth level, to be precise.”
“Fox, my job is to torture you,” Dante murmured, ignoring the guy called Asylum. “I get no pleasure in torturing the weak.”
“I’m in no position to give you any fucks,” I snarled at him.
Dante looked to Asylum, who cocked his head again.
“Tell the Fox,” Asylum murmured. “The Fox needs to know.”
I was so weak I thought I’d pass out.
“You’re unwell,” Dante said, his focus back on me. “You won’t survive here if you aren’t strong. You won’t get to go home, Fox.”
I stared at him, willing the tears not to fall at the thought of not seeing my Rosie again. We’d finally had shit figured out. I was going to get to marry her, and then this shit had to happen.
“If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly,” I choked out.
“You understand that I have to hurt you, right?” Dante asked.
I looked away from him. It didn’t matter. If it had to happen, then so be it. Right then, I needed to get back to E. He needed me.
Dante leaned in, his voice soft.
“Your girlfriend is my sister,” he said, his voice low.
I tensed, really fucking hoping he didn’t have that bit of information.
“That sort of connection seems to have given you a place under my protection,” he continued just as softly, his voice shaking slightly. “I do want her, though. I want my sister to come home to me.”
I swallowed thickly and looked at him to see his green eyes wavering as he stared back at me.
“Don’t hurt her,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Dante. Please. If you need to take your anger and hatred out on anyone, choose me, never her. S-She’s everything that’s light and perfect in this world. Please don’t hurt her. I’m begging you. Please. Have mercy.”
“I understand,” he said gently, brushing my hair away from my eyes. “This is me telling you my job is to hurt you, but by doing so, it would hurt her. I cannot do that.”
Surprise flooded me at his words. Was he saying he wasn’t going to hurt me?
“But I must make this believable until I figure out how to get you out of here. I can’t just walk you out the front door. I have to hurt you until I can get you out.”
“And E,” I choked out. “I can’t go without E.”
“Everett is taking him,” Asylum said, his blue eyes fixed on a point above my head, a faraway expression on his face. It was as if he were seeing something only he could see. He cocked his head again. “Mm, not good. Not fucking good.”
Dante looked to Asylum, who broke his faraway gaze and stared back.
“We cannot help him. It is as it must be.” He winced. “There is no way inside. They’ve taken him to nine.”
Dante’s face paled.
“What’s nine?” I choked out. “What the fuck is nine?”
“The pit. The last level of the underground,” Church said. “It’s a place many don’t come out of. It’s where the worst deeds are done.”
“You have to help him. You have to get him out!” I rocked in my chair weakly.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Dante snapped, digging into his pocket and pulling out a pill.
“You’re going to take this pill. You’re going to eat that fucking sandwich.
You’re going to take the beating I have to give you.
Then you’ll go back to your cell until we meet again. Maybe I’ll have a plan by then. Open.”
“What is it?” I asked, eyeing the pill.
“It’s going to make it not hurt so much.”
“And E? What about E?”
Dante rose to his feet. “I don’t know. I’ll try.”
It was the best I had.
I opened my mouth, and Dante dropped the pill in. I swallowed it dry before Asylum offered me the sandwich. I ate it hungrily until it was gone, downing the last bite, a prayer on repeat in my head.
A strange fuzziness washed over me, my body numbing. It felt similar to E’s drugs, but this was a little bit different. My head felt so cloudy and detached. I wasn’t myself.
“No hard feelings, Fox,” Dante whispered. “Close your eyes. This might hurt a little.”
A scream ripped from my lungs as Dante brought his knife down across my chest.
So much for the pill.