She didn’t react and I thanked fuck I hadn’t grabbed some screaming pain in the ass bitch. This chick I could deal with.
I sat with my back against the side of the spiral duct, my legs bent and one elbow resting on a knee. I glanced over at the woman, who had her arms locked around her knees and her cheek resting on them. Her face was gaunt, pale with dark circles under her eyes—pathetic looking.
The jeans she wore clung to her nonexistent body. No breasts, ass, or thighs. God, I could snap her in half.
The next words that came out of me were a surprise. “What’s your deal? You sick?”
Her head raised and I stared into blank, void, brown eyes. Even her lips were thin.
“You deaf? Answer me.” I was used to others doing exactly what I demanded.
“No,” she replied.
I kept my expression cold and words abrupt. “Why do you look like a skeleton that got the living shit kicked out of it?”
She opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it again. I could be patient when need be and we did have all night. I watched her, the slight movement of her fingers as they clasped together, her eyes staring at—nothing.
When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet. If I didn’t have enhanced hearing, there was no chance in hell I could’ve heard her. “I don’t know.”
Okay, she was fucked up. She was a machine with no emotions, no fight, and no passion. A dead fuck. Not that I’d even consider it. Hell no. I liked woman with curves, thighs that could wrap around me, and an ass I could grab.
Why the fuck I asked, I had no idea. “Have you considered eating?”
She ignored my question.
“Simple as fuck. Open fridge, see food, take food out, and place in mouth. Chew. Swallow.”
Her eyes looked directly at me and met my cold stare. Then she shrugged and laid her head back on her knees.
Well, at least she wouldn’t be complaining about being hungry for the next twelve hours we were stuck here. A lock of hair fell forward in front of her face and my hand reached out to push it back. I stopped myself inches before I touched her. What the fuck was I thinking? I was going to kill her in a few hours.
“Lie down and get some sleep,” I ordered
When she didn’t move, I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to lie down. Unfortunately, her head was inches from my thigh. Her scent wafted into me and I tensed as my cock twitched. What the fuck? I seriously needed to get laid. I shifted away, then leaned my head back against the tunnel and closed my eyes.
It took ten minutes before I heard men running down the corridor. Doors slammed and men shouted in panicked voices. They were looking for her? I wondered if she was a scientist. They wouldn’t be so frantic if she was the janitor. Who the hell was she?
I glanced over at the woman lying quietly beside me. If she gained thirty pounds, she might be considered beautiful. A few freckles graced the bridge of her small nose and her long eyelashes were jet black.
I knew she was pretending to sleep. Christ, the chick flinched every time footsteps ran down the corridor. I was curious and surprised she had kept her trap shut. One scream would’ve instantly given us away.
Maybe she wanted to live. There was no question I’d kill her if she opened her mouth. She may not look like much, but she was fuckin’ smart to do as she was told.
My senses went on high alert.
Jesus. What the fuck?
I knew that smell and it reeked of CWO. What in the hell were they doing here? Those bastards could pick up on my telepathy—fuck. I’d have to go radio silent until it was time to kick some ass.
I wasn’t often taken by surprise. I’d staked out this place for days and I failed to pick up on the CWOs. How the hell had that happened? I’d used my vision to scan every guard and not one had been a CWO. Were they kept underground unless there’s an emergency? Cluster fuck. Well, at least I got off on cluster fucks.
It was hours later when I heard her rocking back and forth. She clutched her arms around her breasts like she was protecting herself. I shuffled over to her and shook her shoulder. “Wake up.”
The chick reacted to my touch and, without opening her eyes, started punching and kicking. “Jesus.” I wrapped my arms around her and I felt as if I was going to snap her in half. She was so goddamn frail. “Fuck, woman. Stay still. Do you want to die?”
She instantly stopped struggling. Her horrified eyes flew open and met mine. “Yes.”
I stiffened, eyes narrowing. Her heartbeat raced faster than a cheetah running at full speed. “You want to die?”
“Yes.”
I let her go, but cupped her chin so she couldn’t look away from me. I knew my fingers dug hard into her chin and I was rather impressed, if that was at all possible. I gave pain with ease. She took it well.
“How long have you been in this shithole?” When she refused to answer I put my knife to her throat. “And, babe, answer me the first time. It really pisses me off to have to repeat myself.”
Her thoughts plowed into me for one brief second—and how many times have you told people that?
I didn’t take well to ridicule either. Nor did I take it easy on anyone who decided they’d take that chance. I should kill her now and save myself the trouble of dealing with trying to get information out of her. I’d interrogated enough people to know what made them give, but a woman . . . I’d rather fuck them than interrogate them.
“Seventeen years, three months, and two days,” she replied.
Odd how she’d remember that, or was she just being a smartass? Also odd that she’d have just been a kid as she looked about twenty. “What’s your specialty in this hellhole? Torturing innocent people or do you just like to watch?”