Grievous (Scarlet Scars #2)(57)
“I appreciate the call,” the Tin Man said, “and I assure you, this will never happen again.”
“Just... take her home, Aristov,” Dopey said, covering his polka-dotted face with his hands. “Get her out of here before this gets any worse than it is.”
Chapter Fourteen
A buzzing sound disturbs the stark silence, pulling me from unconsciousness, so quiet I think my imagination might be playing tricks on me. Forcing my eyes open, I blink rapidly as the faint noise registers with my ears. A soft glow cuts through the darkness right behind me, illuminating the space surrounding me, like I’m cast in a spotlight, but there’s not a stitch of warmth to it. I shiver.
Pushing off the hard ground, sitting up, I turn and see him. Kassian. Just a foot away, he sits in a rusted metal chair, so close he could’ve kicked me had he gotten the urge. My heart stalls a beat, alarmed by his proximity, as I shove away, the filthy concrete scraping against my bare legs.
I don’t get far. It only takes him a few seconds to react, his foot stomping on the chain, abruptly cutting off my slack. Gasping, I grab where it’s wrapped around my neck, my breathing strangled as I pull my knees up to protect myself, forced to stay there. He’s holding his phone, the buzz coming from it.
Somebody’s calling.
Kassian presses a single finger to his lips, warning me to be silent, before he answers it.
“How nice of you to call,” Kassian says, his voice so loud in the vacant basement that I wince. “What can I do for you, Mister Scar?”
Scar. I let out a shaky breath, my lips parting, words on the tip of my tongue, wanting to spring free, yearning to call out to him. Lorenzo. I force the urge down, though, swallowing back the words.
As much as I want to scream, as much as I want to lash out, I know it’s not going to help me right now.
Kassian listens in silence as Lorenzo talks, before a smile cracks his face and he lets out a laugh, the sound of it chilling. My hair stands on end, tears prickling my eyes. Laughter from Kassian isn’t a sign of happiness; it doesn’t signify peace or that everything is all right. Laughter from Kassian is sadistic, dominating, his sense of humor twisted. He laughs at others’ misery.
This time, I think, he’s laughing at mine.
“I look forward to it,” Kassian says, eyeing me, the smile lingering on his lips. “Until then...”
He pulls the phone away from his ear without finishing his thought, ending the call before pressing another button, the light disappearing, leaving us in total darkness. I blink, trying to adjust my eyes so I can make him out, but there’s no natural light down here in the basement.
“Come here,” Kassian says, his voice so quiet that it’s like the shadows are whispering, beckoning me closer.
I don’t move, though.
I want nothing that lives in these shadows.
Kassian gives it maybe ten seconds before the chain jingles. He grabs it, yanking on it like it’s a leash. I try to resist, losing my breath, digging my heels in, but he’s too damn strong. I cry out as I’m dragged along the floor, the concrete skinning my knees and the palms of my hands when I try to catch myself to keep from smacking into it.
As soon as I’m within reach, he grabs where it’s wrapped around my neck and pulls my face right up to his face. I can hardly make him out, even this close, but I can feel his warm breath against my skin.
“I said come here,” he says, his voice still quiet, a forced kind of calm. “Have you gone deaf? Do we need to clean out your ears?”
I don’t answer him.
He doesn’t care about my answer.
Closing my eyes, I hold my breath as he runs his nose along my jawline, the scruff on his face rubbing against my cheek. I’m trembling. I know he can feel it, and I try to stop, but his proximity makes it hard for me to get a grip.
He makes me feel like that teenager again.
“You are still beautiful when you sleep, suka,” he says. “I could not bring myself to wake you. You looked so at peace. You do not look that way when your eyes are open. Why is that?”
“You know why,” I whisper.
He pulls back some, looking me in the eyes, the tip of his nose brushing against the tip of mine. He tilts his head ever-so-slightly, and I let out a shaky breath, knowing he’s thinking about kissing me.
The thought makes me grimace.
“I came down here so we could catch up on your lessons, pretty girl,” he says, just a whisper away from my mouth, “but it seems as if we will have to put that on hold for now.”
He lets go of the chain, and I immediately move away, scrambling to put a bit of space between us. Just a foot or two, just enough so I can’t smell his cologne, so his cruel warmth can’t swaddle me in the cold, damp room.
Standing up, he starts walking away, like he’s just going to leave, like he’s going to go without torturing me for the moment. My stomach twists in knots, heavier than the thick metal constricting my throat. Here I am, after fighting so hard for so long, once more at the mercy of a man who isn’t particularly merciful.
I don’t trust his passive demeanor.
He’s up to something. I know it.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he says, stalling. “I have something for you.”
Of course.
Closing my eyes, I sigh, hearing his steady footsteps as he approaches again. Whatever he’s got, I don’t want it. He can keep it. He can shove it up his ass, for all I care. The only thing I want is to see my daughter, so unless he’s giving me that...