The Devil In Disguise (Bad Things #1)(48)

He’d get out. Eventually. He just might have to cut off his own hand first, not the most ideal of options but—

A faint rustle reached him.

His head turned and he stared into the darkness. A cat could see well into the dark. He knew his eyes would be glowing, shining with the power of his beast, as he gazed at—

His cell-mate?

Hell. He wasn’t even alone in there. His nose twitched. Blood. Dirt. Someone had been in that cell for a very, very long time. “Come on out,” he growled. “I won’t bite.”

Footsteps shuffled forward. He saw the tangle of long, blonde hair. Fragile shoulders. A small body. And—

Her head tipped back. Her fangs gleamed, even in the dark. “I might.” Then she flew at him, her fangs going right for his throat.

Shit. It just wasn’t his night.





Chapter Thirteen


Mina inched closer to the cell beside hers. She put her hand on the glass. Eli was looking up at her, and the poor man barely seemed to breathe. “I wish I could help you.” His face was battered, bruised. Dark circles surrounded his eyes. “It’s my fault this happened to you.” Her fault he was lying there, dying.

It wasn’t an easy death, either. Every breath was a struggle. And she hated it so much. No one should be in such agony.

Eli’s eyes began to close. The air around her seemed to get colder. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She’d come to save him, not to watch him breathe his last breath. Not to—

“I’m back, Mina.” Garrick’s cocky voice blasted through her speakers. Her shoulders jerked. “And I have a present for you.”

He could shove any presents right up his—

“It’s a necklace. One that I think you’ll like.”

She didn’t want to look away from Eli so she didn’t. If he was dying, she wanted him to know he wasn’t alone.

“Or actually…” Garrick mused. “You might hate the necklace. But I’ll love it. Because you see, it will allow me to control that wonderful voice of yours.”

Her hand moved to her throat. Fear slithered through her.

“I’m going to slide this necklace in the cell to you. Then you’re going to put it on. You’ll secure it, and when it’s in place, I’ll let you out of there.”

Because he thought he’d have control of her. Just because she was wearing some dumb necklace?

“If you cooperate, if you put on the necklace for me…I’ll see to it that Eli gets medical attention.”

Her heart lurched in her chest.

Eli shook his head. Such a faint movement.

“I want you to put the necklace on, Mina.” Garrick’s voice had hardened. “I want you to show me that you can work with me after all this time. We need to rebuild our trust.”

He was insane. He could take their trust and shove it up his—

She heard a series of beeps. Then a grating behind her.

“Put on the necklace,” Garrick ordered her. “Or…well, I guess you could just keep standing there, watching that guy struggle for breath.”

Damn him. Mina whirled away from Eli and saw that a small tray had been opened near the bottom of her cell. The tray came from some kind of compartment that she hadn’t noticed before. She ran to it and inside—it wasn’t a necklace. It was a choker. Almost…a collar.

Still on her knees next to that tray, she looked up at Garrick.

He smiled—the charming smile that had tricked her so long ago. “Put it on,” he urged.

Her fingers were trembling as she lifted it up to her throat. Her hands slid beneath her hair as she brought the clasp to the back of her neck. It hooked together easily and was tight against her skin. Black, but with a heavy emerald stone in the middle that—

Something stabbed into her throat, a quick piercing that felt like a knife. She grabbed for the choker, but it wouldn’t come off. It seemed to have banded to her skin. She clawed at it because that pain was excruciating. It hurt so much and—

Garrick lifted his hand and revealed a small device cradled in his fingers. “If you stop fighting, it won’t hurt as much.”

She stilled.

“Good. See…that’s what I’m talking about…rebuilding our relationship, one painful step at a time.”

He might not be able to hear her, but she could still rage at him. “You f*cking—”

Mina felt shock rush through her. She’d just tried to speak, but no sound had escaped her lips.

And he seemed to delight in her shock. “That was perfect.” He waved his hand and her cell door immediately opened. “Worked like a charm.”

She tried to speak again. “You’re a sick sonofa—”

No sound. Her lips were moving. She was mouthing the words, but no sound would emerge.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her close. He pressed a wild kiss to her lips and she clawed her nails down the side of his face. But Garrick just laughed. “It really was a charm, my Mina.” He tapped the emerald in the middle of her choker. “Other paranormals chose to cooperate with my team. You should have done the same.” His fingers stroked her skin, right above the choker, lingering near her rapid pulse. “A witch gave me this. Said she knew just how to reign in your power. Of course, I had our techs tweak things a bit. When science and magic work together, the results are quite spectacular.”