Slow Agony (Assassins, #2)(36)

“Fuck you,” Silas snarled. He was straining at the ropes that tied us together.

Wolfman giggled. “Oh, stay still. It’s not going to do you any good to try to get free.” He patted the gun, which he had tucked into the waist of his pants. “I’ll only shoot you again. Don’t you see?”

“You okay, Leigh?” said Silas.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should never have left you alone.”

Come to think of it, he probably shouldn’t have.

“Griffin’s going to kill me when he finds out.”

Wolfman laughed. He shoved aside the feet of the girl and settled down on the bed. “Why did Griffin call you, piglet?”

Silas hadn’t seen the girl yet. “Holy f*ck.”

“Piglet?” said Wolfman.

“You killed her,” said Silas.

“Yes,” said Wolfman. “Pretty, isn’t she?”

“Not anymore,” said Silas. “Aw, man, why would you do that?”

“Griffin,” said Wolfman. “You think he was calling to check up on you?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“It’s my fault,” Silas was muttering.

He was probably right about that too. He’d brought this girl here and ultimately gotten her killed. But he could feel guilty later. I needed him to focus.

“You can’t do that,” I said. “It’s done. You can’t change it.”

He took a long, ragged breath. “Fuck.”

“Why don’t you know?” said Wolfman.

“I can’t read Griffin’s mind,” I said. “Why don’t you call him back and ask?”

Wolfman picked the phone back up. “I could do that, I suppose. But then he’d know you were in danger, wouldn’t he?”

“He’ll know anyway,” I said in a burst of insight. “I didn’t answer the phone. He’ll know that means something’s wrong. If I don’t call him back in five minutes, he’ll think something’s happened to me.”

Wolfman’s eyes lit up. “Really? Oh, that’s good.” He got up from the bed, holding up the phone.

There was the brightness of a flash. He’d taken a picture. What was he doing?

I watched as he began taking pictures of the girl on the bed. He hummed to himself some more. “I’ll send these to Griffin so he knows what I’m going to do to you. Did you say he’d start worrying in five minutes?”

My lie hadn’t helped then. Or had it? If Griffin knew something was up, would he come back for us?

Well, he didn’t know where we were.

He wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Silas had talked to me about the route we were taking, going as far off the beaten path as possible. Griffin and Sloane were taking a more straightforward path. We’d assumed that if anyone was following us, they’d stick with Griffin. This was all about Griffin, right? They would want to follow him.

But Wolfman hadn’t. He’d followed us. And our route was so twisted and convoluted that Griffin wouldn’t have any way to find us. It was up to Silas and me to stop this guy, and we were both tied up and useless.

“You know about the serum,” Silas said suddenly. “How do you know about that shit?”

Wolfman looked up from taking his pictures. “Well, I wouldn’t have shot you both if I hadn’t known that you’d heal, would I?”

“How’d you find out about it?”

Wolfman giggled. “This little piggy went to the hospital. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy got injected with a serum. This little piggy got none.”

“You found out that Griffin got it when he was in jail?” I asked. “You were jealous?”

Wolfman chortled. “Piglet, stop trying to make sense of it.” He hurried over to me, kneeling down. He scrolled through the pictures he’d taken. “Which one do you think Griffin will like the best?”

I turned away. They were so gory and bloody. I felt sick to my stomach.

“Op Wraith is gone,” said Silas. “So is the serum.”

“What makes you think Operation Wraith is gone?” said Wolfman.

“I’ve been there,” said Silas.

“I helped destroy it,” I said.

Wolfman grinned. “It moved.” He went back to the phone. “I think this one. I’ll text, ‘How do you think Leigh will like this?’ Okay?”

Moved? What? I gulped. “Do you have the serum?”

“Wolfman is indestructible.” His eyes gleamed. He pressed buttons on the phone and then tossed it on the bed. “There. That’s done. Griffin will like the picture. Now, what game do the little pigs want to play?”

There he was saying play again. I didn’t think I wanted to find out what he meant by that.

The phone rang again.

Wolfman leapt up and answered it. “Hello, Griffin.”

Silas elbowed me.

What did he want?

“Oh, she’s right here,” said Wolfman, “all in one piece. At least currently.”

At the same time, Silas whispered, “I’ve got something that can saw through the rope. Keep him distracted.”