At first, I am not even sure what I am looking at. But as Mrs. Lynx shuffles closer to me and holds up the elegant leather strap with the gold bell, I notice my name engraved on it.
Hold on a minute. Is this a collar? With my name? Why is she gifting me something like this?
A hand squeezes my thigh. I jerk out of reflex, but someone presses on my shoulders and forces me back down to sit.
“Exciting, isn’t it, dear? It would look so good on you,” Mrs. Lynx lilts, licking the inside of the collar. “You will make such a great little pet.”
Um,what? No, no, no. Things escalated quickly… too quickly for my confused brain to keep up! I need a time-out!
“Uh, I think there is some kind of a misunderstanding here…”
She grabs my chin with two fingers and forces me to look at her. Hunger and arousal swim in her eyes, aimed at me. “Not at all. But it’s okay if you are a little shy still. We’ll teach you everything you need to know.” She nods her head, and out of my peripheral, I see the other woman take out a syringe.
I pull back and shove out of her hold, but the closest man is quick to react and restrain me.
“A little wild, are we?” Mrs. Lynx preens, her nostrils flaring. “Just how I like them. I always knew you weren’t the good boy you pretended to be. And now I get to tame you myself.”
Eww, fuck that!
These geezers have totally lost it. What gave them the idea that I would be interested in boning anyone but Aran? Not happening.
“No, thanks. Also, I’m suddenly sleepy, so I better go now. Bye.”
Yep, I’m pretty sure this is why I had that weird feeling lately. My body could tell something was off and I should’ve listened to it and Aran.
“You aren’t going anywhere, dear,” Mrs. Lynx says as her husband locks the door.
Oh fuck. This is not good…
We enter a bit of a back-and-forth, with me trying to convince them why they need to let me go and them telling me to calm down as they try to inject whatever is in that syringe.
“Get this shit away from me!” I shout, thrashing and yanking and trying to fight three people at once. Adrenaline floods me, but I’m not quite panicking yet. Instead, I’m using the rush to my advantage as I keep trying to punch them and get free.
“You really know how to pick them. It’s such a shame Terry bailed on us. He still hasn’t texted?” the man holding me down says, laughing.
I want out of here! They’ve lost their minds!I was doing so fine until now too, but what the fuck has gotten into them so suddenly? Shit, shit, shit, where is Aran?
“Fuck Terry and fuck you! Let me go, you psychos!”
Someone punches me in the ribs, knocking the air out of me. “Shut up, darling,” Mrs. Lynx leers, looming above me as black spots fill my vision and the cold tip of a needle touches my arm. “I promise you’ll love this. Just be still for a second.”
29
Aran
Ikickthelockeddoor with such force, the hinges rip. It crashes with a loud thud on the floor, causing the entire room to freeze. Everyone stares at me like spooked deer, four of them looming over my screaming Hex as if they are vultures about to peck him to death.
My eyes zero in on the syringe hovering right above his arm. My pulse spikes to the sky, hot and bloodthirsty. Were they trying to drug him? To diminish him into an unwilling plaything?
Unforgivable.
I don’t just see red. I taste its coppery tang and feel it drip down my clenched fists. Agony and utter horror consume me when I see fear and hope reflected in those livid browns. The man I love is in danger. He needs me.
I’m going to murder them.
Every single one of them.
With a roar, I lunge at the couch. The syringe clinks on the floor, rolling somewhere before whatever nasty drug it contains can be injected into Hex’s arm. I stepped outside for only two minutes, just enough time to take care of the guards on this floor so they don’t come rushing in when I start interrogating Claire and her accomplices. The timing was perfect—everyone was chatting nonsense and sipping drinks, and she seemed like she wouldn’t make a move just yet.
