“Yes. It was. And now for your pain.” Star hunched over Blue’s left foot and slid the tip of the blade just underneath his skin.
Blue’s nerves were in the process of coming back to life. He felt the sting and hissed in a breath.
Star worked slowly, dragging out the terrible sensations. Finally he straightened and brushed his bloody hands together for a job well done. “The first toe is finished. Now for the second. The secret is in the angle of the wrist. Too far this way and you’ll tear. Too far that way and I’ll take muscle, too.”
As the blade slid underneath the nail of the second toe, Blue’s entire leg jerked to avoid the pain.
“Steady now. I’ll call the guards in to restrain you further if I must.”
A white-hot lance rode the waves of every nerve in his body, and Blue cried out. He’d never felt anything so terrible, and his rage grew. John experienced this. For hours.
“So dramatic,” Star said with a nod. “Keep it up.”
The blade began to move, and Blue waved his fingers. They were his to control again. He turned his head left, right, the bones popping. Good. No problems there, either. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop another grin.
His power hadn’t returned, but he was back in the game.
He had one chance to do this. Only one.
He closed his eyes and drew what strength he possessed into his core. Then, arching his back, putting his weight into his shoulders and elbows, he jerked at the straps confining his wrists. The material snapped apart.
Frowning with confusion, Star straightened.
Blue jolted upright and fit his fingers around the man’s neck, squeezing. Drawing from the man’s strength and health, his muscles began to plump; Star’s began to wither.
Eyes wide, Star desperately tried to pull away and, when that failed, remembered he was holding a scalpel and stabbed Blue in the neck. Blue experienced a sharp sting, felt a warm spurt of blood.
But only a few seconds later Blue healed and the injury appeared on Star.
The man’s blood filled Blue’s hands and slicked his skin, and he lost his grip. Star clutched his neck and stumbled away from him, gasping for breath.
Blue yanked at the ankle straps, then stood at the side of the gurney.
Star fell to his knees, his strength depleted. Still, he managed to whip a gun from the back of his pants and aim. “You stay right where you are, Mr. Blue, or I’ll kill you.”
“The time for orders is over.” Lunging, Blue swiped the weapon out of his hand and turned it, pointing it at his opponent’s heart. “You were saying?”
Suddenly the door burst open and Evie raced inside, dragging Tiffany behind her. She took one look at the scene and cried out with relief. “Blue! Thank God!”
“Evie.” Somehow, his smart, intrepid woman managed to escape Tyson on her own. Of course she had. And, rather than saving herself, she came looking for him.
“The guards are dead,” she announced. “All of them. There could be more outside the home. I couldn’t tell. Get the answers we need, kill him, and let’s go.”
He swallowed a laugh. How easy she made it sound.
“Tyson,” Star gasped.
She smiled evilly. “Resting upstairs—for now. If you don’t tell Blue what he wants to know, well, I’ll let you fill in the blank.”
“If you hurt him . . .” the male growled.
“Oh, trust me. I’ll hurt him. The broken nose and destroyed ball sac were just the appetizers.”
Tiffany covered her mouth with her hands. “Not Tyson. Please, don’t hurt Tyson.”
Distracted by her, Blue didn’t realize Star palmed a second gun. One he aimed at Evie. He tapped at the trigger, and a stream of yellow light shot out.
Evie dodged, barely escaping.
Furious now, Blue aimed his own weapon at Star. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
He, too, tapped at the trigger. Intending to harm irreparably, but not to kill. Not yet.
With a shout of denial, Tiffany jumped in front of Star, acting as his shield, taking the flames into her own body. Her heart fried instantly, her eyes widening as her knees buckled. She tumbled to the floor.
“No!” Star shouted, horrified. “No!”
Blue leapt into action, kicking the second gun out of the man’s hand, then grabbing him by the shirt to lift him off the ground. His legs dangled in the air.
“We both know you’re not going to kill me,” Star gritted, his grief for his daughter vanquished by self- preservation. “You won’t find your friend without me.”
Eyes sparking with electric energy, Blue shouted, “Where is he?”
“Not here,” Evie interjected. “I’ve checked every room in the house and every room downstairs.”
“You need me,” Star said, gloating.
Blue’s fury knew no bounds.
He had another choice to make, he realized. Take Star with him and lock him up, as originally planned, leaving the filthy piece of trash alive in the hopes that he could somehow force the man to tell him where John was being kept. Or he could kill him, let off a little steam, and pray he would find his friend on his own.
It wasn’t really a choice, was it?
Blue patted the man down, found three daggers, a vial of some kind of poison, and a bag of pills. He threw everything aside. Removed the man’s shoes, then his clothes, leaving him in his underwear.
Humiliation burned Star’s cheeks. “This isn’t going to get you the answer you seek.”
“It’s not meant to.”
He tied Star’s hands behind his back, then shoved him forward. Evie trailed behind him.
“I used one of the guard’s cell phones to call Solo,” she said. “I left it up there and turned on so he could track the signal. He should be here—”
The entire underground shook.
Overhead, footsteps pounded.
“—now,” she finished.
“We’re down here!” Blue shouted.
Solo descended the steps, his bones enlarged, his skin a deep crimson. He was breathing heavily, ready to kill everyone in his path . . . until he took one look at the stripped Star and ground to an abrupt halt.
“Won?” the warrior asked, clearly confused.
Blue nodded, a wave of pride washing through him. “We won this battle. Thanks to Evie.”
“Not just me,” she said. “Blue and I were a team.”
He kissed her temple.
Some of the red faded from Solo’s skin. “Your father is upstairs,” he said.
“Tyson’s up there, too. Someone needs to haul him away before I return and kill him. He’s still excellent leverage.” Evie raced past Blue and then Solo, and Blue wanted to call her back, because he didn’t want her far from his side, but she was well able to take care of herself, wasn’t she. He let her go.
As Star looked over the monstrous Solo, he trembled with fear.
“He thinks he can keep John’s location from us,” Blue said.
Solo cracked his knuckles, and despite the lessening of his monstrous visage, his claws were still so long they sliced into his palms, drawing blood. “I would love a chance to change his mind.”
Star raised his chin. “You might scare me, but you won’t break me. You have no idea the things I’ve had to endure over the years. Worse creatures than you have had a go at me and failed.”
Trying to gain pity?
Please.
Blue kicked him in the backs of his knees, sending him crashing into the concrete floor. Then Blue pushed him the rest of the way down, to his face, and pressed a bloody foot into his neck. “That’s enough out of you. For now, at least.”
