He let her go and she gasped, coughed. Hands were to a bruised throat, and she caressed the skin that burned. She swallowed and almost threw up.
Parker was with his men, surrounded by many, but Kira knew he was afraid, she could sense it, feel it as physically as the fire on her neck. Hands were tightened on weapons and clubs were rolled in palms.
Parker blinked and the mask was back. ‘McKay always gets the pretty ones. It seems he has a talent for it. Yes?’ He licked curved lips. ‘I heard that my partner had captured him, tortured him, ruined his already ugly face. He survived what was done to him? Did he cry, weep tears knowing that his body would always portray the mark of my men?’
Kira couldn’t hold in the shudder, the tremble of anger that vibrated through her. The fury was visceral. A physical emotion that almost made her snap at him. Tell him that Euan was never ugly, and he was beautiful still. He would always be beautiful, no matter what they did to his face or the rest of his body. But she held her tongue.
Confidence back, he was upon her again. He gripped her chin and forced her face to tilt skywards. His eyes roved her face. He saw her anger, her disgust. He also saw the love she held there. She was as open as a book, and it terrified her. But it pleased him.
The grin that blossomed across his face in answer was almost as terrible as the gunshots that had killed the men before her. It had the same effect. It shocked, horrified, sickened. She trembled in its wake, her lips quivered, her fists shook. Her eyes watered of their own accord.
‘And what about my little Nicky? Does he still hold the scars I gave him? Does he talk of me? Does he call my name when McKay is deep inside him? Does he whisper words of love for me in his sleep?’
The tears she had held in for so long now dribbled freely down her cheeks. The air on her skin was cool in their wake. His eyes left hers to watch them descend. He bent his face to hers, and just before they reached her jaw, he licked them. Two slow slides of his tongue from jaw to cheek.
She wanted to sob then. But she didn’t, and she wouldn’t. Because although the tears leaked from her eyes, she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that he frightened her, that in his presence she was terrified, for both herself and the men that would attempt to rescue her.
Her face scrunched tight, Parker finished his cruel attentions and stepped back. Despite her efforts, his eyes glinted with malevolent joy at her distress, and Kira knew, right then, that even her worst nightmares were never going to contend to what was waiting for her in the company of this man.
‘Very nice,’ he said as he took another step back. His eyes glided from her trembling body to the man that had brought her to his lair.
‘Well done, Lucas. See to it that she’s locked away. I have a little plan for our little bird and the men that hunt her.’
When Lucas dug his fingers into her upper arm, she didn’t flinch. Her jaw was set so hard that it held all of her anger, her fear, her terror. Her eyes wept constantly now. But her lip had ceased its quiver. She allowed herself to be manhandled further into the darkness, she didn’t fight as she lost sight of the light, lost sight of hope, of her courage, of her strength. She was enveloped in blackness both in body and mind. She would survive. She would.
Because she was a warrior. She was a queen. Her body was strong, her muscles tough. She had survived a plague, she had endured loneliness and uncertainty. Kira might be little, but the fire that raged in her heart was fierce, hot, vast. Inside her was Euan and Nick’s love. Inside her, was the love she held for herself. She was not a tool, a toy, a male plaything that they could abuse at their leisure. She was woman.
And she would roar.
***
Tossed into darkness, Kira hit the ground hard. She bit back the cry as her puffy, sluggish fingers took the hit from the pre-fabricated flooring. The grunt she allowed to escape.
The fire-safety door behind her slammed and Kira was lost in black. Where she was, she didn’t know, but she could guess. This warehouse had been built to support an IT conglomerate. She’d been manhandled through rows of dusty desks. Computers, now defunct and useless, were simply lumps of plastic and metal that collected nothing but dust. Colourful logos still adorned the walls, the meaning would be lost to the next generation that survived this nightmare.
Her wrists were tied again and the twine dug into her skin. It surprised her how little effort it took to keep the blood from its intended destination. On her knees, her fingers were unresponsive as she attempted to twist them in their bonds. Around her, the air in the windowless internal room was stuffy, stale. The scent of unwashed man and terror lingered but was not fresh.
She was angry, she was frightened, she was bound, trapped.
But she remained dressed, unmolested and whole.
Her captor had not tied her down. He hadn’t even bothered to gag her. No sound filtered through the fireproof door. The lack of light was oppressive.
Above her, a fluorescent globe flickered, dimmed, turned on for a heartbeat, then off once more. She was doused once again in darkness, but this time Kira knew exactly where she
