An icy chill speeds through me.
She’s the woman he took. Viper’s test has resulted in a fucking nightmare I can’t escape from.
He’s dead.
I’ll kill him.
I will slit his throat and drain every drop of blood from his body.
Calla is mine.
I cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen.
Skirting along the edge of the room, I come up behind Viper. Dropping to a crouch, I whisper in his ear. “If that’s the girl Baron took, I rest my case. A fucking blind man can see she has no chance of making it through the tests. I didn’t think we were in the business of selecting women destined to fail before they remove a stitch of clothing.”
I’ve taken a risk by questioning him, especially in front of his peers, but my voice is low enough that only he can hear me.
Viper keeps his head facing forward. “You have a point, but it’s too late now.”
“No, it’s not,” I insist. “Why waste a trainer’s time?”
“What would you have me do instead?” Viper asks. “We can’t simply take her home. She’s seen too much. Although…” He rubs at his chin. “I guess we could send her straight to one of the brothels.”
“That’s a good idea,” I say, trying my damnedest not to sound on edge. If he gets any sense that I give a shit, questions will be asked, ones I’m not keen to answer. “I can take her.”
Viper nods and gestures to one of the men with the bullwhip.
“Her,” he says, pointing at Calla. “Bring her to me.”
The man roughly grips Calla by the elbow and shoves her in Viper’s direction. I straighten and take a step back. I can’t show too much interest in what happens next.
I’m so close, so damn close… and then shit flies everywhere.
Typhon, a seasoned trainer and one of the most vicious, cruel sadists I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet, focuses his attention on Calla. And I see it right there in his eyes. Delight. He knows she’ll break, and it heightens his pleasure.
“Problem, Viper?” he drawls.
“Nothing that can’t be easily solved,” Viper replies with a sharp glance in Baron’s direction, one that pleases me. Maybe now Viper will realize he’s deadwood and cut him loose.
“This one was a last-minute replacement,” he continued. “And she’s all wrong. She won’t make it, and our time is too valuable to waste on an evident failure.”
Typhon rises to his feet and plants his big hand around Calla’s throat. He looms over her, and I see the terror in her eyes as he licks up the side of her face, then smells her much as a wolf might smell a deer it’s taken down but not yet killed.
“It’s my time to waste,” he says with an evil grin. “Besides, she might surprise us.” He scans up and down the seated trainers. “Anyone have an issue if I take this one tonight?”
Yes! A voice inside my head screams. I have a fucking big problem. But there’s nothing to be done, and as each of the men shakes his head and Typhon shoves her toward the exit, I have to face facts.
I’m fucked… and so is she.
Chapter Four
Hawk
Smoke coils into the air, swallowed by the black sky as I drift around the courtyard of the facility trying to curtail the inferno blazing inside me. I had to stand there, watching as the trainers each took their turn selecting a girl before leading them off to begin a night they’ll never forget. Even Viper wrestling with Red as he propelled her from the room didn’t bring me any respite from the desire to maim and kill. Not on a generalized basis. No, I only have the hunger to end one individual: Baron.
I blow out another stream of smoke, then flick the half-finished cigarette away. It lands in a puddle and hisses, extinguishing the glowing red tip.
My mind won’t stop racing, trying to find a solution that doesn’t exist. I can’t save Calla from her fate, and that fact sets me ablaze once more. She won’t pass Typhon’s tests. Very few do. Out of all the trainers, he’s the one who seems to delight in sitting at the bottom of the leader pile when it comes to the emergence of successful maidens. He starts out aiming for them to fail and takes immense pleasure in breaking their bodies and their spirits. I don’t understand why Viper keeps him around, but even though I’ve known the head of the Denver Elite facility for more than a decade, asking him such a question will result in a speedy reckoning, and I’m rather attached to my dick.
I have to face facts. I can’t save Calla from Typhon’s sadistic tendencies, but I still have one chance to make her mine. It’s a risk, but I’m confident I can pull it off. Questions might arise afterward, but I’ll deal with those when and if I’m faced with them. No point in erecting roadblocks that might never appear.
“There you are.”
I slowly pivot as Baron ambles toward me, his expression triumphant. A fresh wave of rage twists my insides, but I tamp it down. I’ll have my revenge, but not here. Too many prying eyes.
I paste on a fake smile and tap another cigarette from the packet. I offer the pack to him. He declines.
“Just getting some air,” I say, lighting the cigarette.
“Think Viper’s going to have some trouble with that girl we took,” he states, grinning inanely.
My gaze remains flat, and his smile falters a little.
“Viper can handle her.”
“Yeah, I mean, of course. I wasn’t saying he couldn’t. She’s a fiery one, though, huh? Wouldn’t mind a crack at her myself.”
“So, how did your first take feel?” I say, ignoring his prior comments. He’ll never get anywhere near Red, whether she passes or fails tonight.
“Fantastic,” he replies. “I must admit, I thought you’d be pissed.”
I keep my face schooled, my eyes leveled on his. “Why would I be pissed?”
A hint
