Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I shudder in place. He’s just trying to scare me. I won’t fall for it.
“Some get torn to shreds. Others …” He licks his lips. “Eaten.”
“You’re lying,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Am I?” He tilts his head. “Or have you just told yourself that Beast will be nice to you if you do what it wants?”
I feel like he just looked into my brain, and it scares the shit out of me.
“He’s a human being,” I say, incensed by his words. “And how dare you treat him like that. Feed him scraps. Raw meat. Call him ‘it.’ You’re disgusting.”
“He’s an animal,” he growls back. “A vicious dog, trained to do just one thing. Kill.”
His words silence me.
Not because I’m terrified, but because I’m dumbfounded how a person could ever do this to another.
“He obeys me. And if I tell him to kill, he will kill. And if I tell him to eat …” He lowers his eyes to meet my gaze. “He will eat.”
A chill runs up and down my spine.
“So what’s it gonna be, girl? Are you gonna behave?” He pulls his tissue out of his pocket and coughs loudly. “Or you gonna keep biting fingers off my guards?”
I feel like I’m about to vomit, but I force myself to keep it down.
I haven’t eaten in days. Nothing to throw up anyway.
“That’s what I thought,” he mutters, wiping off his mouth before pushing the tissue back into his pocket. “So here’s the deal. You’re going to stay here, be a nice little girl, do what you’re told, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll survive.”
“I will never, ever, help you find my father,” I say.
“Oh, I don’t need any help finding that rat when I have you.”
My eyes widen while a smirk grows on his face.
Oh God, Papa can’t come here. It’s a trap. I’m the trap.
“No, you’re lying,” I say, shaking my head.
Lex’s smile only grows deeper, more menacing. “No, girl, the only liar was your father when he said he had my money.”
“You’re sick,” I hiss.
“That part is true,” he replies. “But you must know, none of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for your father’s inability to settle his debts.” He clears his throat. “But I see now this little mistake my dog made might come in handy.” He steps closer, almost close enough for me to grab ahold of him and try to choke him.
But that won’t do me any good if I’m stuck in this cell, and the only key is with that guard who is loyal to his boss.
“Make no mistake, the only reason you’re still alive is because I need your father,” he says. “And you might provide the tiny bit of motivation he needs to come to me so we can settle this debt like men.”
When he reaches inside the cage, I jump back.
“Hmm … so skittish,” he muses to himself. “Yet you so easily throw yourself at my dog.”
What? Throw myself at him? What does he mean?
“You know, maybe I don’t need your help at all … if your father sees how well you’re doing in here.”
Vile. Just vile.
“I may just let my guard play with you too.”
“You’re despicable,” I hiss.
He laughs. “Do you think I care?” The laughing abruptly stops. “Maybe you just need a little motivation too.”
A shiver runs up and down my spine as he turns around and heads up the stairs.
“Have fun in there,” he mutters before he slams the door shut and leaves me in the pitch-black darkness, wishing someone, anyone, would hear me scream.
CHAPTER 11
Beast
“No, no, please, don’t do this,” says the man I’m dragging by the collar.
But his begging falls on deaf ears.
I’m used to my victims screaming, crying, kicking. Some even piss themselves out of sheer terror, some merely at the sight of my face.
I’ve learned not to react.
In fact, I don’t feel anything at all when they start.
And I definitely don’t feel a single thing when I throw this man onto a chair in the middle of his living room and tie him up with tie wraps.
“Please, take my money. I don’t care. You can have it all,” he whines as I secure his legs to the chair with the ropes I brought.
When I’m done, I stand, towering over him as I glare down.
“What do you want? If this is about Lex’s money, tell him I already paid it,” the man says.
“No money,” I growl. “Peter Blom.”
The man’s eyes widen. “I don’t know who that is.”
Lies.
They always think they can lie to me.
That it comes without a price.
I grasp his hand, and while he screeches his head off, I cut off a finger and hold it in front of his face. “You gonna talk now?”
“Please, oh God.” Saliva flows from his lips as he struggles with the pain. “It hurts!”
I grasp him by the hair and tilt his head up. “Focus!”