Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
I whirled on him. “How could you—”
“That will take effect in ten minutes or so.” He held up slightly shaking hands. “Don’t fight it. Let it take you. You do not want to be fully lucid for what he’s about to do to you.”
My heart stopped. I rubbed my throat where the sour pill still lodged. “Please tell me you didn’t just give me—”
“Psilocybin?” He nodded, rich brown hair flopping over his forehead. “I did. I watched him fuck you on stage tonight. I saw the pain on your face as he rode you. I have no idea what he’s done to you since he’s had you trapped in his room, but at least I can offer you a smidgen of comfort before he hurts you again.”
Kissing my cheek, he shrugged sadly. “It’s the only thing I can do. I can’t stop him, and I can’t save you. But at least you’ll be off in a fugue and hopefully pain free.”
Terror pinched my chest. “You don’t know what you’ve done, Peter.”
How was I supposed to keep my wits and play along with Henri? How could I act with him and not go completely off script because of some recreational drug I’d never taken?
“I couldn’t stand by and let you go through this without some help.”
“You drugged me against my will,” I hissed. “That’s not help. That’s—”
“It’s for your own protection.”
Fury burned.
I slipped into my first language as panic billowed quicker and thicker. “Mujhpar nashili dawayein buree pratikriya karti hain, Paavak.” (I react badly to drugs, Paavak.)
His eyes widened; he replied in kind. “Aap theek rahogi —” (You’ll be fine.)
My mind scrambled. Horror tangled. I repeated what kept echoing in my mind. “You don’t know what you’ve done. You’ve—”
“I’ve saved you from a world of pain.”
“I didn’t ask you to—”
“Peter, Ily…come along, sweetlings. We don’t have all night.” Victor’s voice sailed into the corridor, lashing around us and dragging us forward.
Peter sighed and squeezed the back of his neck. “Just…let it carry you away. You’ll be fine. Main vaada karata hoon.” (I promise.)
I should’ve told him the truth.
Should’ve told him who Henri was, what we were doing, and why he’d just destroyed everything.
But it was too late.
The tablet dissolved in the back of my throat, dripping into my stomach, already poisoning my mind.
No…ignore it.
It’s nothing.
“Come on. I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you.” Taking my hand, Peter tugged me—him limping, me unwilling—over the threshold and into a fresh version of hell.
Chapter Twenty-Five
………………………….
Henri
SHIT.
Shit.
Shit.
How the fuck was I supposed to get out of this one? What lies could I spin? What forgery could I commit so I didn’t have to hurt Ily and could maintain my cover long enough to get those fucking GPS coordinates to Q?
I’d come here, despite being shackled with a dark handicap and completely naïve, and tried to fight on the side of good.
But the world was against me.
Fate forsaking me.
That was the only explanation for the spate of bad luck and horrible fucking timing. Then again, perhaps fate had been looking out for us. If Victor had been working late in his office and caught me waltzing inside uninvited at three a.m., I might not have been able to explain quite so easily.
Then again, I didn’t have a clue if he believed me.
I’d tried to lie but come on…it’d been flimsy at best and utterly laughable at worst.
But…did it really matter?
He might call this a game, but it wasn’t. It was yet another test. A motherfucking test that if I failed, I had no doubt he’d kill me on the spot—just as he’d no doubt killed everything else in this godforsaken room.
The insidious feeling that I was on my own returned, whispering that perhaps my stranger of a brother was eerily similar to Victor. He might’ve given me thirty million euros and fake credentials to get into this playground, but…maybe he was heartless enough to sentence me to death now I’d stepped inside it.
Turning back the way we came, I locked eyes with Ily as she stumbled over the threshold, pulled forward by Peter. The moment she noticed what was on the walls, her entire body went rigid.
Her eyes gleamed with tears; red finger marks marred her cheeks.
Rage erupted.
What the hell happened out there?
What did he do to her?
Narrowing my gaze on Peter, I tried to rewind time and see through walls to know what that cocksucker had done.
Ily swallowed hard at Victor’s decoration choice, her shoulders rolling with sorrow.
It fucked me off that I couldn’t protect her. That I’d let her convince me to bring her with me. I should’ve left her in my room. I’d come here knowing I might have to pay a price—but if that price was her…?
Fuck.
My hand went to my knife in my pocket. Perhaps I could stab Victor and dash to his office. I could use his own computer to send a damn email. Q could use the IP address and find us that way.