Chapter 12

My wrists ache from the cuffs scratching against my sensitive skin, turning it red and raw.

Fortunately, the women who hired me for the next few hours are more interested in each other than me.

I lay on the bed forgotten as Daisy Livingston and Mollie Bara, both of whom have prominent political husbands, fondle each other’s tits. Daisy plucks Mollie’s nipples and lifts her fake breasts as Mollie trails kisses down the other woman’s neck.

I don’t know why they even bother with me when they seem content with each other. Maybe so they don’t feel as guilty fucking women when they’re both already married. Hell if I know.

As they continue to kiss, I allow my mind to drift. Away. Away. Away.

I think of my brother, locked in a cage away from the rest of the world, and my resolve to escape solidifies. I’m blessed that most of the clients of this sick club choose me over my brother. Why would they want a trickster demon when they can have one that embodies sex?

Almost absently, I send a wave of lust at the two women, and they both groan heartily.

One day, I’m going to escape this prison.

One day, I’m not just going to be a body for people to use and discard.

“Hey, pretty boy,” one of the women, Mollie, purrs, drawing my attention back to her. She leans her head down and licks at her lover’s nipple before capturing it in her mouth. Her other hand reaches for my flaccid dick.

I try my hardest not to grimace as she begins to stroke me.

Thank the fucking stars that Daisy chooses that moment to cup both of Mollie’s breasts before rolling her over, lowering her mouth to her cunt.

As they go to town on each other, I think of sunshine. Of blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Of sand beneath my feet and waves crashing against the shoreline. Of bustling streets and secluded forests.

Freedom.

So close, I can practically taste it.

The women end their session without touching me again, and I practically sag in relief when they leave. Of course, they don’t bother to fucking uncuff me, so I’ll have to wait for an employee to come by.

I don’t know how long I sit in the dark, my arms aching from where they’re positioned uncomfortably over my head, when the door shoots open, careening off the far wall.

“Hello?” I try to keep the ire out of my voice as I twist my head towards the intruder.

Only for all of the color to drain from my face and horror to grip my heart in an iron claw.

“No,” I breathe as Lionel Green steps in the room. He’s already naked, his hairy belly and small cock on display.

“I asked them to keep you right here for me.” Lionel licks his puffy lips. His grin is predatory, the thing of nightmares, as he strokes his micropenis.

I try to envision another world. A better one. Anywhere but this hell. “Spread your ass cheeks for me, boy. Daddy wants entry.”

I wake with a start.A heart pounding, stomach clenching, hands sweating type of start. I can barely see through the haze of water in my eyes. Blinking rapidly, hoping to dispel the liquid, I scrub a hand down my face before flopping over with a sigh.

Nina stirs beside me, her pink lips slightly parted, and I take a moment to survey her in the dim prison lighting.

She’s so beautiful that my chest hurts. With her hair shining like a cauldron of spilt ink, she’s a vision to behold. And she’s mine.

Because somehow, someway, this perfect girl chose me as her life-long partner. She chose to love me, scars and all.

When she moves again, the blanket slides farther down, baring her breasts to my hungry eyes. I bring the tip of my finger to one of her rosy-pink nipples and gently flick the tip. She shifts again, face creasing, but doesn’t wake up. Slowly, keeping my eyes trained on her, I begin to circle first one nub and then the next, watching the way her skin pebbles beneath my touch. Consumed by an unexplainable need, I lean down and kiss her nipple while my other hand squeezes her breast.

Still, Trouble doesn’t wake.

On her other side, I spot Abel sleeping soundly, one arm sprawled over her stomach. After the night the three of us had…

It’s no wonder she’s dead tired.

A tiny smirk of satisfaction curls up my lips as I wrap a strand of her pitch-black hair around my finger.

I suppose Boris’s sex club for the fucked and depraved taught me one thing—how to please a lady. There’s nothing greater than knowing I’m the one who put that dopey smile on Nina’s face. That I’m the one who brought her to orgasm.

Surprisingly enough, my brother and I didn’t share any females when we were held captive. Mainly because one of us cost an arm and a leg. And two of us cost a fucking continent.

Thank fuck for small miracles. I like having something that belongs to Nina and Nina alone. Sharing her with my brother? Both of us feasting on her tender flesh and bringing her to the peak of orgasm? I’m grateful that we were able to save that for her.

My cock stirs down below, ready for round—what is it? Five? Six? But I will it into submission. Only a year ago, the thought of touching someone other than my brother would have brought me to hysteria. I’m not entirely healed now, but thanks to Nina, I don’t have to face my demons alone.

I stare at her sleeping face one more time, marveling at how serene and peaceful she appears, before sliding out from underneath my blankets and moving on silent feet towards my box of clothes. I slide on a pair of loose basketball shorts before padding out of the cell.

Since the explosion, Kai moved us to a collection of abandoned cells near the cafeteria. We haven’t gone back and completely cleared out our old cells, so for now, our belongings rest in duffle bags and boxes.

I pass Bronson’s cell, where the growly wolf shifter is sprawled unceremoniously on his stomach, head tilted to one side in sleep, and then Kai’s empty one. Unsurprisingly, our leader is nowhere to be seen.

Standing sentry at the end of the cellblock is Damien himself, arms clasped behind his back and eyes fixed firmly ahead.

He doesn’t even fucking blink when I move to stand in front of him.

“Where’s Nina?” he demands, tone glacial. I hold up my hands in a placating manner, my lips quirking in a smirk.

A part of me wants to tease him, but I know that will only lead to pain and death—my pain and death.

“Safe. With Abel.” A genuine grin erupts on my face as I think about last night. My tongue on her pussy while she kissed Abel passionately. We didn’t take it any further than that…yet. Just a bunch of orgasms from our tongues and fingers.

But you can bet your ass we’re planning to. Or her ass, as the case may be.

“Can’t sleep?” Damien arches one eyebrow in understanding. Out of all the men, sans my brother, Damien understands what I’ve been through the best. Rumor has it that he was molested when he was just a kid by the leader of the assassin guild he trained with.

And just like me, his tormentor still lives.

Hell, I’m pretty sure he still talks to the sick fuck.

I grunt a reply to Damien’s query and then glance in the direction of the gym. Well, makeshift gym, since the Labyrinth doesn’t actually fucking have one. Only a select few have access to it, and even then, it’s barely ever in use.

“Kai down there?” I ask, knowing there’s nowhere else he’ll be at this time of night.

Damien nods curtly, already dismissing me and staring at the wall with stoic indifference. That man…

I swear he could kill me with a flick of his wrist and not feel an ounce of remorse if I meant to harm Nina, even though we’ve been “friends” for many, many years.

Though, I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. If it was their lives or hers, I’d choose hers. Every. Damn. Time.

Before I can take a step in the direction of the gym, Damien places his hand down on my shoulder, halting me. I turn towards him in surprise, but his lips are straightened into a thin line.

“Find a way to fight your demons, brother,” he warns, “before they consume you completely.”

With that ominous statement, he releases my shoulder and casually slides a blade out from his jacket sleeve. Probably imagining…I dunno…stabbing someone.

Whatever psychopaths do.

It occurs to me that I’m only wearing a pair of loose shorts and no shirt as I maneuver the twisting halls. If there’s one thing I hate just as much as physical touch, it’s being objectified. It’s having eyes on you when you’re least expecting it and feeling like your skin is crawling.

I don’t run into anyone as I make my way to the dusty room we delegated as the gym—if you can call the room with a single punching bag, broken treadmill, and stationary bike missing a pedal a gym.

Kai is already there, shirtless and sweating as he levels punch after punch at the bag. I know he can sense my presence, but he doesn’t turn around as he beats the bag to within an inch of its pathetic life.

“You know,” I drawl lazily when it becomes apparent he’s not going to acknowledge me, “if you want someone to kick your ass, I’m available.”

Finally, he stops his brutal assault and steadies the bag before turning around. “You mean a chance to kick your ass,” he corrects with a wry smirk, moving towards a broken stool we all use as a table. He takes a swig from his plastic water bottle before using a towel to wipe the sweat off his face. “I thought you were with Nina.”

“Can’t sleep.” I shrug nonchalantly, even as an uncomfortable itch radiates across my skin. I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed with my lover, but I’m too damaged. Too broken for that.

No, what I need is to kick the crap out of someone.

“Nightmares?” Kai arches an eyebrow, and I rein in my urge to growl like a feral animal. How come everyone fucking knows everything about me all the damn time?

“Less talking, more ass kicking,” I grunt out, already taping up my hands.

Honestly, with both of us shirtless and dripping with sweat, we’re probably the stars of some porno out there. But there’s nothing even remotely sexual about what we’re doing.

Every punch, every kick, every tackle…

It allows some of the rage to deplete from my body. Some of the tension to drain away.

After an hour of fighting, we’re both covered in a myriad of bruises, none of them visible in normal clothes, and a fine layer of sweat.

I drag myself to the stool and sip from Kai’s water bottle, ignoring the disapproving look he gives me.

“You as stressed as I am about this damn dead pool?” I ask, wiping the water off my mouth with the back of my hand.

“It’s more like a fucking hit list,” Kai grumbles. “Usually, dead pools involve predicting the time of death. I’ve never heard of it actually involving murder.”

“So you think there’s a reason it’s named that?” I query, my heart sounding like thunder in my chest. “Maybe a homage to Ryan Reynolds?” My joke falls flat as panic tightens my rib cage.

“Or maybe there are more than two lists,” Kai surmises, “and over time, the names got confused.”

“So a hit list…”

“And one that guesses when each hit will take place.” His face turns contemplative, but somehow, that’s even scarier than if he were angry. He may adopt a cool, calm front, but I know him to be a terrifying killer. He won’t hesitate to slice your neck and then bathe in your blood if the need arose.

“But we don’t know any of it for sure,” I point out. “It’s all theory at this point. All we know is that there’s a hit list…dead pool…whatever, with Nina’s name at the very top.”

The thought of anything happening to her…

“We need to know why,” Kai growls out, his thoughtful fa?ade dropping as if it was never there to begin with. “Does it have anything to do with her bitch bio mom, Alyssa?”

“The Compound?” I add, remembering the horrific place she and Kai grew up in, where she was tortured and experimented on, turning her into a mutant tribrid.

Kai’s eyes turn glacial, and I suddenly remember that he was there with her, at least at first. No doubt, he experienced similar horrors while trapped at this mysterious Compound.

“No,” he grits out, hands balling into fists. “They would want her alive.”

The implications of that send a cold chill coursing through me.

“They’re not getting their hands on her, Kai,” I say, using his real name instead of the one people in the prison refer to him as. His eyes snap to my face in surprise, but whatever he sees there has him relaxing incrementally.

“No one is fucking touching her,” he agrees. “But we need to be careful. What happened with Rion…it can’t happen again.”

We both fall silent as we finally leave the gym, beginning the walk back to our new cellblock. This early, there aren’t that many people walking about, but we still run into a few shifters who glare at us, eyes spewing murder. Kai simply glares back, his eyes resembling those of reptiles, before the cowards scurry away, their metaphorical—and in some cases, literal—tails hanging between their legs.

“You know,” I begin softly, “this isn’t a place for Nina to live in. To start a family. And I’m not just saying that because of the fucking list floating around…”

Kai pauses, eyes staring blankly ahead as his hands twitch by his sides.

For a moment, I think he isn’t going to answer, but when he finally does, his voice is a hushed murmur. “You’re right.” He releases a bark of dry laughter. “Hell, I always knew it, but you’re right—our girl deserves better than this fucking dump.”

But there’s nothing we can do, no way we can get Nina acquitted for her crimes. She murdered a councilwoman, for fuck’s sake. Her own mother.

She’s stuck in here, just like the rest of us. Forgotten by society as a whole.

Kai’s eyes glimmer with something I can’t name as we finally step into the cellblock, and I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking about.

If it’s the same thing I’m thinking about…

No! I shake my head vehemently. I know, more than most, that escape from this hell is impossible.

Still…

Foolish dreams of escape and babies and houses on the ocean flicker through my head before I can contain them. And when I finally reenter my cell, unsurprised to see Nina and Abel still asleep and tangled around each other, a genuine smile crooks up my lips.

A future out of this hellhole…

Sometimes, it’s nice to dream, even knowing it’ll never become reality. Then again, there is no freedom without Nina. I’d rather be trapped in a cage with her, than free alone.