Chapter 35

Thirty-Five

GRAYSON

“ G et up.”

Something cold is poured over my head.

I jerk upright, sputtering and gasping, to see Vlad standing above me, his eyes burning blood-red.

A shiver works its way through me as I force myself upright, force myself to my feet. My legs tremble, but I know it’s not from the chill. I’m painfully weak after days of starvation, only being granted the bare minimum of sustenance.

Well, for the most part.

Just like clockwork, Vlad thrusts a stale piece of bread into my hands, followed by a cup of tepid water. I devour both items like a man possessed, not even caring about my dignity at the moment. I need to survive and return to Izzy.

Only when I’ve finished drinking the last of the water, the droplets falling into my empty stomach, does Vlad attempt to hand me another cup.

I don’t take it.

I’ve never taken it.

“Drink,” Vlad says gleefully, red spilling over the edges of the cup.

I eye the blood distastefully and then lift my icy gaze to his. Without breaking eye contact, I swat at the blood and listen to the satisfying thump of the plastic hitting the floor. Blood spills in all directions.

Fortunately, this particular room is designed for this. The floor is the only nice thing in this dank cell, the white tiles polished so meticulously I can see my reflection in them. I know, without even needing to look, that the blood has congregated towards a drain in the center of the room.

This cell was designed for blood to be spilt.

Vlad’s smile widens. He has come to expect this response from me, and it always fills him with a giddy type of glee.

“So you’re choosing to be difficult today, non ?”

His thick accent instills me with a level of terror I try not to let show on my face. I didn’t fear him before. But the last few days have changed that. Conditioned me to tremble in his presence.

He pushes back his sleeves, unveiling hairy forearms, and takes a step closer.

I don’t move back, bracing for his punch.

His next words, however, are worse than any torture he can inflict upon me.

He holds up a rather familiar phone and dangles it in front of me.

“Who’s Gracie?” he asks nonchalantly, but I can hear the undercurrent of malicious delight in that one innocent question.

My phone.

That motherfucker stole my phone.

I don’t know how he was able to guess the password, but it’s apparent he’s been able to access it during the days I’ve been locked away.

I try not to let him see the terror coursing through me in blistering-hot waves. Try not to let him hear the sudden pounding of my heart, each beat slamming against my breastbone in rapid succession.

Outwardly, I keep my expression calm. Inscrutable. An impenetrable mask.

“I think she’s upset with you,” Vlad says conspiratorially. “She asked just the other day if you were mad at her.” He tsks his tongue disapprovingly. “What did you do, Grayson? Love her and leave her?”

My heart breaks for Izzy.

What must she think now?

I slept with her. Confessed my feelings.

Then abandoned her without a word.

She’ll probably think it has something to do with what we did. Or maybe she’ll even believe it has to do with her confession regarding that one guy, Ansel.

“Don’t worry,” Vlad continues, but in his excitement, his accent makes that one word sound like “vorry.” He waves the phone in the air once more. “I texted her back. Told her I needed space.”

He winks then, and my heart crashes into my stomach like a one-hundred pound clump of cement.

“Good,” I say lazily, feigning an indifference I don’t truly feel.

But I can’t let him know how much Izzy means to me. If he discovers she’s my mate… I don’t even want to think about it. It’s too horrible to comprehend.

“She’s been very clingy lately.” I force my nose to wrinkle, force my lip to curl away from my teeth like I’m disgusted.

“Girlfriend?” Vlad asks, one brow arched.

“She seems to think so.”

I remind myself not to change the subject too quickly. I need Vlad to believe that Izzy is just some random girl I fucked, not the love of my life.

“Got any pictures?” Vlad asks, scrolling through my phone.

My stomach twists.

Not on that one. I’m not stupid enough to leave anything overly personal on the phone I carry with me. The phone hidden in my apartment, however…

“Enough about Gracie.” I level him with a glare. “How much longer do I have to be here?”

I force a tiny bit of haughty disdain into my voice. Not enough to offend him, but enough to remind him of who, exactly, he’s dealing with.

The Council’s adoptive “son.”

Their favorite assassin.

“Have a hot date?” Vlad asks, his lilting voice irritating my skin like a dozen ice picks.

I bare my teeth, and he chuckles.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Vlad rolls his eyes. “Now come with me.”

I stare at him suspiciously.

I haven’t left my new cell since they forced me in here days ago. My only companion has been Vlad…and his weapons of choice.

“Where are we going?”

“Don’t stare at me like that,” he huffs. “You’re acting like I’m about to murder you.” He laughs uproariously, as if he just told the most hilarious joke, before sobering. “I need you to clean up. We have somewhere we need to be.”

“Where?” I grit out.

But Vlad simply smirks at me, his eyes sparking with a savage lethality that curdles my stomach. “You’ll see.”