gun.
Teddy reached for the cuffs and looked over his shoulder. “I’m taking her. You can have the other one. I know it’s a change to the plan, but I need this.”
“I know,” Barensky said. “Just cuff her until I get everything ready, and then you can take her.”
So there’d be a chance to get free. How was I going to free Kelsey at the same time? Since Barensky had the gun pointed at my head now, I let Teddy enclose my wrist with the cuff before attaching it a couple of inches above my head to the wall. It was definitely uncomfortable but not painful. Yet. I gave an experimental tug. Since the hooks had been added, maybe they weren’t as secure as Barensky thought.
Then Teddy patted my face. “I like your skin.” He leaned in.
Panic caught me hard. Instinct had my knee raising, and I nailed him right in the groin. He stilled and his eyes widened as he grunted in pain. Then he scrambled back. “Bitch.”
Barensky smiled. “I like her.”
Teddy stood but still stayed a little bent over. “You’re going to be very sorry you did that.” He moved closer to his uncle. “Hurry up so I can take her out of here. There’s a well-equipped cabin toward the valley where we’re going to spend a lot of time.”
Barensky sighed. “I know you have needs, nephew. Unfortunately, I’m the King here.” He shoved Teddy into the office, where Teddy fell. Then Barensky fired the gun three times toward the floor.
Blood slid from the office and across the cement floor.
Kelsey screamed.
I jumped and fought to pull the hook out of the wall, using all of my weight. Nothing. It remained firmly attached. My wrist and damaged hands protested, but I kept struggling.
Barensky slipped the gun into the front of his waist. He wore old man dockers that looked too loose to keep the gun in place, but it stayed there. “Now then, we can get started.”
Tears streamed down Kelsey’s face, and she wiped them off with her free hand. “He was your nephew.”
Barensky shrugged and reached into the bag to draw out what looked like a very bulky knee brace. “Ah, there we go.” He moved toward me.
I pulled my knees up, prepared to kick.
He was ultra-careful with the brace. “I wouldn’t move if I were you.”
I couldn’t move now if I wanted. “Wh-what is that?”
He set the brace next to me, and I stared at it, horror slithering through me like poison. Without a word, he slid the skinny part beneath my leg and zipped it up the side. Whatever he had in the homemade pockets was heavy against the top of my thigh.
I winced. “That’s too heavy.”
He chuckled, the sound high and creepy. “That’s the least of your worries, Anna.” His familiarity with my name split anger through my terror.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
Kelsey cried quietly next to me.
“Because you’re the Queen. The fire needs to kiss you, which will then force Devlin to scramble his pieces.” Barensky craned his neck. “It’s beautiful, don’t you think?”
I looked down at the knee brace. It was a dark blue with a hole for my knee, and it extended up my thigh and a little way down my calf. A heavy solid was located in a pocket on my thigh, and it looked like the only way to reach into the pocket was on the underside, which was pressed against my leg. Coppery little wires spread out in every direction, and they were expertly wound throughout the zipper. “What kind of bomb do you have in there?” I asked, my lungs squeezing painfully.
He looked up, his eyes brilliantly clear and brown. “The most special kind. You will feel the fire and dance in the flames, Anna Albertini. I’m so jealous.”
“Then you take it,” I snapped. “I don’t want to blow up.” This was insane. There was a bomb on me.
“You will,” he promised. “The moment right before, when the world goes quiet, is just for you. Only for you this time. Do you know how special that makes you? I’ve given you the best gift in existence. Fire. Your fire.”
Insanity obviously ran in their family. “The little wires?”
His face flushed. “Those keep the baby intact. If you move your leg or try to unzip the brace, well then. Everything speeds up to right now.” He stood and stepped back to survey his handiwork from afar. “Very nice.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“I’ve already explained to you. Why