The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,13
entertainment, but I wasn’t there to entertain. In fact, the thought made me sick to my stomach.
As I sat in silence, huddled in my barren corner, they verbally attacked me some more. They said horrible things about me and Kade—things that weren’t true. They even dubbed me “The Misfortunate,” claiming I bring misfortune and death to those who get close to me.
Clever.
They could say what they want. Since they weren’t touching me, I didn’t mind.
Once all the food was gone and the booze had been consumed, Jim’s friends grew bored and eventually, they left. By that time, Jim could barely walk in a straight line. I could hear it in his stumble, and that was when my hair began to prickle and my pulse pounded under my skin. I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of keys jingling and saw the anger etched on his face. His eyes were thinned and he clenched his teeth, making him look like an old man rather than the twenty-something he was.
Unsteadily, I rose to my feet and backed up against the wall as he slurred his words and fidgeted with the keys on his chain, searching for the one that fit my lock. Inside, my organs churned and fear materialised, but I managed to keep a straight face. Kathryn shouted from the cell beside mine, but he ignored her, his eyes focusing solely on the keys in his hand. When he found the key, he swiftly unlocked my cage and let himself in. I swallowed hard, pressing myself as hard as I could against the hard concrete wall behind me. Sharp shards of concrete that hadn’t been smoothed off cut my skin, but they were the least of my worries.
“You embarrassed me,” he slurred with a growl. “Now I’m gonna embarrass you, and in front of your mother, no less.”
I shrieked as he launched forward. I thought I was quick enough to dodge him, but he caught me by the last inch of my hair. I screamed as he wrapped my hair around his fist and drove me into the bars. Unsmoothed metal scratched my skin, but failed to dig deep as Jim yanked me off the bars and shoved me out of my cell. My tired feet stumbled underneath me and we would have crashed to the ground if Jim hadn’t snagged the first bar of Kathryn’s cell. Once again, he slammed me hard against the bars, sending pain through my breasts. Kathryn rushed to the bars, her hands out in front of her, but before she made contact, Jim pressed the jagged edge of a key into the side of my neck. I hissed, flinching as the dirty metal bit into my skin.
“One more step and I bury this key inside her neck.”
Kathryn, in her pretty navy dress, stopped in her tracks. Tears welled in her eyes and saliva connected her lips as she opened them with a sob.
“Please,” she pleaded in a whisper. “She did nothing to you.”
Jim pressed the key harder, angling the tip so it dug deeper.
“Who is going to miss her, huh? Kade Sario?” He spit, his breath reeking of whiskey. “Fat chance. He’ll have another Unfortunate whore to replace this one in a week.”
The sloppy sound of him licking his lips right by my ear twisted my stomach, sending bile into my throat. I closed my eyes. Do I not look like a human to him? Do we not share the same features? How can he treat another human being like this without feeling it in his conscience? In his heart?
The metal pieces of a belt buckle echoed through the room as they clashed together.
“Do it and you’ll regret it,” Kathryn warned, anger prominent in her tone.
“I don’t think anyone would object to me sticking my dick in a traitorous Unfortunate whore.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” I squeezed out, my voice trembling along with my hands.
Leaving his belt, he grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked it back, forcing the key deeper in my skin. Warm, sticky blood flowed down my neck and ran under the neckline of my tunic.
“You think a Fortunate like him would truly give a shit about you? You are a whore—a convenient place for him to dump his come. People like him don’t love people like you.” His mouth found my ear and he licked me, tracing my lobe with his slimy tongue. “Until they put a bullet in your skull, your ass is mine.”