black and scary as the dead of a moonless night.
“The only place you can look forward to going that’s more comfortable than this is your grave,” he says in his drawling voice. The dark, ominous meaning behind his words is even more striking because of his thick Irish accent. It hits me like a second blow to the stomach.
“Lucky for you, that’s where you’re going now,” he adds. “Griff doesn’t need you anymore.”
He grabs my arm and Mouse takes the other before I can even let out the breath I was holding, never mind fighting back.
“Come on, Crow,” I say anyway. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can make you a very happy man. Both of you. Griff doesn’t give a shit about what happens to me. You can just take me somewhere and keep me there.”
They’ve physically lifted me off the ground and are carrying me out. It’s a tight squeeze down the corridor. And just like the last time I walked this way, my worst nightmare will begin at the end of it. I know this, but I don’t want to know it.
“Is she still talking?” Crow says. “I think it’s time to make her shut up.”
We’re outside. It’s dark, dusty and as silent as the grave. I can hear the dried grass that covers the empty field on the other side of the wall surrounding this place rustling—no, hissing—in the cool breeze.
I hear more than see the knife appear in Crow’s hand. Mouse has let me go and is looking at me with no expression on his face. None at all.
“No,” I whisper. “You don’t have to do this. We can talk about this. We can work something out.”
Crow chuckles and it’s such a cold sound a shiver runs down my spine. “I’ll enjoy this more than anything else you can give me.”
And I have no doubt, absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he means it.
He presses the tip of the knife to my throat, then slides the blade gently along my neck. I’m as stiff as a board, not daring to move a single muscle, not daring to breathe, still as though I’m already dead, waiting to feel the hot blood running down my breasts that’ll tell me I’m right.
“Not here, Crow,” Mouse says, but very quietly like he’d rather not speak. “Take her out in the field.”
Fuck! Even he’s afraid of what’s about to happen to me. And he’s a built, tall man, at least six-six. I’m transfixed by Crow’s black eyes. In them, death is waiting for me. My death. He’ll cut me up in a field of hissing dry grass like some animal he just caught.
Colt
The sound of bikes rumbling to life out front nearly deafens me as the guy manages to drag me out into the courtyard. The dust raised by the bikes of all those Griff just kicked out from the bar is a cloud rising over the wooden fence surrounding this compound, glimmering in the places the yellow streetlamp light hits it. Other than that, the courtyard is dark, silent, and deserted. Nothing’s moving anywhere, and I thank my lucky stars Griff and the other two didn’t follow us outside.
Blaze must know something went wrong by now. He was probably watching for me to come out, might’ve even tried to follow me in. I hope he doesn’t. No sense in both of us facing this shit.
I make myself heavy, dragging my feet, which makes the guy holding me grab me tighter, but also causes him to pant harder. Good. I want him as winded as I can make him.
“Listen, this is all just a misunderstanding,” I tell him. “I don’t know that woman. I liked the look of her the last time I was here, so I just came in to get a piece of ass.”
“Shut up,” he snarls breathlessly. He probably can’t say much more, because he doesn’t.
“How about you just let me go,” I persist. “I never done anything to you.”
“The boss’ orders are the boss’ orders,” he says and has to sigh out the last word.
This is as good a chance as I’m gonna get. We’re past the bar and the office part attached to the back of it. The only light here is from the moon, since the streetlamp light doesn’t reach this far back. But there’s still plenty of buildings around, mostly squat, low ones with dark windows. But anyone could be in there. I gotta make this quick and quiet. No use thinking