His head cocks.
I tense.
He tilts his jaw, studying me, and everything in me screams for me to run. I tug on my wrist again, wondering if I can break it to get free of the cuffs…but then what? By now Dopekh's going to be removing me from the computer's system (if he hasn't gotten in trouble already) and I won't be able to get far. I certainly can't get away. I'm stuck on a ship in deep space and at the mercy of this asshole.
"Just throw me in the brig already," I spit at him, thinking of what the crew said earlier. "I'm not going to tell you anything."
Straik moves forward, and he's so focused I get the impression of a snake, waiting to strike. "You are going to tell me everything, little human. And I do mean everything."
"Bullshit."
"I want to know everything about the mutiny. I want to know names. I want to know details. And most of all, I want to know why." He leans over me, his words sharp, his expression bitter. "So you're going to share everything you've got, and then if your answers please me, I might let you live."
I roll my eyes at him, even though I'm starting to get afraid. I'm not going to show fear, though. People like him are bullies. He feeds off of fear, so I'm going to be as unafraid and utterly obnoxious as I can.
Also…mutiny? What mutiny? He thinks there's more going on than me and Dopekh being friends and him helping me hide my tracks? That's…bananas.
"Start with names," he demands. "Go on."
"You don't know my name?" I keep my voice sweet. "My feelings are hurt."
"Names!"
"If you must know, I'm Ruth." I shrug. "That's the only name I have to give you."
His dark eyes narrow. "I don't care about your name. I care about who's working with you."
Well, he sure isn't getting shit now. That's just rude. "You want to know who else is working with me?" When he nods, I gesture that he should lean in again.
Straik bares his teeth. "I am not falling for that again."
"So you're only slightly as stupid as you look," I muse. "Fine. No one's working with me. It's Ruth, Ruth, and Ruth."
"You can't protect them."
I shrug. "Obviously I can, since I am." And since they don't exist. I mean, Dopekh helped me, but mostly because I was already on board and he was just trying to triage the damage done. I'm not about to sell him out to his asshole boss, though. "Torture won't work on me, by the way."
He straightens, a look of disgust on his face. "You think I would torture you?"
"Why wouldn't I?" I gesture at the cuff binding me to his bed. "You've already got me in chains."
"I'm no monster."
"Aren't you?" I give him a defiant look, squaring my shoulders. "Maybe if you weren't such a goddamn monster, your crew wouldn't be turning against you."
The look he gives me is pure fury. His jaw clenches, and he stares at me for so long and so hard that I'm positive he's going to hit me. Just haul off and punch me in the face. He reaches forward and I flinch back, bracing myself.
"I'm not going to hit you." His voice drips with pure disgust. In the next moment, I feel the blanket rip away from my naked body and I gasp at the rush of cold air. Straik shakes it at me, his face tight and angry. "But if you want this back, you'll give me answers."
"Well maybe I don't want it back," I lie, lifting my chin defiantly. "Maybe you can go fuck yourself with it."
Straik stares at me. "You are obsessed with self-fucking," he mutters, storming away. "One would think a vulnerable human would be less interested in seeing me touch myself, but I don't plan on satisfying your curiosity."
Is he…deliberately misunderstanding me? Or does he really think I want him to jerk off?
11
STRAIK
I’m going to break her.
This human—this Ruth—looks at me, all defiance. Even though she is chained to my bed and naked, she is still brimming with anger. She is unafraid. I know if I move within reach, she will attack me. Those blunt human nails will tear at me, she will bite, she will kick, she will headbutt again. So I have to tear her down. I have to dismantle this pride of hers so I can get her to confess everything about the mutiny.
And the first step is to scare her.
This is going to be trickier than I thought, but she’s already vulnerable. She’s completely naked on my bed and trapped in my quarters. I thought taking away the blanket would take some of that arrogance off of her face but she just gives me a withering look and makes no attempt to cover herself up. She’s practically daring me to try something.