“Of course.” Typical. Genocide was always so much easier when you didn’t include yourself among the diseased.
Winters turned to him, a smile Dex had seen dozens of times making him feel sick to his stomach. He approached Dex and spoke softly.
“When the cleansing begins, I’m going to start with the THIRDS and all your diseased friends. That little problem you seem to think I have? He’ll be under my thumb once he sees I have his precious little brother, and then I’m going to start with your brother, until everyone you know and love becomes the casualty of a war long overdue.” He stepped back and clapped his hands together excitedly. “But first, we’re going to have a little fun.”
“If you’re going to kill us, just do it,” Sloane grumbled, spitting out a mouthful of blood and saliva. “Don’t bore us with your bullshit.”
Dex shook his head, his lip curled up in a sneer. “He’s probably got a couple of monologues planned. What if we do a quick-fire round instead? Liven things up a bit.”
Sloane laughed, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We could play charades. Two words, eight syllables.”
“Egotistical maniac?”
Sloane beamed at him. “Baby, you’re so smart.”
“Thank you, boo.”
“Mind you,” Winters said, rubbing his bottom lip with his finger, “and this is just my professional opinion, but it’s possible you may both suffer from several underlying psychological disorders.”
Dex let out a bark of laughter. “Oh shit. I hope you’re not planning on charging us for that one, because let me tell you, that ain’t news. I mean, isn’t that why we came to see you?”
Sloane let out a snort. “Of course, that’s a little bit hypocritical, Dr. Winters. I mean, you’ve got two of your former patients shackled in your—” He looked around. “Whatever the fuck this is. Box. And you’re telling us that we’re screwed-up? It’s okay to admit it. Nothing to be ashamed of. We do just fine.”
“And seriously? The Chairman?” Dex scoffed. “That’s what you chose to name yourself? Out of everything you could have chosen, you give yourself the title of corporate douchebag? How is that scary?”
Sloane gasped. “What if he takes away our 401(k)?”
Dex shook his head in mock horror. “What’s next? Dental?”
“You know what that means,” Sloane told Dex somberly. “No more gummy bears.”
“Nooooo!” Dex’s bottom lip quivered as he turned his attention to Winters. “Talk about kicking a man when he’s down.” He perked up. “Maybe he named himself after that movie.” He cringed. “That was a terrible movie. I’d go with the corporate douchebag.”
Winters rolled his eyes at Dex. “I get the feeling neither of you is taking this situation with the amount of gravitas it merits.”
“Yeah, I went to college too, Doc. You and your gravitas can sit on it and rotate.”
Silent fury filled Winters’s eyes, and he nodded at his companion. Dex cried out against the pain jolting through his body, the chains noisily clinking above his head as his body shook, the sound of Sloane’s screams reverberating around them. After the third time, everything went black.
Dex groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His ears were ringing, and his vision was sharpening. He flexed his fingers to fight the numbness creeping in.
“Welcome back.”
Shit. What happened?
“You and your fiancé passed out there for a second.” Winters smiled up at him. “I gave you both a little something to perk you up. Can’t have you missing out on all the fun.”
Sloane….
Dex looked over at Sloane and almost choked on a sob. “Sloane….” His voice was hoarse, and his body ached all over. Sloane let out a groan, and Dex almost cried from relief.
“Aw, look how happy you are. Don’t worry, he’s simply resting. Astounding specimen, but then, I expected no less from him. He’s a survivor. A true Therian warrior.” Winters shook his head with a tsk. “You’ve brought this on him, Dex. Sentenced him to death. You should have let him be.”
“Fuck you,” Dex spat out, hissing at the pain of slowly unsheathing the claw from his left index finger. He discreetly tucked it close. They had to find a way out of this, and they didn’t have long. Winters intended on killing Sloane and dissecting Dex. This wasn’t a simulation; it wasn’t a training exercise. If they didn’t do something, they were dead. If they could just get themselves out of this, they could contact someone on their team. He wasn’t about to underestimate Winters and how many goons he probably had around here. There was no doubt in Dex’s mind that their family was out there searching for them. Tony was probably losing his damn mind.
Dex’s entire body was in agony, but whatever Winters had given him provided a nice little boost of energy. Could it have been the same thing Wolf injected him with when he’d tried to keep Dex awake? That seemed to really do the trick. Whatever the case might be, Dex needed some time, and with a guy as egomaniacal as Winters, he knew just how to get that. Winters didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry, which meant he was feeling confident Dex and Sloane were going to meet their demise at his hands.
“Dr. Winters, please.”