He steps away and allows me to fall to the ground, laughing when I grunt at the force.
“I like you down there,” he says, stepping over me. “But on your knees with that annoying mouth of yours stuffed with my cock.”
I do nothing but sneer. Not rising to the bait he’s laying in front of me. Talking back isn’t unusual for me and the fact I’m not steady on my feet tells me this will be a hard task to get through without getting caught. All it shows Oscar is I’m still too weak to fight back. That’s a cute thought.
He grabs a handful of my hair and pulls me to my feet. I breathe through the burning at my scalp and, when I meet his eyes, he looks disappointed.
I shrug as he lets me go with a light shove.
“Pull harder next time and I might have a reason to remember your real name.”
Oscar’s large hand wraps around my bicep and he tugs me forward, leading me out of my cell to where they normally bathe me. Some trash bathroom they installed in the basement, with shower stalls like a prison. It’s probably more used for them to shower off their victims’ blood than to bathe their prisoners.
I’m honored to be such a special case.
I let my limbs drag, slowing our movements to make myself appear as weak as Oscar thinks I am. When we step through the threshold of the bathroom, Oscar turns to face me.
“Get undressed,” he demands, pulling at the rags they call my clothes.
I beam at him, and his fury starts to bubble to the surface when I silently protest. His hand snaps out, wrapping around my throat and he pulls me closer. I can see him reaching into his pocket with his free hand and realization sets in.
The motherfucker is going to drug me.
Oscar has me pulled close enough to his face, I pull my head back as hard as possible, his grip strengthening and cutting off my air. I slam my forehead forward, driving into his. Surprised by the move, he stumbles back, the already-filled syringe dropping from his hand.
Nails at the ready, I drag them quickly down his face, as he yells when one of them punctures his eye. Oscar lets go of my neck, dropping to his knees to get the syringe. My leg swipes out, kicking him hard in the jaw, sending him onto his back with a loudthud.
Oscar recovers quickly and tackles me as I lunge for the syringe. I land on my stomach, his full weight knocking the air from me. Grabbing two handfuls of my hair he bends my neck back so he can get close to my ear.
“You’re going to be fun to break,” he whispers.
With a yell, I buck him off with every ounce of strength I can muster, my body already too tired to carry on much longer. My scalp screams from his grip on my hair as we both fall backward. I try to wrestle away when I feel the cold of the syringe hit my bare leg, which nearly makes me go still, thinking he stuck me with it.
Desperately, I reach down and feel the still-capped needle, silently squealing in delight. I quickly uncap it before Oscar can overpower me, and drive it into his body behind me, not really sure where it lands. I press down on the plunger, and his body stills when he realizes what I’ve done.
He lets out a loud growl, shoving me off him, and I scramble to my feet. Slowly, he gets to his feet but I can already see the drugs beginning to take effect. Oscar pulls the needle from his body and stumbles toward me before falling to his knees. I almost want to giggle at the position we’ve found ourselves in. But it’s too early to celebrate now.
Oscar falls against the wall at an awkward angle, and I take that as my cue it’s safe to move. I’ll have to wait to kill him another time.
I hear a sharp whistle as I breach the bathroom door, and my heart hammers in my chest. I’m sure I’ve already been caught, until I see Tyjae holding open a door on the other side of the hall. It leads outside.
I give her a pointed look, but I don’t linger, taking off as fast as I can toward the door and the promise of freedom. A largeboomsounds outside, causing the building to shake, and I nearly lose my balance before Tyjae catches me. She smiles at me, silently telling me that’s the distraction Griffin was meant to cause., and points to the mountain on the side of the building away from the blast. I nod my head, smiling back at her like a psychopath.
Without hesitation, I bolt across the lawn, the cold air filling my lungs, but not touching my skin as adrenaline pumps warmth into me.
I’m barrelling through the trees like a bat out of hell, focusing on the mountain as it comes more clearly into view, when a body slams into mine and sends me crashing to the ground. Swallowing through the pain, I wrestle with the man, gaining the advantage and straddling his hips. My fingernails dig deep into his arms as he tries to break my hold.
He’s a tiny thing in a guard uniform. Tall, but lanky, and without an ounce of muscle. Why he’s on the security detail is the question of the century, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the son of someone who works for the Riccis. That, or they think the gun on his side is enough muscle.
Releasing my nails from his skin, I punch his face, desperate to shut him up. This is taking too long. It won’t take much for Elio to figure out it was a diversion, and I’m running out of time before people start searching. This guys’ grunts and yells aren’t doing me any favors, either.
Hopefully Elio thinks my family is onto him and his asshole has fallen out of his body from panic—rectal prolapse saving the day one dickwit at a time.
After one last punch to the face, this particular dickwit falls slack. I search his gear for the gun I know must be carrying and, when I find it, I remove it from its holster and press it between his eyes. The security guard stares up at me, too beaten to fight back anymore, and I grind my teeth. Shooting this gun is no better than all the noise he was making before. Talking myself out of it, I swing my hand back and slam the gun into his temple, knocking him out.
I jump to my feet and beeline for the chain link fence. As I close in on it, shouts echo in the woods, much closer than I’m comfortable with, so I push my weak legs faster. A man steps out in front of me and I curse when I nearly collide with him. I skid to a stop and round on him as he sneers at me.
“Causing trouble,principessa?”