Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Trix.
That was all I could think about right then.
What would happen to Trix if I died out here?
I knew Saul said he would take care of her for me. But how long would it take for him to realize I was missing? To come looking for me? To realize I wasn’t coming back and my sweet, innocent dog needed him?
If it was just a few days, she might be okay.
Her water bowl was enormous. I kept a smaller one in the bedroom for when we were sleeping at night.
I’d just emptied a big bag of dog food into the bin. It only had a flip top with a small latch. If she was hungry, she would figure out how to open it.
She wasn’t going to dehydrate or starve to death. Just get really, really sad and confused.
But maybe this was a situation where having a neighbor was handy. Surely, he would get sick of her barking eventually and try to see what was going on.
My thoughts were interrupted by a groaning sound, as if one of the men was lifting something heavy.
Lifting what? Out in the middle of nowhere.
There was a loud metal clang that had me jolting. But before I could even wrap my head around it, the hands were back at my arms.
And as a unit, all three of us were moving.
Going down.
Steps.
There were steps in the middle of nowhere.
Leading somewhere underground.
Their torture chamber, most likely.
That was great.
Fantastic.
The air grew cooler, then downright chilly, making goosebumps prick my skin and a chill rack my system.
I couldn’t say how long I was dragged, but eventually, I found myself dropped down onto a cold metal chair.
Someone’s hands grabbed my arm, freeing one of my wrists, but only so he could work the handcuff through one of the back rungs before securing my wrist again.
There was more shuffling, then the loud metal clang again.
And then, suddenly, light flooded the whole space, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut as the brightness sliced at my eyes.
I gave myself a minute before forcing them open, enduring the ache as my eyes adjusted.
There wasn’t much around me.
It was a large round space with cement walls and floors.
Toward the back of the room, past where Konstantin and Mikhail were standing, glowering at me, were two sets of beds attached to the wall. A wardrobe.
And stacks of water and those freeze-dried meal things that preppers kept stocked up on.
Was this… a fallout shelter? Or a storm shelter?
That, well, that made a lot of sense, actually.
What a great place to question, torture, and kill someone. Deep underground where no one could ever see or hear.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I leveled my gaze at Konstantin, not bothering to mask my disgust toward him. If I was going to die, who cared if I hurt his feelings in the process?
Konstantin noted it, then looked over at me to nod at Mikhail.
I stiffened as I heard the younger brother move in behind me, sure he was about to slice my throat or stick a gun to my head.
Instead, my hair pulled as he worked the latch on the ball gag loose, then removed it from my mouth.
I wanted to cry in relief as my mouth closed, as I swallowed back my mouthful of saliva.
After I did that, I looked at Konstantin.
“My dog,” I said.
That, at least, got a rise out of the seemingly unflappable man. His dark brow raised.
“You should be more concerned about yourself.”
“Yeah, well, if something happens to me, no one will take care of her. I mean, the least you can do is just… let her out the back door. Someone will find her and take care of her then.”
Mikhail moved to stand next to his brother, both of them looking down at me like I’d grown another head.
“She’s innocent,” I added, hating how my lip trembled.
“Ah, yes, we get to the crux of the problem,” Konstantin said. “Your dog may be innocent, but you most certainly are not.”
“It wasn’t my fault the two of you started talking about killing someone before checking to make sure the building was empty,” I said, fear making me angry. My words were sharp enough to cut.
The brothers shared a confused look.
“What?”
“That’s why you’re going to kill me, right? Because I overheard you saying you wanted to torture and kill the person who is stealing from you.”
“You,” Konstantin said.
“Yes, me. I heard you.”
“No,” Konstantin said, looking more confused by the moment. “No, you are the thief.”
“I’m… what? No, I’m not.”
“It started when you did.”
“It started right before I did,” I corrected. “You thought I stole from you?” I asked, shock making me a little hysterical. “Wow. You’re a real crack team of criminals,” I added, an almost maniacal laugh escaping me. “Didn’t even know your vent was full of stolen cash.”