Page 83 of Fake Dark Vows
“You disappoint me, Rose.”
He’s behind me in one fluid movement, and his hand is covering my mouth again. Sharp, stinging pain slithers against my neck and I try to scream, but the sound is swallowed by his hand.
The black curtain drops to the floor, revealing what was going on behind it. Someone else is strapped to another chair, facing me, her head lowered so that all I can see is the top of her head, and the long black hair dripping water onto the floor. Another man dressed all in black, grabs her hair in his fist and pulls her head backwards to expose her face and neck.
Jennifer.
Her immaculate features have been spoiled by a black eye, the flesh so pulpy and swollen that the eye is closed. One side of her jaw is swollen too, her lips misshapen, the mottled mauve bruising crawling down the side of her face and neck. Her forehead is smeared with blood. Her ankles are also bound, and I can’t see her hands behind the back of the seat.
“Jennifer?” I whisper. “What did you do to her?”
“Just a little warning,” the guy standing behind me says. He doesn’t add that it’s a warning for me—he doesn’t need to.
“Let her go.”
The man holding Jennifer’s hair grins at his friend, like the whole situation is a joke to them, and anger bubbles under my skin.
“Twenty-four hours.” The European guy’s face reappears beside mine, our cheeks brushing. “You have twenty-four hours to give us what we want, and she goes free.”
No, no, no. Twenty-four hours isn’t enough time.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” I’m stalling.
I can’t do this. Brandon will never listen to me unless I can give him something in return. His enemies, for instance.
“You don’t.”
“Why should I help you then?”
He licks the side of my face, and I cringe away from him. “From where I’m standing, you don’t have a choice, Rose.”
The question is on the tip of my tongue. I force myself to ask, even though I’m not going to like the answer. “What happens if I refuse?”
He straightens. “I thought I’d made that perfectly clear.” He addresses his friend. “Was I not precise enough? Do I need to apply a little more pressure, right here?” His hand slides around my throat and tightens.
A vein starts pulsing in my forehead. No air is getting through to my lungs, and I can feel my eyes bulging. My instinct is to claw his hand away from me, but I can’t move in my restraints.
Jennifer starts thrashing her head wildly, trying to escape, and through the blur of tears I watch her captor punch the side of her face, and Jennifer go limp.
The hand releases my throat, and the black-haired guy is crouching in front of me, stroking my face with the back of his index finger as if trying to make me feel better. I gasp for air, coughing and spluttering, tears mingling with the saliva on my chin.
“Make it happen, Rose. I believe in you.” He stands and slides the blindfold back over my eyes. “Oh, and one more thing. We’ll be watching you.”
“How?” I ask hoarsely. “How will you be watching me?”
“You mention our little chat to Brandon,” he says, ignoring the question, “and it will be game over.”
“How else can I get you what you want? What am I supposed?—”
Pain explodes in my head, and the world goes black.
CHAPTER 27
Brandon
“Yes?” I answer the room phone with a dry mouth.
The relentless sun is pouring in through the sliding glass doors that open onto the balcony, filling the suite with too much brightness. My head is brewing up the pounding ache that I haven’t been able to shift since Ruby Island, like stale beer with a fresh batch of hops added.