Page 171 of Inferno

"Damn. You do these yourself?"

He gestures with a nod to the angry marks on my wrists.

I chew my lip. "No. Years of being chained to a bed every night does a number on your skin."

"Jesus," he mutters. The cuffs aren’t even tight. Sloppy.

Dumbass.

"Come on," he grunts, nudging me forward. We hang a sharp left down a sterile white hallway until we hit a set of locked double doors. He scans his prints and punches in a code.

The sunlight stuns me.

Air. Real air.

I breathe deep. Even the gravel under my bare feet feels like a gift.

"Bit of a walk. You good?" he asks, glancing down.

Should I mention the mile I once hiked barefoot through snow on a mission?

Probably not.

"I’ll survive. I’ve made it this far."

"Fair enough."

We head toward the trees. No houses in sight. Just woods. Dense. Endless.

"How big is this place?" I ask. Conan seems like the type who’ll talk.

Also, he doesn’t seem to hate me. Yet.

"No clue. Fucking massive. We’ve got the factory, Inferno, a mansion each... and my sweet little cabin hidden in the woods. For my games."

He’s practically bouncing.

"Right. Your games?"

I keep him talking. My left hand is almost free.

"Yeah. Mine’s next, The Decadence Chase." He throws his arms wide like he’s welcoming me to a theme park. "Perfect hunting ground, right?"

I nod, my pulse spiking.

Great. I’m up against the hunter.

With my wrist free, I match his pace. He’s huge, muscle and menace, which might slow him down. Might.

But he’s trained. I’ll get one shot at this.

We plunge deeper into the trees. The birds are quiet. The air stills.

"Inferno? What’s that?" I ask, slicing through the silence.

"Declan will tell you. You’ll have fun."

A chill cuts through me. Fun sounds like a threat.

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