Page 64 of A Touch Of Death

Davis shoves me roughly back, losing hold on me while pushing me into one of the men behind me. Hands clamp down on my arms, keeping me upright and steady. The hold isn't aggressive or confining, simply helping me keep my balance. Davis doesn't notice, scowling at me with a snarl that pulls at his scar again. "Cuff her and get her to the truck. We're late."

With those parting words, he turns on his heel and storms toward where I assume the aforementioned truck awaits. Most of the men surrounding me follow after Davis, but the violet eyed stranger stays behind with the man holding me in place. He pulls the black bandana away from his mouth, revealing his entire face to me.

I open my mouth to speak, but he shakes his head again, watching me carefully. With his eyes still trained on mine, the man behind me leans closer and whispers in my ear, "I need you to trust me."

As the man behind me talks, the man in front of me moves his mouth to the words that are being whispered in my ear. I turn my head to look at the stranger who still has his hands wrapped around my arms, but the bandana covers the lower half of his face while a pair of dark tinted glasses block his eyes from view.

I turn to face the stranger again, finding him watching me intently. The man behind me leans closer again, whispering in my ear, "I know this doesn't look good, but I'll explain when I can. I need you to trust me, Novia. Even if only a little bit. I'm not the bad guy."

Once again, the stranger before me moves his lips to the words, though no sound leaves him. Only my captor's voice can be heard. What the hell? Weirder still is the same familiar feeling rushing through my chest, the one I'd experienced when I first met the stranger . I don't fear this man, and I don't feel like Ishouldfear him. There's a sense of safety about him that I'm not inclined to look into given that he works for Davis and the shitshow he's directing.

Before I can form a response, Spencer groans on the floor. He's still shrouded in a glamour, thankfully still invisible to anyone who looks over at where he's lying. Whispered words behind me say, "We need to leave before the mage wakes up. Please trust me, Dusty."

When Spencer makes another noise, I nod quickly. Trusting this stranger seems a lot safer than sticking around until Spencer wakes up, and shit hits the proverbial fan. It helps that the stranger helped me with the tracker before, though that turned out to be a fruitless endeavor. I guess he’s earned some trust.

The man behind me gently prods my back, urging me forward. I go willingly but stop when we get close enough to the enigma of a man. When I'm close enough, I quietly tell him, "If you have a pen and paper on you, I'd appreciate it if you left a message for him to find. You're asking for a lot, and all I ask is that you do this one small thing for me in return."

He nods slowly, pulling out a tissue and pen, scribbling the small message on the surface. Before he reaches Spencer, he turns and raises his eyebrow and I drop the glamour. My abductor neatly folds the tissue and tucks it into Spencer’s hand. It's then I realise he didn't sell me out. He didn't breathe a word about my mage lying unconscious on the floor. Why? Who the fuck is this guy?

I'm being guided through the forest before I can think to question the stranger out loud. The walk to the truck is quick, the hold on my arm firm but not bruising. As soon as we reach the truck, cuffs are slapped onto my wrists, and I'm being gently nudged into the back. My foot catches on a rock sticking out of the uneven path, but a hand shoots out to steady me again before helping me into the truck.

Just as my ass settles on the unforgivingly cold bench in the back of the truck, the man who'd whispered in my ears removes his glasses. He looks behind himself before turning to face me again. I inhale sharply when the same set of deep purple eyes meets my wide gaze. What. The. Fuck?

He tugs the bandana down, revealing a dimpled smirk. It's definitely the same guy. But how? What? I don't understand. The guy gives me a wink when all I can seem to do is stare at the scruff lining his jaw, the blonde hair peeking out under the ball cap he's wearing, and the eyes that resemble an amethyst crystal.

He leans in close and whispers, "I've got your back, Dusty. Though you might find it hard to believe right now."

He moves back after giving me a small grin, but before he can shut the door, I find my voice. Keeping it low, I blurt, "Wait! If I'm trusting you, surely I need your name. You know mine. Fair's fair."

The stranger nods like it's a completely logical argument and leans in close again. When he's close enough, he whispers, "The name's Quinn Savan. I'll be seeing you soon, Novia Sage Bourne. Don't forget: Trust me."

He's out of the door and slamming it shut securely after him, blocking any attempts for me to question him and leaving me no choice but to trust him. I'm locked in the back of a truck after running away and then being found after a poor attempt of trying to keep my guys safe, and I'm going to be taken back to the hell I swore I'd never return to. I'm up shit’s creek without a paddle, so I have nothing else to lose by trusting the stranger.Quinn Savan.Why does that name sound so familiar to me? It's like I already knew it, but the memory has been buried deep within the recesses of my brain. It feels familiar, but for the life of me, I can't work out where I could have possibly encountered the name before.

The truck starts, and the jolt of its movement shakes me out of my pondering, and I'm forced to think about the torture that awaits me. I know I've suffered worse, but I shouldn't have been so eager to allow myself to be captured after swearing I'd never be captured again. Spencer's safety was paramount to mine, however. Hopefully the note I left him will find the others, and they'll understand why it wasn’t worth the energy to fight. I was surrounded with a downed mage, and a psychopathic human whose life mission is to beat me within an inch of my life when I don’t cooperate was already upon us. Fighting wouldn't have done one bit of good.

Riding to my dungeon takes long enough for my ass to fall asleep against the metal bench, and my wrists begin to ache painfully with the chafing of the metal bound around my bare wrists. The skin is red and raw under the warm metal, and I hiss out a breath of pain when the truck jolts hard enough that I'm forced to brace myself on the bench, causing the cuffs to pinch tighter around my wrists.

I lose track of time as we journey to the facility that homed me for five long, miserable years. There's no light in the back of the truck, so tracking the time by the sun isn't an option. The time just seems to drag by at a snail's pace. Not that I'm in any rush to arrive at a faster pace, but not knowing the time of day or how close we already are is sending my anxiety into overdrive.

What feels like hours later, the truck begins to slow, halting the bumpy drive to wherever the facility is located. The truck comes to a sudden halt, jostling me in my seat. My head almost collides with the metal frame of the ridiculous vehicle, but I somehow manage to balance myself enough to prevent another injury.

I can hear muffled voices just outside of the truck, not loud enough for my ears to decipher what's being said, but I can definitely tell that they're both male voices. Not a moment later, the back doors fly open, and my eyes collide with Quinn's. The purple of his irises looks deeper, darker than before, but my eyebrows furrow at the clear warning held within them. What is he warning me about?

"Come on," he says, motioning me towards where he stands, his voice emotionless. His eyes dart to the side and back to me in quick succession. He makes the motion twice more, and I realise he's warning me that there's someone else on the outside of the truck. I offer him a subtle nod and make my way over to him, letting him pull me out of the truck with no fuss.

Quinn settles me on my feet, his hands gentle though he looks to be a little rough with me. I turn slightly to see who I was warned about, and my breath leaves me in a gust of air when I see the Boss. The cruel psychopath that relished my cries of pain, that favoured me to test their latest weaponry on. The bitch that shot my father and sister right in front of me.

June Gates.

DoctorJune Gates, unless you want to be on the receiving end of a shot to the heart. I've seen her shoot mercenaries for less than forgetting to address her by her title. She's a weapons grade lunatic. Her deranged mind knows no bounds, as she's proven over the last five years.

"Welcome home, Novia. I sure hope you enjoyed your brief vacation. It'll be the last you ever have." The crazy bitch smiles at me like we're the best of friends and she's welcoming me home with the warmth of someone who's missed me.

The smile drops a second later, all traces of the inviting facade nothing but a brief memory. Her eyes harden, that crazed gleam that I'm all too familiar with growing until it overtakes her entire gaze. How she manages to hide that much of an unhinged look so easily has unease prickling under my skin. Her mouth purses, and she steps closer to me, her black pumps crunching over the gravel, and her white lab coat fluttering in the wind as she walks. With a voice that chills me to the very bone, she says, "We won't be making mistakes this second time around. I sincerely hope you enjoy these last moments of breathing the fresh air around you. I hope you enjoy the scenery. They'll be the last pleasant things you see and enjoy for the remainder of your existence. You're going to learn that actions have consequences. And you're going to learn that lesson real damn fast."

She backs away abruptly and gives me a red-lipped grin that's too wide to be believable. Her teeth gleam in the light, her eyes sparking one last crazed look before she shuts her psycho down. She looks like a normal functioning member of society in a matter of one blink. It's unsettling, to say the least. Especially knowing what she's capable of.

"You," she says, nodding her head at Quinn behind me. "See that she's locked away securely. The last man who was sanctioned to keep an eye on her managed to lose her. He's dead. He suffered greatly. Just so you're fully aware of your consequences should she disappear a second time."

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