Page 131 of Prey

I screamed when the doors opened, and two men I had never met walked in.

I backed into my corner as they stood there, watching me with various degrees of amusement that sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

“Oh, look. Our guest is awake,” one of them said.

They had the same facial features, with heavy-set eyebrows that settled unappealing above deep-set, dark brown eyes. It was hard to tell how big their eyes were, since they were encased with copiously long eyelashes that looked uncomfortable.

Their noses dominated their faces, but one had a flatter nose, while the other one’s nose was just wide and pointed.

Lips surrounded by dark, unkempt beards, which were nothing like Roman’s, with the bottom lips disproportionately bigger than the top.

But that was where the similarities ended.

One was tall and lean, the other was short and heavy.

The short one stood ramrod straight, as if he thought the posture would add more to his height.

I estimated the short one to be about five inches taller than me, though, so he wasn’t exactly short, just shorter than most men. He was the one who had spoken when they first entered.

The taller one stood with his back hunched, so much so that I started to imagine straightening his back for him because it looked uncomfortable.

He deferred to the short one.

They seemed to be close in age, but I got the feeling the short one was older.

They were both unattractive men, and not just because they decided to do something as ugly as drug me and chain me to the wall, but physically, they were unattractive men.

That made them even more dangerous. To live in a world where you had the potential to become a powerful man, and still feel like you got short-changed.

They would likely do almost anything to prove their dominance—their power—including asserting it over me. I was sure of it.

After all, I was outnumbered and chained to the wall.

I didn’t say anything.

There were so many reasons why they might have taken me, either because of who my dad was, or because of Roman.

I swallowed down the fear trying to escape my throat in the form of a scream.

I didn’t make any noise at all.

They started to walk closer to me, crowding me.

I pushed myself flat against the wall until there was no more space to move.

They crouched down and took me in, as if they were scientists observing a new species for the first time. I had the sudden urge to punch their stupid faces.

That would only anger them.

The short one grabbed my hair and pulled it to the side.

I let out a small groan in pain, grabbing at my scalp and trying to lessen his grip. The chains rattled as I moved, reminding me of the weight on my arms.

He smiled viciously at me as the tall one said, “Remember, we can’t do anything to her. He wants her to go back to him.”

The short one tightened his grip.

“He wants her back, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a bit of damage.”

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