Page 49 of Bound By Her

Then she turned that sharp, assessing gaze back on Bryson.

“And you. Do you have any sense at all? Picking a fight, in your situation? Not smart.”

Bryson scoffed. “I can take care of myself.”

Her head tilted, lips pressing together in mock sympathy. “Really?Because judging by your face—and the shape Seth and Kaydon were in—I’d say you’re doing ashit joball around.”

Red.

Red flared in his vision, drowning out everything else. He didn’t have to sit here and listen to this.

His chair scraped loudly as he stood?—

“SIT DOWN.”

The force of her command slammed into him like a fist to the chest.

Before he even realized what was happening, his ass was back in the chair.

What the fuck?

His breath came hard and fast, rage surging under his skin, but Adria was already straightening her blazer, composed as ever.

She met his stunned gaze with a slow, satisfied smile.

Her eyes burning into him.

“If I require Eric’s assistance, I will kick Seth and Kaydon out of this house. I will not include the extras I offered them originally, and they will not be left in a good place. Have I made myself clear?”

“Crystal,” he ground out.

“Good, put this on.”

A small watch slid across the table, and Bryson caught it. No, it wasn’t a watch; it was a monitoring bracelet. He recognized this one immediately. His father used them routinely on traitors. It monitored heart rate, respiration, blood-pressure, location, temperature, and really anything else a good torture session needed. It helped the facilitator keep their victims alive as long as possible.

“I assumed you would be familiar with it,” she said.

She was completely insane.

“I’m not wearing this.”

“You will wear it. It is just a matter of if Eric is going to put it on you, or if you are going to put it on yourself.”

He thought of Seth wearing it. Hopefully, he didn’t know what it was; Bryson knew Kaydon did.

“This is crazy,” he said.

“Welcome to the fun-house,” she said, walking out of the room.

CHAPTER 14

NORTH CAROLINA

Adria heard the snap of the tracker as she left—the sound sharp in the quiet air. She motioned for Bryson to follow and stepped out of the room.

Her heart pounded harder than she liked.

She had deliberately left Bryson alone for the first week, making sure he felt like an afterthought. The next two weeks, however, had been something else.