Page 53 of Stray
I didn’t wait around for her to try to convince me to cheat. Putting space between me and her, I headed back to where Rebel still hung out with Storm. I would let him know that I was takingoff so he didn’t have to worry about Venom jumping me or something.
My phone went off with a text alert in my pocket. Hoping it was Codie, I pulled my phone out and eagerly looked at the screen. It was her. At least, it was her phone.
When I opened up the message and saw the attached photo, I almost lost my shit. I was staring at a picture of Codie tied to a chair, a knife held to her throat. The photo didn’t show who held the knife, but I already knew.
Along with the picture was a message telling me to come to the Venom warehouse alone. To tell nobody.
I glanced over at Rebel, weighing my options. Although it would be so easy to tell him what was going on, I didn’t want to take any chances when it came to Codie. Venom would do anything to hurt us. I knew without a doubt that they would kill her.
Having no choice but to obey for now, I left the party, thankful that I hadn’t drank all that much yet. Breaking Damon Price’s arm hadn’t been enough. This war wouldn’t end until one side stood victorious.
Maybe I would die tonight. But nobody would hurt Codie on my watch.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CODIE
The warehouse looked completely different while empty and lit up with bright fluorescent overhead lights. I sat in the middle of the room, tied to a wooden chair. Everything had happened so fast. One minute I’d been waiting for my ride. The next I’d been tossed into a vehicle against my will and brought here.
Noah and Colt were far too impressed with themselves. They were certain they could use me to lure Stray to the warehouse. I tried to tell them that he didn’t care about me. That there was nothing between us anymore. They weren’t buying it.
Once they went through my phone and found some messages between my friends and me about Stray, they became even more convinced I was their ticket to getting what they wanted. I’d made the mistake of texting about the dark fantasy game we’d been playing.
“So you like being tied up, do you?” Colt taunted, grabbing my chin in his hand. “You must be loving this. I’d be happy to fulfill some dark fantasies for you, Codie. Right after we get your boyfriend here. Maybe he would like to watch.”
Colt ran his rough thumb over my bottom lip, smearing my lipstick down my chin. His touch made me shudder, disgust burning hot in the glare I fired at him.
“Everything about you makes me sick,” I spat. “I would never touch you.”
He shrugged, unfazed by my ire. “Yeah, but that’s how you like it, right? You like to be forced.”
The malicious gleam in Colt’s blue eyes made bile rise in my throat. I knew plenty of girls who thought he was hot and would have done anything to get with him. Hell no. He was a sick son of a bitch who deserved everything the Graveyard Kings were going to do to him.
I jerked my chin from his grasp. “Don’t fucking touch me, you creep.”
“That’s right, baby,” he laughed. “Tell me what I want to hear. Put up a fight. It’s not going to stop me from doing whatever I want with you.”
“Settle down, Colt.” Noah stood across the room near the bar, pouring himself a drink. “Don’t get too carried away. Stray will be here soon.”
“No reason we can’t have some fun with her until then.” Producing the knife he’d held to my throat for the picture they sent to Stray, Colt pressed the tip to my face beneath my eye. “Since the Kings broke Damon’s arm, I’d say we owe them a broken body part or two. What do you think, Codie?”
Absolute terror gripped me. I refused to let Colt know how much he scared me. He was a fucking loser who got off on terrorizing me. This was nothing like what Stray and I had engaged in together. This was a pathetic attempt at power. Stray didn’t have to try so hard to be powerful and in control.
“I think that anything you do to me will only dig your graves that much faster.” I held Colt’s gaze, staring hard at him. The sharp point of the knife bit into my skin, making me hold my breath.
“Those are some pretty brave words. I thought you would be begging by now. I’ve got to say, I’m a little disappointed.” Colt affected a dramatic pout.
I wanted so badly to tell him to go fuck himself but feared the knife pressed to my face. Noah watched from where he stood with his drink. Slowly, he ambled toward us.
“It’s a real shame you had to get caught up in all of this, Codie,” Noah said. “You shouldn’t have come to us about Stray. All you did was tell us that you meant something to him. Now look where you are.”
He was right. I already knew that I’d fucked up. I’d had no idea that I was playing right into their hands, making myself a target. After the way Stray had treated me tonight, I didn’t expect him to show up for me.
“What are you going to do if Stray decides I’m not worth it? I told you that he and I aren’t a thing anymore. He doesn’t want anything to do with me.” I looked past Colt to Noah, hoping he was the more rational of the two. Damon wasn’t here, most likely due to his recently broken arm. I doubted that he’d have been any better than these two were.
“You say that. Maybe it’s true. Maybe it isn’t. There’s only one way to find out.” As Noah drew closer, he touched the gun shoved into the waist of his jeans. “We owe the Kings. A life for a life. It would be unfortunate if that was you. That will be up to Stray. If he doesn’t show, then we do whatever we have to.”
The hatred I felt for these idiots burned all the way to the soles of my feet. The chair was uncomfortable and hard, making my back ache. They’d tied me with ropes around my torso, securing me to the back of the chair. My ankles had also been tied to the chair legs. They’d gone to an awful lot of trouble.
