Page 59 of Cold Foot Revenge
To her horror, she could hear the absolute truth in his voice.
So then why did he leave Dylan alive back there? This wasn’t adding up. He’d seen her claiming mark. He’d commented on her smelling like Dylan. So why?
She wanted to ask, but she would never draw attention to Dylan. Maybe Grave was in a frenzy of fury and not thinking straight. Good. Dylan had until noon to talk with the Cold Foot Crew. Maybe Wreck could talk him out of whatever they were planning, especially if Dylan thought she just left him on a whim. She had to hope. Noon could save him still.
Just up the road, Grave slowed as he passed another truck that pulled over on the shoulder of the road. The window was rolled down in this one too, and the bright-eyed shifter tracked their progress past him without blinking. The speed limit changed to sixty-five miles an hour here, and there was a bear crossing sign directly behind it. Was this the territory line marker? In the woods, she could see movement—fur and glowing eyes. What was happening between these two Crews and this tentative alliance? Clearly there was communication. Clearly, they knew each other. Her world had been very small since she’d been Turned, and she hadn’t paid enough attentionto the outside world. She’d been too emersed in survival, but now she had so many questions. Did this new Crew do Turn doses too? Did they deal them for money like Grave was starting to do? Were they Turning people without their knowledge too? How far did this awful culture extend?
For everything she learned, a dozen more questions arose.
The Alpha’s name was Grit. That word was in her Crew’s name. Was it coincidence?
Noon. He had until noon. She didn’t have Dylan’s number memorized, but maybe if she could get her phone back, she could find a way to warn him.
“Where’s my stuff?” she asked.
“The money is mine.”
“We’ve established that. Where’s my clothes.”
“Tired of wearing his shit?”
She had to be careful here and make sure to only tell the truth. “It’s a reminder. I need my shoes.”
“Your bag is back at the Rabbit Hole. Here is how this will work. You will dance every shift I’m there. When I sleep, you sleep right beside me. When I run errands, guess what you will be doing?”
“Running errands,” she guessed miserably.
“Running errands right beside me. You will give up your duplex—”
“I can’t afford to break the lease—”
“You will give up your apartment,” he yelled louder, “And you will be living with me from here until the day you draw your last breath. When that day is, that’s totally up to you. If you displease me, I will kill you. If you disobey me, I will kill you. If you so much as look at another man in a way I don’t like? I’ll kill you. When I want to fuck you, you will enjoy it, or I will kill you. We’ll call this training, Rox. I will train you to be the perfect mate.”
“You mean sex toy.”
“Call yourself whatever you want. You will learn to be perfect.”
“That’s an impossible life,” she whispered. “Why don’t you just kill me now.”
“Because I want you to live in fear,” he gritted out, sliding his hand to her bare thigh. He slid Dylan’s T-shirt up higher and gripped her leg so hard, it hurt. She gritted her teeth against the pain because flinching would only encourage him. Grave was cruel. She’d always known he was, but not to what extent. Now it was apparent, he had no heart at all.
“I want you to wake up every day wondering what you can do to make me happier. What you can do to live. Each day it will get easier for you. You will learn what I need and serve me before I even ask. You will be quiet, and the defiance will fade from your eyes. You will spread your fucking legs for me,” he said, leveling her with a glare before he dragged his attention back to the road.
Roxy turned to look at the others in the back, but Donnie was the only one who looked even remotely disturbed. “You want a woman who doesn’t want you back,” she said softly. “Just making sure I’m getting this right.”
“I played it your way for a while, but I’m done, Rox. You going and throwing yourself at another man? At a human? That got me for a minute, but then I realized something. Do you know what that is? I like that you’re a hard little coyote to catch. I can have anyone I want, but you have made the chase so fun. I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop watching you. I remember how it feels to fuck your little pussy—”
“That was a long time ago—”
“The reasons you broke up with me—”
“Are valid!” she snapped. “You Turned me into this…this…thing I didn’t sign up for. And for what? So I could match you better? I trusted you, and you hurt me. You didn’t ask me ifI wanted this. You just did it like some scumbag with a roofie drug.”
“Stop!” he roared as long and as loud as he could, and she could hear the order in the demand now. She couldn’t speak anymore even if she wanted to. “I am your Alpha and you will do everything I say!”
Her coyote couldn’t even utter the word run anymore.
They were both rendered mute, and helpless.
