Page 21 of Moretti Captive
“Come any closer, and I’ll blind her!” she shouts.
At first glance, I think it’s Vin standing there pointing a gun at Ivy. But then I realize that it’s Nic. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him look so pissed off. He’d been angry after the mugging incident, but he was more relieved that I was okay than mad. Right now, though, there is a fury running through his eyes like fire.
I give him a little wink. I hear footsteps behind us, and then Vin’s cool voice reaches my ears.
“Put it down and step away from her.”
His feet slowly bring him around to where I can see him. His eyes burn just as viciously as Nic’s when he sees my new beaten-to-a-pulp aesthetic. Sometimes a girls just got to try out a new look.
While Ivy’s attention is on the guys, since she seems to think they’re the biggest threat in the room, I manage to get my left arm out of the ropes that were barely restraining it. I look up at Vin and give him a smile. He realizes what I’m about to do a second before I do it.
“No! Don’t!” His shout startles Ivy, and the scalpel slips, slicing into my eyebrow.
While she’s looking down at me in horror, I make my move. I grab the wrist holding the scalpel and thrust it up. Her eyes are wide and blink down at me. The hand holding the scalpel lets go as she falls over to the side onto her back next to me, the scalpelsticking out of her neck as blood flows into a pool on the floor beneath her. She looks up at me, and I grin down at her.
“Who means nothing now?” I ask her, tilting my head to the side.
Vin gets to us first, and Ivy looks relieved for a moment.
“Are you okay?” he asks, crouching down in front of me.
Ivy’s soul crumbles when he doesn’t even acknowledge her where she’s lying on the ground beside him.
“What is wrong with you?! She could have taken your eye out. You’re a fucking mess.” He glares down at Ivy. Her eyes widen. “If she wasn’t already practically dead, I would shoot her. I won’t take away your first kill, though.”
I watch as Ivy goes completely limp. The life drains from her eyes, and I find that I’m happy to watch her die after coming to the realization that she would never have what she believed she was owed. If I wasn’t tied to this damn chair, I would kick her lifeless corpse.
I huff, pulling at my restraints. “She’s not my first.” I’m not sure why I admit that. Maybe it’s the multiple hits I took to the head or the adrenaline that’s just now leaving my body in mass exodus.
He gapes at me. “What?!”
I point at the dead guy lying on the ground. “Do you want me to believe that’s the first person Nic’s ever murdered? Let’s not be naive now. You kidnapped me and threatened to put me in a barrel of acid. Wouldn’t you think someone normal would get a little squeamish about that?”
His mouth hangs open. I narrow my eyes and gesture to my tied legs and other arm.
“Anyone planning to help me out of this?”
Nic rushes to me. He pats his pockets, then looks to Vin. “Do you have a knife?”
I nod my head backward. “There’s a whole tr—” Vin reaches over and yanks the scalpel out of Ivy’s neck and hands it to Nic. “I guess that works too.”
Nic carefully cuts the rope. It would have been a lot easier for him with a bigger knife, but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.
“What the fuck did she do to you?” Vin asks as I lift my shirt to check the bruises forming on my stomach.
I look up at him and frown. “She beat the shit out of me. I did antagonize her to the point she couldn’t think straight. Figured it would be better than her using those.” I point at the tray of torture tools.
Vin curses, cupping my cheek. I wince from the bruise that’s probably going to show up there in the next few minutes.
“Tell me everything that happened.”
So, I do. Once Nic gets me untied, he picks me up and carries me out to the car. They both get into the back seat, and Vin’s driver pulls away from the creepy warehouse I was being kept in. I tell them everything that happened on the drive back to the hospital. Vin looks beyond pissed, and I can’t fault him for that. When he looks directly at me, his eyes soften.
“You were smart. I don’t think you were wrong either. She would have just killed you quicker if you tried to downplay our connection. I hate that you got hurt so badly, but I am glad you’re still alive.”
I grin up at him. “Me too. I’ve just realized that I’ve got something worth fighting for.”
Now he’s the one blushing. I smile at him, then look up at Nic still holding me in his lap.
