Page 16 of Darkness I Become
Mine.The word sent a shiver down Asha’s spine, part-horror, part something else she was ashamed of. She hated the idea of him owning her, but at the same time, when he looked at her like that, she foundherself wondering if maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to be owned bythisman.
You’re the worst feminist ever, Asha. Seriously, what the fuck.
She flinched as Cade’s other hand came up to touch her face, and he murmured, again only for her, “Sorry. It’s part of it.”
“Okay,” she breathed, trying to regain her sense of equilibrium.
Well, as long as heapologizesfor the barbaric blood ritual, that makes it okay,she scolded herself.He’s still participating in this system. Never forget it.
Then he stepped back, looking at Angel, who appeared darkly amused. She didn’t like the look in Angel’s eye, like a hawk surveying prey. An uneasy pause stretched out for several seconds, and Angel’s expression didn’t change.
“There’s just one problem,” the gang leader finally said, the corners of his lips twitching. “Payment.”
Cade frowned. “We agreed—”
“Yeah, on you taking Rockland for me, like you keep promising,” Angel cut in sharply. “So, here’s what we’re gonna do.”
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, three men emerged from the crowd, surrounding Asha. She gasped in pain and surprise as one of them kicked her feet out from under her. Cade reached out for her automatically, but they shoved her away from him. Before she could react, the largest man sat on her back, and she felt cold, hard metal pressed to the back of her head. A gun.
She froze, her eyes wide.
“What the fuck is this?” Cade snapped at Angel. “We had a fucking deal, Angel. We even did your stupid fucking ritual.”
Asha squirmed instinctively, which only earned her a blow to the back of the head that made her see stars. Meanwhile, Angel’s expression didn’t shift an inch. His smile was haunting. He wasenjoyingthis.
“So, our deal’s changed,” Angel said simply. “You get me Rockland, and you get your girl back. Don’t get it to me, and she’s my new pet. I’ll put a collar on her and walk her like a dog through the streets.”
“Fuck you,” Asha spat at him, unable to contain herself. “I’d rather die.”
Angel’s cruel laughter pierced her ears. “I like the girls with spirit, you know. It’s more satisfying to break them, in the end.”
Cade’s jaw worked, and when he spoke, his voice was laced with fury.
“Let her go,” he ordered, with all the authority and coldness of a hardened military commander. “We can settle this some other way. But she’s off limits.”
Asha noticed that Leo and Dom had suddenly appeared behind Cade, emerging silently like shadows. Both of them looked resigned, but determined. They’d follow their friend into a fight, if it came to it.
The only thing that kept Asha from succumbing to her terror was her refusal to let Angel see her fear. It was the kind of thing he’d get off on, seeing a woman afraid of him.
Pathetic.
“No other way to settle it,” Angel replied, grinning, though it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “You’ve been dragging your feet on Rockland long enough, man. So, here’s the next part of the deal: you have two weeks. If you don’t get back here before then, she’s mine. Forever.”
Cade paled. “Two weeks is fucking impossible and you know it.”
Angel shrugged. “That’s your problem,Captain.” His disdain on the last word was unmistakable. He nodded at the three men around Asha. “Lock her up.”
Asha cried out as they started to drag her back toward the clubhouse. She clawed at the dirt in desperation, but only succeeded in breaking two of her fingernails. More of Angel’s men coalesced around her, preventing escape.
She locked eyes with Cade before they blocked him from view, and for the first time since she’d met him, he looked away.
Asha’s new home was a tiny concrete box of a room with nothing in it except a ragged straw pallet on the floor. There was a narrow window near the ceiling in one corner—far too small to crawl out of. Even if it had been large enough, however, steel bars had been installed over it.
They threw her in, then bolted a heavy steel door behind her. Night had fallen now, and the room was completely dark, as there wereno candles present. Only moonlight filtered in through the barred window.
Asha collapsed on top of the straw pallet, shivering from the draft. It was March, and the nights were still cold. She’d wisely worn the warmer clothes that Lana had given her, but they weren’t enough. She curled up under a thin blanket that’d been left on top of the pallet, desperate to get warm. It was musty and stank like stale urine, but it was better than nothing.
She stared up into the dark. She’d heard Cade shouting some more at Angel while she was being dragged away, and more raised voices in return, but she had no idea what they’d ultimately decided. In the end, it probably didn’t matter. The game was clearly rigged against Cade from the start, and by extension, against her, too.
