Page 40 of Like Grim Death: Part One
And only blackness, pure and opaque, stares back at me through my pupils.
“Upstairs, but is he across from their room? Does he sleep beside their bed?”
I don’t know this voice, or if I do, I can’t place it. I try to open my mouth, but if anything comes out, I can’t hear it.
“Tell me about their security system. How hard would it be to get inside? You can unlock the door through their cameras.” A laugh, light and airy. “That seems lax.”
A splitting headache erupts inside my skull. It jolts me into alarm.Is this it? Memento mori come to life?I think I’m sitting as I jerk upright, and I distantly hear chains clanking. I try to lift my hands, but they’re bound to something hard and cold, and the sound of the chains connects with my thoughts in a way my body can’t quite place yet.
I’m tied up.
That laughter again, like this is a fun fucking day at the park.
Park.For some reason, the word sparks the thought of Rain.
Fear engulfs me, and there’s an iron taste in my mouth as I try to move my tongue again. Blood?
The questions replay in my head as I attempt to get my vocal cords to work.Security system. Where he sleeps.
Rain. They’re asking aboutRain.
I have to pry my fucking eyelids open, only to seenothing.Because there’s something over my eyes, and when I shift my body, I find my wrists ache and my hands are nearly numb, pins and needles stabbing through my palms and fingers, the chains clanking once more.
I shuffle my feet, but it’s the same. More chains. I’m sitting up, I’m in a chair, and I’m not getting out.
I suck down a breath, incense woody and floral in my throat as I try to stay calm. Tothink.
But with all this shit going on, the only thing I can think about is like an echo inside my skull, and it isn’t helpful, and it’s why I swore I’d never do it.Never fall in fucking love.
Ella.
Ella.
Ella.
I kick out my legs once more and get nowhere, only the rattling of metal links the result of my action. But I’m also able to feel the fact I’m still clothed.
Thank Satan for small miracles, I guess.
As my adrenaline spikes and maybe the fading drug from the cloth that was wrapped around my nose and mouth drags me into awareness, the pain aching through every muscle in my body comes back around too.
My heart races, and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but however long it is, it means I’ve been away from Ella forthat long.
Before I can fumble a word out, a searing, blinding pain explodes across the side of my temple. My neck jerks back, my body seizing in the chair as chains clank, then a voice is whispering with venom beside my ear.
“Where does he sleep, Maverick Astor?”
My chest heaves, a growl leaving my lips as I straighten, attempting to blink back the blow.
There’s silence, only the sound of my pulse rattling around inside my skull.
Then another blow, this time on the opposite side of my head. My neck cracks from the force of the hit, and red stars explode behind my eyes.
“What’s the passcode for the garage? We saw you enter tonight. Don’t waste time with lies.”
I grind my teeth together to stop from screaming as I squeeze my eyes shut tighter though the blindfold does a good enough job keeping me in the dark.
“You have two seconds to answeroneof my questions.”The voice is accented. There’s a thread of familiarity running through it, but I can’t grab onto it.
