Page 101 of Hard Wired

Chapter Thirty-Three

Raymond passed Sylvie over to a guard, who deposited her in a bedroom upstairs in the mansion. She banged on the door for a while, until the guard outside yelled at her to shut up or he’d come in there.

She backed away, scanning the room for anything that might help her. A weapon, a phone they might’ve overlooked. Of course, there was nothing because the Syndicate wasn’t that stupid. Unlike her. She’d been such an idiot, thinking she was several steps ahead of them, when they’d been playing her and Dominic the whole time.

Charles had made no secret of the fact that the Russians were going to murder Dominic. Her heart wouldn’t accept it. She wanted to scream and kick at the walls, as if that could somehow save him. But she was helpless. Dominic was going to die, and there was nothing she could do. She dug her fingers into her hair, pulling at the strands.

They’d told Raymond their entire plan. The kid was a good actor, she gave him that. It seemed like Raymond and Dominic had that in common. Dominic had changed his personality depending on what other people expected, and Raymond had learned to do the same.

What did he plan to do with her, exactly? Dominic clearly thought she was better off in Raymond’s hands than with the Syndicate’s Russian mobster friends. She was inclined to agree. But that was a small consolation when she was trapped in this room with no way out and nothing to defend herself.

The furniture was screwed into the walls, and the light fixtures were all mounted into the drywall. Not even a lamp she could bring down on Raymond’s head if he got too close.

There was a bathroom, but it held little except a spare toothbrush.

She found a duffel bag in the otherwise empty closet. The bag had men’s clothing inside, which she guessed belonged to Dominic’s brother. There was a pair of running shoes, but they didn’t have much weight to them.

Finally, after what felt like ages, exhaustion started to overcome her. There was no window, but it had to be past sunrise by now. She sat in a corner of the walk-in closet and let her head fall against the wall.

She woke with a gasp when the door to the bedroom opened. She peered out of the closet.

Raymond had just stepped inside.

“Were you sleeping in there on the floor? Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable in the bed?”

It didn’t sound like he was making any sick innuendos, but she couldn’t be sure. Raymond was hard to read.

“I’m guessing you weren’t sleeping,” she said. “It’s no wonder, since you’re giving up your brother to be tortured and murdered. You should feel some kind of shame after the sacrifices he’s made for you. He loves you.”

“And I loved him. That’s why I took responsibility for your welfare.”

“Well, don’t expect me to thank you.”

He shrugged. “Get yourself cleaned up. You smell.”

“Fuck you. I’m not taking off my clothes.”

“I wasn’t asking. I was telling.” He marched into closet, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her up. He was thinner than Dominic, a decade younger, but he was strong. He shoved her into the bathroom. “The sooner you learn to take orders, the easier this will be.”

She braced herself against the wall across from the toilet. “Try to come near me, and I’ll kick your balls so hard you’ll be spitting them out.”

Raymond stood in the doorway to the bathroom. He reached into his pocket. She sucked in a breath, thinking he would produce a gun.

But instead, he held a stack of note paper.

The first one said, I’m not going to hurt you. But they’re listening.

He raised a finger to his lips. All she could do was stare. As she watched, he put the piece of paper into his mouth and chewed.

The next note said, Scream.

Raymond nodded at the paper, raising his eyebrows. She opened her mouth and yelled. He banged his fist into the wall, and she yelped in surprise.

He poured a glass of water and drank to wash down the paper, grimacing. It looked awful.

The next note said, Do everything I say if you want to get out of here.

What about Dominic?she mouthed silently.

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