Page 23 of Stolen

At this point, I’d had enough with his hand constantly at my throat. I wrapped my right hand on the underside of his wrist while my left shot out against his elbow. He bent it just in time, essentially only causing his arm to move slightly as he absorbed my attack. Had he kept his arm straight, I could have broken his elbow. It didn’t deter me, though, as I continued to strike the same spot several more times before he released my throat and captured both my hands in his, pinning them above my head.

I continued my fight, attempting more use of my knees, but the owner just roughly pressed himself into me, crushing me against the wall. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes as all my frustration came out, and I screamed and cursed out loud until I finally gave up my struggle and just waited for my inevitable death to come.

Just then, the two guards came back with Kayla and the other girl squirming and screaming in their arms. I felt my insides shrink as I looked back at Kayla, confirming her failed attempt at escape. She now looked terrified for me.

“Get them back in their cages. Punish the two who ran,” the owner barked, still keeping a tight grip on my throat.

Oh, God, Kayla, I’m sorry.

“And get someone to clean this piece of shit off the floor,” he ordered, nodding to Jared.

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison and got the other girls back in line and out the door, leaving me with the owner and a fucked-up Jared on the floor.

“You’re really something else,” the owner spoke down to me harshly. “Quite the valiant attempt there, sacrificing yourself like that…but still pretty fucking stupid, not to mention pointless.” His eyes were dark. The unrestrained fury resonating from them had my stomach clenching into a thorn bush of knots.

“We all have our bad days,” I offered lightly. “Today just happened to be Jared’s.”

“And now it’s about to be yours.”

I scoffed. “I just beat the shit out of the man responsible for my being here. All things considered, today was a great day. Good luck tipping that scale.”

A cruel smile crept across his lips as a low chuckle vibrated up his throat.

“It looks like I’m going to have to make good on my promise, aren’t I?”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. What the fuck promise was that?

Pulling me from the wall, he grabbed a chunk of my wet hair from the back of my head and dragged my thrashing defiant ass out of the locker room.

His grip on my hair was so tight that it blinded me with pain as he tugged me down the hall. The asshole even kept his arm down at his side so I had to crouch and practically jog at the same time.

When we reached the elevator, he threw me inside, and I crashed hard against the steel walls. Following me in, he pressed his hard body against mine, backing me into the corner of the elevator and trapping me there. He then reached over and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

“I’m impressed by your determination and ferocity,” he said, sneering down to me. “Most slaves break pretty easily after one session with me. But not you. I had a feeling you’d want more.”

He must have been right because I couldn’t follow the rules around here to save my life. Literally. But I was so pissed that I just didn’t care what happened next. The dam to my adrenaline broke loose, and I felt a surge of fury roll out of me like a fucking lightning storm of fierce retribution.

“Okay, look,” I said, staring up at him as my heart practically leaped out of my chest. “You’re obviously a businessman, so I’m sure we can come to some kind of understanding here.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me, obviously entertained by my sudden change of attitude.

“Are you seriously trying to negotiate with me right now?” he asked, completely surprised.

“Look, we both know I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t fit the mold. Yet here I am so now you have to deal with me. And I just think you’re going about it the wrong way.”

My attempt for deflection was comical at best, but if you can’t beat them, humor them.

He looked down on me with amusement in his eye. I knew he could smell the bait I was dangling, but this fucker liked to play with his food, so it was time to employ the right strategy.

“Go on,” he encouraged, tugging my line.

I took a deep breath, hoping I had the tenacity to make it out of this in one piece.

“I just proved your boy incompetent down there. I think he’s proved it several times already given the shit show of evidence he left behind when I was taken and the fact that I was able to stab him and make a run for it earlier.”

His eyes remained cold. “Your point?”

“My point is I’m weeding out your obvious liabilities. I can’t really do that for you if we keep meeting like this.”

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