The Girl Who Kicked Ass (Death Fields 3)

Chapter 4

I’m gagged and blindfolded, then dragged kicking and grunting up a flight of hardwood stairs. A pair of strong hands holds me down, ties me to a hard, uncomfortable chair, restraining me against my will. I’m thinking terrible things. The worst things about being in this position. Did this man want to hurt me? To touch me? I swallow back pure fear. When the man tightens the rope, he’s close enough that I smell the slight scent of soap and sweat. To my relief, there’s no funny business.

That’s when the fear subsides and the anger returns and I start to fight back. No matter how many times I aimlessly kick, I can’t hit my target. Then I’m left alone to hear the others go through the same process. Doors slam, rattling the windows in the old house until it grows quiet.

Unknown time passes and I drift into sleep, waking when I hear feet on the stairs. My neck aches and my arm muscles burn, but I remain frozen as my captor passes by my room. A mixture of relief and worry washes over me. I’m thankful that no one came in the room, but I worry about my team. Are they separated? Would Davis come looking for us? Would he even know where to start?

The floor creaks to my left and I realize that no, I’m not alone, and terror seizes me when I sense a body move close to mine. I wait, trying to feel their location, bide my time. My thighs are bound but not my ankles. He’s close, I know he’s close, and I strike out with my foot and am rewarded with a grunt. I don’t even hide my muffled glee.

A hand wraps around my neck and a voice, low and menacing, says, “Do it again, and I’ll break a bone. I haven’t decided which one yet.”

My world stops at the threat and the hood is yanked from my head. I blink, eyes watering not from the adjustment to light but at the person holding me captive.

“No,” I say, garbled by my gag.

Wyatt stands, hard-faced, by the door. “Alex, keep your freaking mouth shut and don’t start.”

I rise up on my feet and rush at him. I don’t get far, barely two footsteps before I topple over and crash to my still-healing face.

He tips the chair, and me, back on all fours.

“Behave,” he says quietly, “and maybe you’ll get out of here alive.” The door opens behind him. I’m in for my second shock of the day when my father appears in the doorway. His eyes widen when he sees me and immediately says, “You gagged her? I was explicit in my instructions.”

“Sorry sir, she was a bit combative,” Wyatt replies.

Combative? I’ll show him combative. I’m going to kill him.

“Alexandra, you’ll behave?” my father asks.

Oh, I’m going to kill my father, too. Both of them. With my bare hands.

He looks at me expectantly so I give him a quick nod. Wyatt moves between me and my father and takes my jaw gently in both of his strong hands. Just before removing the gag, he whispers, “Keep your shit together.”

I try to bite his finger but miss. Stupid ninja.

“That’s better,” my father says with a weak smile. The room is bare, other than a matching chair to mine and the medical bag he places on the floor near the door. He sits across from me and I notice he’s wearing a Jane-approved uniform. It’s the first time I’ve seen him out of a lab coat in over a year. He looks nervous, face blotchy. I note the expansion of gray hairs in his beard and hair.

Everything about this situation is insane.

“Is this really necessary?” I ask my Dad.

“I’m afraid so, sweetheart.”

Anger builds at his use of endearments. I tug at my restraints. “What this is about?”

He glances at Wyatt and gives him a nod. Quietly, he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him, but not before giving me one last look. I roll my eyes, pretending my heart isn’t lodged in my throat. When I glance at my father again, his face has softened and he says, “Are you okay? I told them not to harm you. The Hybrids are a bit…unstable.”

My head spins. My father is talking about the Hybrids like they’re a normal thing. “I’m fine, I guess, but I really don’t understand what’s happening here. You kidnapped me! Tied me up!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he mutters. His hands shake. “This isn’t me. I swear it’s not. And look at you! Dressed in a military uniform. Carrying weapons! We’re no longer recognizable, but unfortunately we’ve got no choice.”

“Don’t we?” I ask, because I refuse to act like I don’t have agency here. Not in this life. I cut to the chase. “Clearly you’ve picked me up because Jane wants me and the others dead, because I know about her nasty secret.”

“If only it were that simple,” He says gravely. “She doesn’t want you dead, Alexandra. She wants to turn you into one of them.”

My jaw drops. “A Hybrid? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Always literal, my father shakes his head. “No, I am not joking. I’m very serious. In a bizarre way, family is still very important to Jane, but like everything else she can’t just be satisfied with typical relationships. She wants to control us and view her ideas the same way she does. I’ve played along with her fantasies just to stay on the inside. She can’t alter my biology or I would be unable to do my job. But you…in her mind, you could be so much more.”