Bite Marks (The Lycans 5)

Bane and Vox started cursing and saying vulgar, filthy things, antagonizing the guards. I leaned to the side and watched as the two pulled out guns that didn’t look normal, not like any I’d ever seen.

Vox started laughing. “Well, come on, motherfucker.”

“You better knock me out good, ’cause if not, I’m going to rip those small balls off and feed them to that Vox asshole in the next cell,” Bane yelled out.

Vox laughed, and then there was a flash of light and twin popping sounds. I felt the hair on my arms stand on end, electricity coursing through the air a second before the distinct sound of two huge bodies hitting the ground came through.

I heard a set of shoes hitting the cement in even, unhurried steps. I faced forward and saw the man standing twenty feet from me, and although shadows concealed his face, I knew he looked right at me.

He was tall, wearing a suit, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. Through the dank, old scent of the cell, I picked up something else, a scent that tingled in my nose, hinting at something. I knew that smell, but from where?

I knitted my brows and racked my brain, and then it hit me, and I snapped my head up, my eyes widening, my heart seizing.

No. God, no.

The man in the suit laughed low and snapped his fingers to someone beside him. A moment later the light in the hallway flared, and my thoughts were confirmed.

“I knew you were smart,” Salvatore said in his deeply accented voice. “Realized who I was before you even fully saw me, isn’t that right?” He sucked on his teeth. “What was it? The hair? Height?”

“Cologne,” I whispered.

He hummed and tapped his nose with a finger. “Beautiful and smart.”

We were both silent for long seconds, the guards like stone, none of them looking at me or him.

“I-I don’t understand,” I finally said.

All amusement faded from his face, and he took on a cold expression. “Don’t act dumb now, Kayla. You know why you’re here.”

I was shaking my head before he finished. “Does Sasha know what a monster you are?” Oh God, please don’t let Sasha be involved in this. I realized I was holding my breath as I waited for him to respond, if he even would.

He was quiet for so long I didn’t think he would answer me, but then he snapped his fingers, and a guard was there, unlocking my cell and pulling the door open.

He stepped a few feet inside and looked around the cell, his nose scrunching. “I’m sorry about the accommodations. It’s not ideal, but no special treatment.” He looked at me. “Not even for you. Higher-up orders and all that.”

I didn’t speak, didn’t give a shit about the cell. I wanted answers. I wanted out of here.

“My cousin knows nothing about this part of my life. She thinks I’m a ladies’ man from the Old Country who exports wine and virgin olive oil.” He pulled both hands out of his jacket pockets and held them out, his smile as slimy as I’d ever seen. “She’s too weak for what we do here, doesn’t have the strength or intelligence to understand that at the end of it all, we do this to better the world. Her soft heart would only damage our mission here. As it usually goes with the fairer sex—”

“You exploit. You murder,” I parroted what Larkin said and found myself glancing at her. She didn’t move from the same spot she’d been in, but the small rise and fall of her chest told me she still slept. When he didn’t respond, I glanced at him and saw he stared at Larkin. I took a step toward her. There might be bars separating her and me, but I felt protective of her.

Salvatore looked back at me and gave me a condescending smile. “She’s a favorite here. Been with us a long time. But you—” He tsked. “You, though, I don’t think will be here with us long at all.”

My heart thundered at his words. What did that mean? Did he know something about Adryan? Were they going to kill me? I wanted the truth but was too terrified to ask.

“I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand what’s going on or why I’m here.” I tried to control my breathing so it didn’t look like I was freaking out, but I knew I failed. “Has this always been your plan since that first time we met?”

He gestured to the cot, but when I didn’t react or move, he shrugged. “When we first met, it was simply a social meeting. I was spending time with my cousin, and I knew from the start she was trying to set me up. I indulged her, although the only female companionship I want is the amount of time it takes for me to get off.”