I snap my glare up at him. “You told me to be quick,” I remind him. “Shut the fucking door if you’re too scared.”
I laugh at the ridiculousness of my comment. A guy like Grayson isn’t scared of anything, but just the fact that I insinuated it drives him fucking mad. He doesn’t say anything though, he’s got far too much control for that, but knowing is enough for me.
The fifth drawer is heavier, and as I yank it out, I find nothing but a few papers, papers that definitely shouldn’t be this heavy. I look over the drawer, rattling it to hear noise coming from inside. Grayson steps closer looking over it with me. “There,” he says, pointing to a small opening. “It’s got a false bottom.”
I shove the drawer down on the desk, smirking to myself as it scratches the shit out of the expensive wood. I carefully pull the knife from between my tits and use it to pry open the false bottom, and just like that, I find Sam’s sick little collection of mementos that he’s collected from the stolen girls over the years. There are rings, necklaces, bangles, and right on fucking top are my brass knuckles.
A grin stretches across my face as I pick them out of the drawer and slide them straight back on my fingers. It’s like coming home after a long, shitty trip away, and for the first time in weeks, I finally feel like myself again.
I glance up to meet Grayson’s eyes, seeing an understanding within his grey depths. “I don’t care what you say,” I tell him. “We’re taking this drawer and reuniting as many of these things with their owners as possible.”
Grayson just nods, and as I go to lift up the drawer, the study door flies open, and my head snaps up to find Knox welcoming himself into the room.
Well, well, this is a nice little surprise.
Knox comes to an immediate stop, his head flying up as he meets my wide stare. His mouth drops and it takes me a second to realize that he hasn’t been in school after the guys had gotten to him, and as far as he was aware, his uncle stole me right out of my bedroom and sold me to a wealthy businessman.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, a grin kicking up the corner of my mouth. “You look like you’re seeing a ghost.”
His gaze flicks between me and Grayson, and I curl my fingers into a fist, feeling the sweet familiarity of the brass knuckles tightening over my fingers. It’s like getting rain in the driest desert.
I step around the desk and Knox instantly backs up, sure as hell remembering how I’d fucked him up all those weeks ago. “You … you can’t be here,” he tells me. “You were—”
“Sold? Yeah, thanks for that,” I say, inching in closer. “I don’t think I ever got the chance to truly thank you for the hell you put me through.”
“What? I—”
My fist slams out and I hear the sweet, sweet sound of his nose shattering under my brass knuckles. He falls straight to the ground, clutching his broken nose as a rare laugh tears through Grayson. I look back at him to find a proud grin stretched wide across his face. “There she is.”
I grin back, the happiness and adrenaline pulsing through my veins like a rocket. “I lost her for a second,” I tell him, laughing as I inspect my fist, checking that I didn’t break anything, but damn it, it would be so worth it if I did. I forgot how fucking good that kind of power felt.
Knox groans on the ground, and just as I go to slam my boot into his ribs, a loud BANG echoes through the house and my wide stare whips back around to Grayson’s.
“Playtime is over,” he says, a seriousness over his face as he scoops up Sam’s sick box of mementos before grabbing my discarded gun and knife. “They know we’re here. It’s time to find this girl and get the fuck out.”
CHAPTER 19
Gunshots sound throughout the house as Grayson dumps the drawer into my hands. He bends down and grabs Knox, the panic in his eyes enough to send fear rattling deep inside me. He hoists Knox up, bringing his face to hover right in front of him. “Where the fuck is the girl?” he roars, his voice rebounding off each of the four walls of the private study and making me suck in a breath, only just realizing how scary Grayson can be.
“Fuck off,” Knox grunts, trying to pull free and earning himself a devastating uppercut to the stomach. “Sam’s going to fucking kill you, and he’ll sell your bitch all over again.”
Grayson grabs him again, blood streaming from his nose as three more shots sound throughout the house. “Last fucking chance,” Grayson growls, the warning thick in his tone. “The way you answer this question will determine if you live or die.”