am I here? Did you know he was coming for me?”
Sabar growled. “Tell her, Father. And while you’re at it, teach your little bitch some manners. She’s staying alive only because I allow it. Make sure she knows that!”
“Leave us alone?” Davi asked Sabar, his voice just short of frantic. “Please. A few minutes?”
Sabar spit on the floor then laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, whatever. Five minutes then I’m coming back and she better start talking or Franco here’s gonna start shooting.”
He walked out of the room with the satisfaction of knowing he’d scared the shit out of them. The heavy scent of fear permeated his nostrils, giving him a hard-on that kind of annoyed, but was good nonetheless.
Ary swallowed hard, the effort hurting her throat, which felt raw. There was a bitter taste in her mouth, like medicine, and as she closed her eyes she remembered those idiot shifters pouring something into her mouth.
Damiana.
The salty taste and smell she remembered. But something else had been in that mixture. Another herb, possibly; whatever it was, she couldn’t figure it out at the moment. The fact that they’d drugged her was fuel enough to push her cat to the brink.
Her eyes snapped open. “They gave me damiana. Why?”
“Aryiola,” Davi began in a hushed voice. “You have to do this for us. For our people. He will kill us all if you do not.”
“Do what? I don’t understand,” she told her father.
A dreadful feeling was creeping its way around her stomach as she watched him.
He looked nervous. Sweat poured from his temple; tendrils of his hair were soaked and stuck flat to his forehead. The shirt he wore was dirty and likewise damp, probably with sweat as well. He wreaked of fear, pure and putrid.
“He will kill us, daughter. You must understand that.”
“Tell me what you did,” she said slowly, because there was no doubt in her mind that her father was involved in whatever this was. Her chest clenched at the thought, but her mind would not let go of the notion. “What did you promise him and why?”
“He gave us money and supplies and everything we needed to survive out here. All he wants in return is your help.”
Behind her back the rope cut into her wrists. She was already trying to break free, her cat prowling close to the surface once more. But Ary was afraid to let her loose again. The last time she had been uncontrollable, and that was something new for her.
“What help does he want from me?”
“He wants you to create something for him. To mix some sort of drug. I do not know everything, but he will tell you. Then he will go and we will have our lives back.”
“Are you crazy?” Ary asked her father. Or should she say the man who sat in front of her, because what he was saying made him feel like a foreigner to her.
Davi shook his head vehemently. “He has helped us all along. The money, the supplies.”
“You mean the money and the supplies that have been dwindling? If he told you they’re from him, he’s a filthy liar!”
Davi looked away from her, then back again. There were tears in his eyes. Ary opened her mouth to say something else then clapped her lips shut. She’d never seen her father cry. Ever. But it looked like he was about to, which meant this wasn’t a good situation. As if she needed proof of that.
“I won’t help him,” she told her father. “He’s a murderer and a lunatic. I will not do what he wants. He’ll have to kill me.”
One tear rolled down her father’s cheek, streaking his dirty face and dropping onto his shirt. “He will.”
Ary didn’t know how much time passed, how long she and her father sat in silence. She didn’t know what to say to him. Or who he was, for that matter. How could the man who had taught her how to save the lives of their fellow shifters be working with a Rogue who wanted them all dead? It just didn’t make sense. And yet, on some disappointing level, it did.
Finally,
Sabar growled. “Tell her, Father. And while you’re at it, teach your little bitch some manners. She’s staying alive only because I allow it. Make sure she knows that!”
“Leave us alone?” Davi asked Sabar, his voice just short of frantic. “Please. A few minutes?”
Sabar spit on the floor then laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, whatever. Five minutes then I’m coming back and she better start talking or Franco here’s gonna start shooting.”
He walked out of the room with the satisfaction of knowing he’d scared the shit out of them. The heavy scent of fear permeated his nostrils, giving him a hard-on that kind of annoyed, but was good nonetheless.
Ary swallowed hard, the effort hurting her throat, which felt raw. There was a bitter taste in her mouth, like medicine, and as she closed her eyes she remembered those idiot shifters pouring something into her mouth.
Damiana.
The salty taste and smell she remembered. But something else had been in that mixture. Another herb, possibly; whatever it was, she couldn’t figure it out at the moment. The fact that they’d drugged her was fuel enough to push her cat to the brink.
Her eyes snapped open. “They gave me damiana. Why?”
“Aryiola,” Davi began in a hushed voice. “You have to do this for us. For our people. He will kill us all if you do not.”
“Do what? I don’t understand,” she told her father.
A dreadful feeling was creeping its way around her stomach as she watched him.
He looked nervous. Sweat poured from his temple; tendrils of his hair were soaked and stuck flat to his forehead. The shirt he wore was dirty and likewise damp, probably with sweat as well. He wreaked of fear, pure and putrid.
“He will kill us, daughter. You must understand that.”
“Tell me what you did,” she said slowly, because there was no doubt in her mind that her father was involved in whatever this was. Her chest clenched at the thought, but her mind would not let go of the notion. “What did you promise him and why?”
“He gave us money and supplies and everything we needed to survive out here. All he wants in return is your help.”
Behind her back the rope cut into her wrists. She was already trying to break free, her cat prowling close to the surface once more. But Ary was afraid to let her loose again. The last time she had been uncontrollable, and that was something new for her.
“What help does he want from me?”
“He wants you to create something for him. To mix some sort of drug. I do not know everything, but he will tell you. Then he will go and we will have our lives back.”
“Are you crazy?” Ary asked her father. Or should she say the man who sat in front of her, because what he was saying made him feel like a foreigner to her.
Davi shook his head vehemently. “He has helped us all along. The money, the supplies.”
“You mean the money and the supplies that have been dwindling? If he told you they’re from him, he’s a filthy liar!”
Davi looked away from her, then back again. There were tears in his eyes. Ary opened her mouth to say something else then clapped her lips shut. She’d never seen her father cry. Ever. But it looked like he was about to, which meant this wasn’t a good situation. As if she needed proof of that.
“I won’t help him,” she told her father. “He’s a murderer and a lunatic. I will not do what he wants. He’ll have to kill me.”
One tear rolled down her father’s cheek, streaking his dirty face and dropping onto his shirt. “He will.”
Ary didn’t know how much time passed, how long she and her father sat in silence. She didn’t know what to say to him. Or who he was, for that matter. How could the man who had taught her how to save the lives of their fellow shifters be working with a Rogue who wanted them all dead? It just didn’t make sense. And yet, on some disappointing level, it did.
Finally,
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