I heard a shuffle of feet and a second voice. “Nah. Sometimes they fidget in their sleep.”

“You sure?”

“Oh, yeah. She’ll be out for a while.”

“Boss said she’s high priority. We can’t fuck this up.”

“We won’t. Stop worrying. It’s your turn.” Knuckles rapped on a table. Poker chips rattled. “What’ll you call?”

The first voice grumbled, his chair creaking. “Fuck if I know.” His chair screeched, shoved against the floor. “I swear she’s awake.”

“She hasn’t moved.”

That was a third voice. How many were there? The woman, who’d left, and the guy she’d been arguing with and then these three. Their voices sounded from the other side of the room.

And fuck. My head was really pounding. I winced, then went back to slack jaw. I couldn’t do anything different. No sounds. No movement. Nothing but breathing. I had to breathe normally, as if I were asleep—

Suddenly, my chair was tipped over, spilling me onto the floor.

“Ow!” I couldn’t hold back. My eyes whipped open, and I lay sideways, staring at a table of four guys playing poker. A pair of combat boots stepped in front of me, and the arguing male voice said, “She’s awake.”

I tried to look up, but his face was in the dark. The light above him blinded me, and I heard him say, “Back to sleep, princess.”

I saw it coming. His boot lifted and oh shi—the world went black again.

“Okay.” Something was ripped from my face, and the light was blinding. “Wakey, wakey.”

I screamed. Pressure throbbed through my head as I closed my eyes as tightly as I could. I whimpered now, but holy shit. Pain sliced through me, like tiny knives being shoved into my head. A low throb had started at the base of my skull, too.

“None of that.”

Someone jerked my chair around. I was upright again and wheeled around to face the other way. The poker table was behind me, but it was empty, or so I thought. My glimpse of it had been so brief but now I stared at three people.

One guy leaned against the wall, tall and lean, with his arms crossed over his chest. This was a fucking Sunday tea party to him. He readjusted, cocking his head to the side. I couldn’t make out his face in the shadows. Another guy stood in front of him—the one who’d whipped my chair around. He was dressed in black, from head to toe. A ski mask covered his face, and his voice was disguised by some automated thing.

Like what kidnappers use. My blood turned to ice at that thought.

“What do you want?” There was another person, a woman—maybe the woman from before? I couldn’t see her. The room cut back into a small alcove, where she was sitting. She wore clothes similar to the others—black pants and sweater—but she didn’t wear a ski mask. I didn’t think. I got a flash of white from her neck and her hands folded together in front of her. No gloves. I lingered on the blue ring she wore—it was Carol.

I sneered. “Bitch, you drugged me.”

Both men snickered.

Her hands jerked apart. She stuffed them behind her, but she didn’t say anything.

“Enough with the pleasantries.” Kidnapper guy leaned over me, staring right into my eyes. I tried to recognize his eyes, the only part of him I could see. Maybe I knew him? Maybe I would know him? A flicker of hope sprang to life in me. Maybe that meant they were going to keep me alive? He reached behind me and rested his hand next to my shoulder—the one I was trying to ignore because it hurt. It was the one I’d fallen on. His thumb moved over and lightly brushed it.

The stabbing pain in my head was nothing compared to what I felt in my arm. And with his touch it tripled. It felt like my arm was on fire. A whimper slipped out before I clamped everything down.

A slow, satisfied smile looked back at me. “Good.” His eyes darkened. “Now that I know that you hurt, let’s get started. Shall we?”

“Fuck you,” I spat.

“Ah. Maybe one day, huh?” He kicked my chair again, moving me until I was directly in front of the light. He motioned behind him. “Turn the other lights off.”

The room plunged into darkness, except for the light on me. He moved behind the light and pulled his ski mask off, holding it in his hands. “I’m going to make this real simple for you. Answer my questions, and stay alive. Don’t answer my questions, and don’t stay alive. It’s as easy as that. Okay?” But he wasn’t waiting for my response. The cool sensation of a blade touched my neck. “You feel that?” He applied pressure, enough to cut my skin.

I cried out, then stifled the sound right away. Jackass. Asshole. Monster. I was pissing my pants, but they weren’t going to see fear on my face. No fucking way.

“Oh.” He laughed softly. “You’re a badass, huh?”

“Fuck you.” My throat moved against the blade, bringing it tighter. I felt my skin tear, just slightly, and a wave of splitting pain coursed through me. Another wave of curses went through my mind. I gritted my teeth. This asshole—he was going to die. Somehow.

That damn chuckle. It grated on my nerves. Someone removed the blade, and a tether replaced it. My head was pulled back as the tether went tight behind me. My head was locked in place, and the man squatted next to me. I still couldn’t see his face. I couldn’t look over, just catch a blurred glimpse through the corners of my eyes. His hand came back to my shoulder and lay next to my burning arm. God. So much ached, but I held my breath. I knew what he was going to do.