“Do you think they’ll hurt us?” she asked, her face pale.
I thought about my answer carefully. I didn’t want to freak her out, but I wanted to be honest.
“Liam won’t,” I said, and for some reason I believed it. Maybe because he hadn’t raped me? “I mean, he won’t hurt me. I don’t think he’ll hurt you, either.”
She cocked her head at me.
“You do realize he was lying all along, right?” she asked. “Just because you liked him doesn’t mean you can trust him.”
I almost started laughing, because that was rich.
“Oh, I know that. Believe me, I’m well aware that I’m the f**kwit that got us into this.”
“You’re not a f**kwit,” she said forcefully. “He’s a liar and he’s good at it. Not your fault that he targeted you.”
“You guys okay in there?” Hunter called through the door.
“We’re fine,” I snapped. “Give us a f**king minute, ass**le!”
Christ, I wanted to kill him.
Sophie’s eyes widened.
“That was pretty bitchy,” she hissed. “Do you think that’s smart? Maybe I’m reading the situation wrong here, but don’t we want him in a good mood?”
I snorted, thinking about those pictures.
Hunter was such a prick.
“Fuck that. I’m a Reaper and I’ll be damned if I’ll suck up to some Devil’s Jack dickwad.”
“Well, I’m not a Reaper,” Sophie said, her voice quiet but hard. I looked at her, startled—this was the first real emotion she’d shown. “And I’d just as soon not die here and leave Noah an orphan, so don’t piss him off.”
That took the wind out of me. Shit, I needed to be thinking. I knew it was up to me to get us out of this, and to pull it off I’d need to use my head. Damn. We finished up and left the bathroom. Hunter jerked his head toward Sophie’s bedroom. It took everything I had to obey him quietly, but I kept picturing Sophie’s boy and reminded myself I had to be smart about this.
“Go lie down on the bed.”
We did what he said. Thankfully, he only cuffed one hand each, which was far more comfortable than having both stuck up over my head. I tried to ignore him as he leaned over me, tracing a finger across my cheek.
“I’ll bring you some food,” he murmured.
“I’m gonna buy a bright red dress to wear to your funeral, Liam,” I hissed. Shit. I needed to control my tongue . . .
“Yeah?” he asked. “Make sure it’s short and shows off your tits.”
“I hate you.”
“Keep tellin’ yourself that,” he muttered, then walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I closed my eyes, trying to picture a dress bright and slutty enough to send just the right message as I stood over his coffin. Sophie cleared her throat.
“Don’t worry,” I muttered. “We’ll find our way out of this. We’ll escape somehow. Either that or the guys will find us.”
I wondered if she believed me.
Probably not. I didn’t even believe myself.
CHAPTER SIX
HUNTER
I slapped together two peanut butter sandwiches, feeling strangely guilty because Skid and I had killed all six pizza pockets between us while we played Halo.
That left sandwiches and stale potato chips for the girls.
Why I gave a shit about what Em ate, I didn’t know. This wasn’t me—I didn’t worry about women, or take care of them. Feed them. Okay, so I kept an eye on my sister, but she didn’t count. I grabbed a couple handfuls of chips and dropped them on the paper plates next to the sandwiches, then tucked two bottles of water under my arm. Em was so not getting an energy drink. Fuck. Like I needed her more riled up . . .
When I entered the upstairs room, I felt like an even bigger dick because they were obviously hungry.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” I said, unlocking their cuffs. I frowned at Em, then pulled out a chair from the desk, spinning it around to straddle it. Both girls ignored me pointedly, tearing into the food like starving prisoners.
Then again, I guess they were.
“In a minute we’re going to call your dad,” I said. “Let him know you’re alive, and find out if he’s made any progress.”
No response. My mood grew darker as they finished their food, Em still refusing to look at me.
“Lie down again.”
I cuffed Sophie first, then walked around to Em. I leaned over, then felt something touch my back. Fuck, were there spiders in here?
Sophie shrieked and spat a mouthful of blood at me. The f**k?!
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, because I shit you not.
Bitch. Spat. Blood.
“Oh my God, are you all right?” Em screeched at Sophie, nearly taking out my eardrums in the process. “Hunter, you need to get her to a doctor!”
What was going on here? Blood and spit ran down Sophie’s chin, confusing the hell out of me. Her eyes were bright with some kind of emotion I couldn’t read. Something was off with this situation in a big way. Blood doesn’t just shoot out of people.
“I’m tho thorry,” she mumbled. “I bith my tongue and ith thcared me.”
I looked down at my arm again, which was covered with red spray. Just what I needed.
“You’re f**king kidding me,” I muttered. “What the f**k’s wrong with you? Shit, you got any diseases?”
“No, I don’t hath any ditheatheth,” Sophie mumbled, her tongue getting in the way. Then she seemed to bite it again. “Owth!”