Page 71 of Iron Heart
From somewhere in the house, a door slams. It sounds like it’s below us. We must be on the second floor.
“Look,” Dominic mutters, standing. “I’ll tell you later. For right now, just try to stay awake and alert. I’ll be back in a little while.”
He strides hurriedly out of the room, leaving me alone in the silence. A telltale click lets me know I’ve been locked in.
Now that I’m alone without Dominic to focus on, the aches in my head and body seem to get worse. With them comes a mounting terror that I’m in a situation I might not make it out of alive. I can’t figure out where we are, or why Dominic is here. Why he’s holding me captive — and who else he’s working with.
It can’t be Dante. I can’t imagine that for a second. Dante would never hurt me like this, or put me in danger. He’d have no reason to, anyway.
I struggle to make sense of everything that’s happened. With difficulty, I sort of remember being grabbed, and hit on the head. I can’t think I was when it happened, though. The whole thing has the fuzzy quality of a nightmare. I’m not sure whether I’m remembering things, or whether my mind is inventing it all.
But then one distinct memory flashes clear and distinct in my mind.
The metallic sedan outside my house.
The men who took me are the ones I saw Dominic with that day when I was lost.
Dominic is one of them.
My whole body aches. My throat is like sandpaper. I’ve never been as thirsty as I am right now. But I have to make myself focus on something else. I have to keep myself calm, and try to get ready for any possible chance I might have to get out of here. Slowly, agonizingly, I bend down and feel for the duct tape around my ankles. It hurts to bend over like this, makes the throb in my head more insistent, but I try like hell to ignore it. I’m not strong enough yet to try to rip off the tape, so instead I try to feel the slight ridge that will indicate the end of the tape, hoping I can pry that up with a nail and unwind it instead. But try as I might, I can’t find it. I try for what feels like at least five minutes, then fall back against the back of the couch, exhausted by my efforts.
I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my breathing to calm myself. I inhale deeply, then exhale. Then repeat. Once, twice, three times. It seems to help calm my heartbeat, and even my head starts to hurt a little less. Okay, good. Maybe…
Footsteps out in the hallway startle me. I tense, trying to prepare myself mentally for whatever’s next.
A key turns in the lock and the door opens. It’s Dominic again. I let out the breath I was holding, even though I’m only slightly relieved. Dominic is the enemy, after all. I can’t let myself trust him. Can’t let my guard down.
“You doing better?” he asks.
I shrug. “You mean, other than the fact that I’m being held against my will and I probably have a concussion? I’ve seen better days.”
“Tori. There’s no time for joking around.” He frowns at me in frustration. “I need to know how strong you are. Whether you’re capable of fighting back if you have to.”
“Why?” I challenge. “So you can tell them they need to tie my hands, too? Maybe strap me down and gag me?”
“No! What?” He looks startled. “I’m trying to figure out how to get you out of here!”
“You expect me to believe that? I saw you with them,” I accuse. “You forget that. And now, here you are, holding me hostage.” I shake my head. “You’re not on my side, Dominic.”
“Yes, I am! And yes, I admit I was with them, but I’m trying to help you! Tori, you are in a dangerous spot right now. You’ve got to listen to me, or you’ll never get out of here alive. They’re going to use you to get to the Lords of Carnage.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they know you’re with Dante.”
“But I’mnotwith Dante!” I cry, then wince because I’m being too loud and because my own voice hurts my head. “We’re not together, Dominic!” I hiss. “He basically dumped me. I haven’t seen him in weeks. I don’t know why these men think they can use me to get to him, but they’re wrong.”
But if I thought that information would do anything to help my cause, I quickly find out I’m dead wrong.
“You better hope they don’t figure that out,” Dominic mutters, fixing me with a hard stare. “Because if they do, they won’t have any more use for you.”
His words send ice through my veins.
“Who arethey?” I whisper, working hard to shove down the mounting fear inside me. “Dominic, tell me what this is.”
He swallows. “I don’t know who they are, exactly. What I do know is who they work for. And what they’re after. In short, they want to bring down the Lords of Carnage.” Dominic pauses. “And they’ve been using me to get to the club.”
“What?” I let out a strangled cry. Dominic puts a finger to his lips.