Page 23 of Undying Resilience
“They don’t have service.”
“What?” Jordan snaps.
“They’re not in Philly.”
“Fuck,” he shouts. “That’s not how this was supposed to work. Tell me where they went.”
I shake my head.
“You really want me to start your torture early?” Jordan steps up to me, his arms crossed over his chest. “Because I will.”
“I don’t know where they are,” I manage. “They didn’t tell me.”
Jordan’s eyes narrow. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth,” I whisper.
“We’ll see if you’re still singing that same tune when I’m finished with you.” Before I can reply, Jordan turns to face his men, pointing at me. “Grab her.”
“No.” I back into the far corner, but there’s nowhere for me to run.
They each take hold of one of my arms, dragging me toward the bathroom. Jordan is already in there, plugging the bathtub and turning on the water.
“No,” I screech, kicking at his men. Rhett hasn’t taught me how to fight against two assailants yet, but I’m not above trying to figure it out on my own. I can’t let them get me any closer to that tub.
“Calm her down,” Jordan shouts over the running water, tapping his foot impatiently. “She’s going to give me a headache.”
One of them claps a hand over my mouth. His fingers cover my nostrils too, cutting off my air supply. It causes me to thrash around even more, trying to get free.
“Stay still,” he growls in my ear, “and I’ll let you breathe.”
I bite his hand.
“Shit,” he yells, yanking it away.
I spit his blood out of my mouth, jutting my elbow backward until it sinks into his stomach. But the other guy shoves me forward, and then I’m tripping and falling to my knees in front of Jordan.
He grabs my hair, yanking me to the tub’s edge. There’s already at least half a foot of water in it, and it’s rising quickly. I try to scramble away, but he blocks me in.
“Record this,” he says to his men. “I’ll send it to Elliot. Fucker deserves it.”
My next attempt to get away from the tub is met with Jordan grabbing me and shoving me down.
“No,” I shout, holding onto the edge of the tub to steady myself.
Jordan knocks my hands away easily. I barely have time to get in air before my face is submerged in the water. Everything I do to try to get my head above the surface is met with Jordan holding me down more.
When he finally lets me up, I gasp for air.
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know,” I insist.
I’m only able to get in one breath before he shoves me down again.
The water is freezing, and Jordan is pushing my body into the edge of the tub in a painful way. I try to brace my hands on the opposite side and push myself back, but someone grabs my arms and wrenches them behind me.
No, no, no. I need air. I need—