Free Dark Wrath by Celeste Anwar

the part of the bra that connected the
cups and sliced it before his gaze met hers again.  “I haven’t even begun
ta make my point, chère ,” he said in a low, menacing growl.
    Erin licked her
lips, jogging her mind for anything she might say to reason with him.  “I
did the only thing I could.  I knew they would shoot at you, but at least
it gave you a chance.  There was no other chance.  I couldn’t
get out of the facility myself.”
    His eyes narrowed
as he studied her thoughtfully.  “Me, I’m thinkin’ you didn’t care one way
or the other, chère , so long as I was gone.  I’m thinkin’ you
figured that was the only way to make sure they didn’t put you in with me
again, because you’d realized you was startin’ to like me fuckin’ you.”
    Erin felt the
blood rush from her face that he’d hit so near the mark.  It flooded back
with a vengeance until her cheeks were pulsing with color.  “That had
nothing to do with it!”
    She might as well
have saved her breath.  She saw her reaction was enough to tell him a part
of the truth she hadn’t been willing to acknowledge even to herself.  The
chances of explaining her chaotic emotions at that time to him were pretty much
nil, though, because she hadn’t completely understood herself.  She still
didn’t.  “What are you going to do?” she gasped, struggling to stave off
hysteria.
    “I made you a
promise,” he said evenly.
    Erin stared at
him, trying to recall everything that had passed between them so long
ago.  It wasn’t easy given that she’d spent an entire year doing her
utmost to submerge those memories.  That particular memory surfaced
without a great deal of prodding though.
    “You killed the
others?”
    “Unfortunately
for me, they were gone by the time I recovered enough to look for them. 
The trail was too cold to follow.  That leaves you and the rat bastard
that orchestrated my capture and torture.  But I’m thinkin’ you can give
me him.”
    “You didn’t kill
Freda Dallas.  I don’t believe you’re a cold blooded killer.”
    “Then you’d be
wrong, chère.  She was lucky.  It happened real quick. 
Caught her by surprise when they lay down on me and got her too.  I have
to say I was very disappointed I didn’t get a chance to settle things between
us, but then maybe it was just as well.  Sick bitch would probly enjoyed
it.  I wonder if you will.”
    “I didn’t have
anything to do with what they were doing!” Erin cried out with a mixture of
anger, fear, and desperation.  “They brought me into the project later,
after they’d captured you.  I didn’t even know what they were doing until
they sent me in there the first time.”
    His lips curled,
but there was no humor in his eyes.  “Then this is gonna be a real
surprise for you, ain’t it, chère? ”
    Erin started
fighting the bindings uselessly.  “Let me go!  You have to let me
go!  I don’t know where Dr. Wagner is.  I’ve been looking for him
since I escaped.  That’s why I came here.  I thought they might have
reopened the facility.  It was the only lead I had.”
    Something
flickered in his eyes, but she could see that he didn’t believe anything she’d
said.
    “This is the way
it works, chère .  Over dere is the facilities.  You get to use
them once a day.  Now I’m a soft hearted son-of-a-bitch so I’m gonna let
you tell me when you need to go instead of takin’ you when I feel like
it.  You need ta think real hard before you ask, though, ‘cause that’s
once a day, no matter what.
    “It won’t be a
real problem for you long, though, ‘cause you only get food and water once a
day, too--if you’re good and I’m feelin’ charitable.  If you piss me off,
you don’t get any ‘privileges.’  You just get to look at the food and
water and think about using the facilities.”
    Horror filled
Erin, not just because of what he was suggesting he was going to do to her, but
because she realized he was