I was freezing.

Tremors rolled through my body as I stirred awake. My eyelids were heavy and out of focus, slowly straightening out with each blink. Darkness enveloped me and I tried to lift myself off of whatever hard as hell surface I’d fallen asleep on. Something cold and gooey oozed around my hand as I pushed it down.

“Oh, what the hell is that?” I groaned and quickly lifted my hand, trying not to gag.

I managed to tuck my legs beneath me and push just enough to sit up. A pungent smell filled my nose as I inhaled causing the gag I had previously suppressed to erupt like a bat out of hell. My body lunged forward and I lost the contents of my stomach. I couldn’t see anything, but the sound of it slapping against whatever I was laying on beside me was enough.

“Hello?” I called out, but no response came, only the light trickling of water dripping somewhere off in the distance.

Where the fuck am I?

I was shaking as I scooted myself backwards, hitting a concrete wall. My hands slapped against it as I tried to find something to latch onto to pull myself upright. It was as if my body wouldn’t work like usual. A small switch ran between my fingers and I quickly flipped it upwards. A blood curdling scream left my lungs and I tumbled to the floor. A giant black spider scurried through a crack.

“Bastard,” I growled.

I blinked away the blurriness from the light coming to life and took in my surroundings. My heart thundered in my chest as realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I was locked in some sort of cell. A concrete slab covered in mud and god only knew what else was where I’d been lying. A chill rolled down my spine as I lifted fully to my feet. The beautiful red evening gown I’d gone to the party with Gavin in was torn to shreds, covering only my privates.

Stay calm, you knew this could happen. Just stay calm.

I pushed my hair back from my eyes. My hands were covered in filth, with a few of my nails jagged from being broken off. My gun. I quickly searched my thigh, only to find the holster and gun were missing.

“This can’t be happening.” I fisted my hair and scanned the room with my eyes.

I needed to seem like someone freaking the hell out, or whoever had done this would know something was up. Hell, who was I kidding? They had my gun, which was enough for them to know I wasn’t your average gambler just out having a good time with her man. No, I was more than that.

Gavin.

Terror rolled through my body as more lights than just the one in my cell clicked on. I was about to come face to face with someone. I slowly moved back to the concrete slab and took a seat, my legs drawn up against my chest with my arms resting atop them. My body was shaking not only from the cold, but the fear pulsing through my veins as well. I knew I was strong enough to get through any situation, but fear of the unknown was always there, and I’d never been someone’s captive before.

Deep, wretched laughter startled me. The sound of it was enough to let me know the man was evil. “Please, I have a family,” a woman pleaded.

I hated that I couldn’t see what was happening, but then again, I had a feeling what was to come. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed and the woman yelped. If I could get out of this cell, I’d show him, touching a woman like that. My hand went to my thigh like I was going to pull my gun, which I knew wasn’t there. Without it I felt naked and vulnerable, but I could hold my own in hand to hand combat.

“Take the gun,” the man growled.

“I—I don’t want to.” Her cries shook her voice.

“Take the fucking gun or I’ll kill your friend in the other room.”

“No!” She shrieked.

A few seconds passed before I heard anything else, “Good girl.”

She’d taken the gun.

Shoot him!

“Don’t get any funny ideas or these men here will kill you both before you can even think about turning that gun toward me.”

It was as if he’d heard my thoughts. I’m sure the woman was having similar ones. I didn’t move from my spot on the concrete slab, afraid I’d divert his attention my way and then we’d have an entirely different situation at hand.

“You get one chance to stay alive,” his voice was taunting. I could hear his shoes tapping against the floor as he walked, most likely stalking her like prey. “It’s a little game society likes to call Russian Roulette, but I have my own name for it.”

“What’s that?” Her voice shook as he erupted with sadistic laughter.

“You really want to know?” Silence filled the brief pause. “Luck or death…You see, it’s all up to luck, or fate, or whatever you call it, whether you live or die. So, this revolver here is loaded with a few rounds, but not fully. You have to pull the trigger to see what lies ahead for you. You’re either lucky or you die.” His wretched laughter filled the room once again and I slammed my fist against the concrete slab beneath me.

The sick fuck was forcing people shoot themselves.

“You have to hold it here.”

The woman yelped.

“Are you ready?”

“I—I don’t want to do this.”

A frustrated growl left the man, “I’m not going to tell you again. Pull the trigger or I’ll shoot your friend.”

Her hysterical cries pierced my heart as the man counted down from five.

“5…”

“4…”

“3…”

“I can’t!” She screamed.

Bang!

“Noooooo!” She wailed.

“I told you to pull the fucking trigger.”

Bang!

“Get rid of the bodies. I have someone new to meet.”

My blood ran cold; he had to be talking about me. I didn’t know if I should stay awake or pretend to be knocked out still, but I slid my body flat against the concrete slab and dangled one arm off the side. I didn’t want him to know I’d heard everything that transpired with the woman. He was furious as it was, there was no telling how he’d react if he found me wide eyed and shaking.

His footsteps grew louder as the metal door to my cell groaned. He was coming inside. My hair was pushed back from my face and I silently told myself to remain calm, to pretend I was oblivious to the things going on around me.

“She’s one of the prettiest.” The man was so close I could feel the heat from his words against my face. It felt nice, even if it was mixed with stale cigarettes.

“I knew you’d like her as soon as I laid eyes on her.”

Joel.

That son of a bitch was the inside man. For all I knew, every one of them I’d come in contact with could’ve been.

“Very well done.” His heavy hand moved from my hair to my shoulder, slipping the torn material down my arm. “Do you know why she was carrying a gun?”

“Everything about her came back clean. You know how women are nowadays; they like to think they can protect themselves.”

“That they do.” His tongue clicked against his teeth. “I think we should move her.”

“Where?”

“The front part of the facility.”

“Are you sure?”

His chest rumbled with annoyance. “Are you second guessing me?” His voice boomed.

“No, sir.”

“Then prepare the area, give her a half dose to keep her sedated, and bring her to me in the bathing chambers.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Be quick about it, I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

I listened as his footsteps retreated and a door slammed shut before I made my move. Joel was cursing under his breath, but I could tell he was far enough away for me to jump into action. My hand closest to the wall gripped a piece of concrete that had broken off of the slab; the end pointed just enough to cause damage if I hit him the right way. Risking being caught, I barely opened one eye to find his back to me. It was the perfect chance so I took it.

I pushed up from the slab and lunged forward, slamming the piece of concrete against his shoulder. I’d missed my initial target area. “Son of a bitch!” He growled, grabbing his barely scratched arm. “Well, look who decided to join us.” A wicked smile curled his lips as he quickly grabbed my hand and shook the concrete out of it.

My body was like a slug, nothing like my usual self. Whatever they’d given me was preventing me from being able to fully protect myself. I’d made a stupid mistake and was most likely going to pay for it.

“Let me go!” I demanded through gritted teeth as I lifted my bare foot to shove him backwards, but my leg felt too heavy to put all my might into the kick.

“You stupid girl, Propofol is running through your veins. You won’t be able to fight me off.” He shoved my hands against the wall, little shards of concrete stabbing into my flesh, causing me to cry out. His forehead struck mine and my eye sight blurred.

“Why are you doing this?” My words were a mumbled mess. I wasn’t given a response as a needle stabbed into my arm and I crumbled into his hold. He lifted me into the air as everything around me faded away.

* * *

The smell of lavender filled my lungs and I tried to move, but something heavy was holding my body down.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the man whose face I hadn’t seen warned.

All I could see was darkness, everywhere. I jerked forward causing something to dig into my wrists and a strangled cry to escape my lips.

“I tried to tell you.”

The blindfold was ripped from my head and my eyes tried to focus on the harsh light directed at me. I shook my head and looked down at my almost naked body. A pair of clean panties and a matching bra were the only items covering me. My wrists and ankles were bound by zip ties to metal poles, spreading me for my captors to see all angles of my body. I jerked my head to the right and I saw my gun holster sitting empty on a metal chair, similar to the one I’d last sat in beside Gavin.

The thought of him made my heart race. Was he okay? Did they take him too? I had so many questions that I knew would go unanswered. These types of men weren’t going to give you what you wanted, they were strictly after what they needed…and that was to cause pain and suffering.

“What do you want?” I spat toward the light.

A dark figure stepped to the side, but I couldn’t make out his face, only the fact that he was wearing a dark colored suit. Smoke billowed in the air from what seemed to be a cigar, the cherry burning hot as he took a puff and blew the next round of smoke right at me. My throat burned as I inhaled sharply and a round of coughs set my lungs on fire.

“Why do people ask such mundane questions?” He twisted the cigar in the air and took a step forward. I watched as he bent at the waist and jerked a cord from the wall, causing the light to go out.

The room was still lit by the single bulb above my head, but it was much less harsh. I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes and held back the urge to gasp when the man’s face came into view. His tan skin was flawless. His eyes were so deeply blue they were almost navy and pierced right through mine. The intensity in his stare caused my chest to heave with each breath I took.

He took a few steps closer, his face mere inches from mine, and smiled wickedly. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Because people want to make sense of things that aren’t what society considers normal.” I was surprised by the fierceness in my tone and the steadiness of my words.

His finger ran down my cheek and smoothed across my bottom lip. “Aren’t we a smart one.”

My jaw ached as he gripped it firmly in his hand and squeezed. “You’re supposed to be pretty, that’s all,” he angrily spat. The man was on edge.

“I’m supposed to be with my husband.” I spit in his face and his hand came down hard against my cheek. The sting left in its wake made my eyes water, but the ease of the pain in my jaw from him letting go was worth it.

“How dare you!” His voice boomed and he backhanded me again. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth this round.

I wanted so badly to spit in his face once more but antagonizing him wasn’t the best idea. I needed to gauge the type of psycho he was, not get myself killed. My head hung to the side and I spit a wad of blood toward the floor.

“Now…” His hand pulled my face back toward his, “how about we be a nice pretty little thing and not do that again, shall we?”

I swallowed, choking a bit on my spit. “I need water. Please…” Tears filled my eyes. I needed him to think I was vulnerable, weak, and begging for my life. Even if only a few of those were true.

“You’ll get water when you start obeying.” He shoved my face back and my neck popped from his strength.

“No!” I shrieked as he held a needle in the air for me to see before shoving it into my neck.

“How about we try this again next time you wake?”

My eyelids grew heavy and his face blurred, but the evil grin adorning his lips would forever be etched in my memory.

* * *

A blood curdling scream ripped from my chest as Joel dug his knife into my side. “There’s more where this came from if you act up again.” He chuckled, carving another line deep into my flesh. “I advise you to fall in line, Blair. He doesn’t like to play games.”

“That’s funny,” I growled as tears ran down my cheeks. “That party at Roulette was nothing but games.”

“Ah…” Joel wiped the knife across his dark jeans and twisted it in his hand. “That lovely little smoke show is for people like you, rich fools looking for something risqué out of life.” He twisted the end of the blade against his finger, blood bubbled to the surface. “It’s the perfect ploy to grab people like you…” He gently ran the blade down my throat.

“What do you want with people like me?”

“There you go with the questions again.” He ripped a tiny part of the flesh stretched across my chest. “So many fucking questions.”

“Gaaaaaah!” I wailed.

“That’s enough. I think our guest has learned her lesson.” The man running the show stepped out from the shadows.

Guest.

My arms were burning from being tied to the poles. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since they latched me to them, but it seemed like an eternity. Joel nodded his head and left us alone. The sound of my blood dripping to the floor had bile rising up my throat. My entire body was throbbing from the torture Joel had inflicted upon me, but my mind was still intact, even if it was a bit hazy. It would take a lot more than that to break me.

“You treat your guests so kindly,” I breathlessly choked out.

He clapped his hands and I jerked against the zip ties. “We can’t spoil everyone, now can we?” A wide smile stretched his face.

“I’m sure you don’t spoil anyone,” I spat.

“Now, now…” He ran the pad of his thumb over the torn flesh on my chest. “That venom coming from your pretty little mouth just ruins the moment.” His blood-covered thumb slipped into his mouth.

The man was sick, a twisted individual. I wondered if the coroner’s office reviewed the bodies close enough. There was no mention of torture, just a single gunshot wound to the head. Or was I different? Why would I be different for him? There were no way two murderers were killing at the same time. Well, it could happen, but the odds were low. Especially two murderers with similar M.O. that both tied back to Roulette Casino.

His hands gripped my ribcage and I squirmed. They were rough, gritty even, as he trailed them down my sides and squeezed my hips. “It’s a shame really.”

“What?” I took the bait.

“That your husband didn’t last as long as you have,” his matter-of-fact tone was like a knife in the heart.

“Gavin!” I cried. “What did you do to him?” I bucked against the ties, causing blood to race down my arms as my flesh ripped.

His wicked laughter rang in my ears as tears pooled so heavily in my eyes I couldn’t see. I blinked, causing them to spill over and race down my face. My chin quivered as the thought of Gavin being harmed in any way played out in my head.

“No, no, no,” I shook from the heartache ripping through me.

The man’s nails dug into the skin on the inside of my hipbones. I reveled in the pain as I gritted my teeth, trying to will back the tears so I wouldn’t look weak in front of him.

“I’ll kill you!” I spat in his face. “You son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!”

He moved so close that his nose barely brushed mine. “As much as you’d like to do that, you’re a little tied up, don’t you think?”

Before I could answer his fist slammed me between the eyes and everything faded away. Everything except his laughter, that evil sound was haunting.