Quintessentially Q

The gentle clink of breaking glass sounded over my harsh breathing. The broken syringe sliced my palm, and one lonely drop of blood landed into a puddle of water.

The same syringe that drugged Tess and stole her away from me.

My esclave—so strong and fierce and sexually feral—was gone.

Her cage wasn’t me anymore.

It was them.

Chapter 8

Don’t show me mercy, don’t cut me loose, I need you to tighten that noose.

“I told them to take you, esclave.

“Did you honestly think I could want you?

“You aren’t enough for me. I was kidding myself, and it’s time to end this. Time you went to an owner who wants you.”

Tears rained down my cheeks as I huddled on the floor by Q’s feet. He stood proud and regal, entirely closed off and robotic. No cares, no feelings, no love or need in his eyes.

Just pure, calculated indifference.

“You don’t mean that. You don’t. I know you, Q. I know you—” I sucked in a huge breath, sobbing at his rejection.

“It’s done. You’re dead to me.” He spun on his heel and prowled to the door. With a parting glance, he sneered, “Don’t let the wolverines shred you alive.”

The door slammed, and I was left in a pit with twigs and mud facing three pacing, starving wolverines. Looking half-wolf, half-badger, and full demon spawn, they slobbered and stalked, their yellow eyes glowing with the thought of an easy dinner.

“Q!” I screamed, scrambling backward. The wolverines twisted into dinosaur size, all of them with barcodes stencilled across their furry chests. They growled and blood spewed from their mouths, creating a river of red, lapping at my feet.

I’m in hell. I’m dead, and this is my penance.

“Stop screaming, puta. For f**k’s sake, trying to sleep here.” Something sharp kicked my thigh, and my gritty, heavy eyes opened.

I tried to sit up, but my body no longer belonged to me. It belonged to the chemicals blocking my brainwaves. It succumbed to the sweet fog, stealing my consciousness, and evoking horror-filled nightmares.

Giving up the fight to corral my limbs into working order, I lay back. My vision was glassy, and the cracked mouldy ceiling above gaped wide and spoke in slow motion. No words. No sounds. Just speaking silently with its weird ceiling teeth.

Someone poked me in the cheek; I couldn’t do anything to stop him. He laughed. “Fuck, you’re high.”

The voice turned my heart to lead, and I fought harder to move, to get far away, but every part of my body was weighed down by whatever they’d injected into me.

Hot, cold, numbness, sensitivity. I couldn’t distinguish anything anymore.

Fingers landed on my thigh, squeezing hard. “There, there. You’ll get used to it soon. It’s a f**king trip when you let the drugs take over.” Leather Jacket loomed above me, licking his foul lips. “You wait till we get where we’re going. I’ll make you feel real good.” He ducked and dragged his foul tongue up my neck.

I rattled with grotesqueness. Unable to move from the slime, my eyes gushed with tears. They cascaded down my cheeks, filling the shell of my ear with salty liquid. I wanted to tell him to leave me the hell alone, but my tongue was bound in lethargy.

“Dammit, Ignacio. You were told not to touch her until we arrived.”

Leather Jacket reared back, wiping his mouth with a sneer. “I didn’t touch her.” He gave me a wink. “I licked her. And I’ll be f**king her too before the week is out.”

My heart died and rotted in my chest. This was it then. My life was over. I’d never see Q again. Never be free. My mind was shackled with chemicals; my body would become a plaything until I died of some horrible malady.

“Crap, turn her neck. I forgot to deactivate it,” Jagged Scar said.

Leather Jacket exploded into abusive Spanish, ranting and raving at him.

I tuned him out. Wishing my other senses, hearing, and eyesight would abandon me, too. Living as a blind, deaf mute would be better than living through the awfulness when Leather Jacket finally raped me.

My mind flew back to another kidnapping—being owned by Q. He’d slowly turned my eyesight, hearing, and senses against me, but he did it in a way that I accepted, wanted.

I tried to conjure Q, to find some sense of peace even while tears poured from my eyes.

Harsh fingers twisted my neck to the side, and the same iPhone-looking contraption from when I was first tagged, waved over my throat before emitting a painful shrill.

Once again, I tried to shift, to wriggle away from his grip, but nothing worked. Every command fell on fogged receptors, rendering me a vegetable.

“It’s done. If they thought to chase her by the tracking number we provided, they won’t have any luck now.”

The first jolt of life came into my body at the thought of Q coming for me. He’d never rest until he found me. I knew that in my soul. Q had his downfalls, but saving those who needed saving wasn’t one of them.

Please find me. Before it’s too late.

“Shit, man, they could’ve been tracking us for two days.” Leather Jacket glared at Jagged Scar. “That was your f**king job to make sure it was taken care of. The Wolverine is gonna be beyond pissed if we f**k this up. You heard what he told the boss.” He cuffed him around the ear, and something clattered to the floor. “You incompetent little worm; I’ll show you how to make sure that bastard doesn’t sniff her down.”

The sound of a switchblade snapping open sent panic overriding the fog of narcotics. I tensed as Leather Jacket sat beside me and grabbed my throat. He put the knife tip against my skin. His black eyes burrowed into mine. “Gonna cut you, bitch.”

I whimpered—it was the best I could do. Screaming required muscles that were no longer in my control.

“What the f**k? Don’t, you idiot.” Jagged Scar grabbed the knife and tore it from Leather Jacket’s grip before he could stab me. “I already deactivated it! It needs to stay in so we can reboot when she’s sold again.” Jagged Scar huffed, rolling his eyes. “Fucking moron.”

Leather Jacket roared upright and decked Jagged Scar in the chest. “What did you just call me?”

My heart raced faster as the two psychotic kidnappers wrestled and cursed. If they couldn’t work together without killing each other, there was no hope for me.

I closed my eyes, ignoring the raging argument. My forehead furrowed as I coaxed my fingers to move, straining to override whatever they’d pumped into me.

Nothing happened. The bizarre feeling of being untethered from my body caused more panic to race.

I needed to look around, to figure out where I was. I needed to keep track of everything Leather Jacket and Jagged Scar said so I could spy an opportunity to run. But all I could do was float in a sea of sickness, staring at a cracked talking ceiling.

I’m weak. I’m terrified.

The thought of what would happen almost caused me to throw up.

Leather Jacket appeared in my vision again, smiling with his disgusting teeth and pockmarked skin. “Not long now. I’ve arranged a special welcome-home party just for you.”

Images of ra**sts and murderers filled me with dread. Oh God, I don’t want to survive.

I mentally slapped myself for the thought. I was stronger than that. I would eventually be coherent enough to fight back. My body betrayed me and my mind was slush, but I had to stay focused and ready to run. Run back to Q and watch him detach these bastards limb from limb. My hand twitched into a fist on its own accord, and a flare of pride filled me. I overrode the drugs.

Leather Jacket frowned, his eyes falling to my hand. “Well, that’s just f**king annoying.” He turned to Jagged Scar, holding out his hand. “She’s coming round. Give her another dose.”

Jagged Scar inched closer. I forced every cell in my body to get moving. To launch upright and punch their vile faces in. But it seemed my fist curling was the extent of my progress.

Jagged Scar pulled out a syringe but paused. “I don’t know. If we give her too much she might coma and not wake up.”

My heart charged, head became clearer. Give me more time!

Leather Jacket snarled, grabbing the syringe from him. He uncapped it in an angry wrench and plunged the needle deep into my arm.

The sharp pierce dragged a scream from my lungs, and my last thought was of Q as I was flushed into hell.

“I told you I didn’t want you. Stop fighting the inevitable, esclave, and let these men resell you.”

I hated his icy aloofness, the confidence in his tone. “But, I don’t understand. You want me. I’m yours.”

“I wanted you for a time, and now I don’t. Goodbye, Tess.” His form faded from solid to smoke and wisped away as I fell and fell and fell.

I cried and I begged, but Q never came back for me.

And then the blackness swallowed me whole.

*****

The drooling, yellow-eyed wolverines waited for me every time I fell into the deep.

I lost count how many times I awoke and quickly succumbed again. A constant battle waged in my mind—trying to keep me awake, trying to knock me out.