Page 9

At his words, she noticed the cuffs holding him in place. Wrists, legs, torso. He’d been strapped down.

“You’re a prisoner.” She blurted out the obvious.

“No shit.” He didn’t hide his disgruntlement.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you?” he countered.

“Zora, and I’m a prisoner too.”

At her reply, his brows rose. “Says the woman wearing a lab coat carrying the artifact I seek.”

“I was kidnapped and forced to work all because of this stupid hunk of metal that doesn’t do shit!” The last part she yelled at the ceiling.

“Then you won’t mind handing it over.”

“I could give it to you, but I doubt they’ll let you keep it. The fucker running things is pretty obsessed with it.”

“By fucker you mean…”

“Crius, the asshole behind our abduction.”

“Oh, I wasn’t kidnapped. I handed myself over to Cetus willingly.”

The claim widened her eyes. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Because Sage told me to.”

“Does your wife not like you?” she blurted out, making an assumption about this Sage.

“Sage isn’t my wife.” He chuckled. “She’s a seer, and according to her, I needed to be captured. So here I am.”

“You dumb fuck.” She shook her head. “Sounds like this fortune teller fucked you over.”

“Guess time will tell. What about you? You say you were kidnapped.”

“Yeah. In the middle of the night while I slept. Cowards.” She glared at the camera on the ceiling. “All because I picked up this boring metal ball at a garage sale.” She held up the relic.

His eyes widened. “You found it at a garage sale? Do you know what it is?”

“No, and I don’t think they do either, seeing as they keep having me run tests on it.”

“What kind of tests?”

“Anything and everything. You name it, I’ve probably done it.”

“I take it the white coat means you’re a scientist.”

“Yeah. Used to work as a metallurgist until I ended up here.”

“Have you tried to escape?”

“Nah, I just rolled over and said spank me harder,” she drawled. “’Course I tried, but they got this place locked down tighter than Mama’s candy stash. But I haven’t given up. If there’s a way out, I will find it.”

“I’m surprised to hear you admit that, given they’re watching and listening.”

“Those fucks know what I think about them.”