Page 67 of Talon

“Chats?” I press, suddenly feeling very cold.“What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s just say it’s not a place you want to find yourself,” he replies cryptically before turning away, effectively ending the conversation.

“We won’t be long,” Scar says before leading the others out through the front door.

“I didn’t even know you had a basement here,” I say, turning to Nina.

“Yep.”

“What do they do down there?” I drop my gaze to the floor.

“Stuff you don’t need to worry about. Do you want a snack to hold you over until they’re ready for dinner?”

“No.” I press my hand against my churning belly. Food is the last thing on my mind right now.

My heart pounds as I try to process what Reaper just said. Are they torturing people down there? I glance at Nina, but she doesn’t seem surprised or upset at all. She’s acting like this is just a normal day, and maybe it is—for her.

“I should go down there,” I say softly.

“Nope. Not a good idea. I’ll make us some tea.”

“I want to know what they’re doing.”

“Jessica, you really don’t. Trust me on that.”

A scream pierces the air. It’s coming from beneath the floorboards.

“What was that?” I jump to my feet and stare at the tile.

“Reaper really needs to soundproof that room.” Nina rolls her eyes.

“I’m going to find out what’s going on.” As I try to walk past her, she grabs my arm roughly.

“You should go to your room and wait for Talon to come get you.”

“Fine.” I yank my hand away.“But he’s going to have to answer a lot of questions when he gets back up here.”

I stomp away, not waiting for a response. When I get into my bedroom, I close the door. Pacing back and forth, I wrack my brain, trying to remember if I saw a door to the basement anywhere in the clubhouse. There wasn’t one inside, but maybe the entrance is outside. If it’s an old root cellar, the access point could be behind the house. I haven’t been back there yet, so I don’t know if there’s a door or not.

Sitting in my room waiting for him to show up isn’t going to work for me. I can’t let them torture someone. It’s not right.

I walk to the bedroom window and unlock it. Pushing up on the frame, I move it until it stops. After popping out the screen and setting it down on the floor, I drag a chair over. It only takes a few seconds for me to slip through. I drop to the ground, landing on my feet. Thank God it’s a single-story house.

As I circle the corner, I spot a door I’ve never seen before. It’s closed, but as I get right up beside it, I hear voices coming through the wood.

“Hank! Stop fucking crying like a little bitch and tell us the truth. Why are you stalking Jessica?”

“I’m not. I swear,” Hank bellows.

“Oh, my God.” I blurt out, shocked and appalled.

Bootsteps pound from inside until the door swings open. Talon’s standing on the other side, scowling.“I told you to stay in the house.”

“You kidnapped my coworker?”

“Let’s just say we convinced him to come with us.”

“Convinced him?” I snap, anger bubbling up inside me.“By what, threatening to break his legs?”