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The punch comes back. Eugene’s fist slams square into my jaw with enough force to snap my head to the side. Pain explodes across my skull. My feet stay planted, but before I can straighten, his knee drives into my ribs with sickening force. A crack reverberates through my chest and I stagger.

Eugene looms over me. His grin widens as he watches me struggle to breathe. “I wonder,” he muses, his tone almost thoughtful, “just how far you’d go to protect her.”

I force myself to stand upright, exhaling slowly through the pain. Fire burns in my ribs. “From you? Far enough.”

For a split second, something flickers in his expression. Uncertainty and hesitation. I take a small, grim satisfaction in that. Then it’s gone and replaced by seething anger. His turn is sharp, and he redirects his wrath toward his men. “And you,” he snaps, “you thought throwing a rotter into her cage was a good idea? Which one of you came up with this bright idea?”

The dregs stiffen on either side of me. One of them clears his throat. “We thought it would scare her, is all. Maybe scare the others, too. They were getting too comfortable.”

“She’s only a prisoner, after all,” the other adds.

Well, I see not everyone got the memo about Eugene’s obsession. This will be fun.

Eugene moves fast. He grabs the dreg by the collar and slams him against the wall. “She’s mine. Do you have any idea how much trouble I’ve gone through to get her here? How much she’s worth to me?”

The dreg’s face drains of color. “Boss, we didn’t?—”

“Shut up.” Eugene shoves him away before turning to the other. “Stay here. Both of you. I’ll deal with you personally.” Then he jerks his chin to whoever is standing outside the door. “Mars, get him out of my sight,” he snaps, gesturing to me. “Clean up the rotter’s corpse in Zoey’s cellbefore she gets infected. If she does, then I’ll hold you personally responsible.”

This Mars guy doesn’t need to be told twice.

Pain ignites through my ribs when I’m dragged out and forced down the corridor. My vision wavers, but I keep my face blank. I don’t give them the satisfaction.

“Look, I don’t know what you did, but there’s enough trouble around here already.”

I look up at Mars. He’s tall with black hair and even blacker eyes. “The only thing I’m guilty of is protecting those who can’t protect themselves, and I’ll do it again and again, no matter the outcome.”

He looks down at me with surprise. “That’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

He pauses for a moment to think. “The complete opposite.”

“Nah, man, your boss has got that position covered.”

He continues dragging me throughout the building without a word, but his grip is less bruising. Right when I’m about to take my chances to kick him and run, two more dregs join us. The pain in my ribs cries out too loud to be able to keep up with their conversation, and I don’t even notice when we’re engulfed by the darkness again.

The cell door creaks open, and I’m shoved inside. The impact sends me to my knees, with my hands still tied behind my back. I hit the floor hard. The impact jars my already aching body. For a moment, I lie there, breathing through the pain.

“Cole.” Zoey’s voice is soft but urgent, and I look up to see her fingers clutching the bars of her cell. Seeing her still alive and unharmed makes this all worth it. “Are you okay?”

I roll only onto my back and stare up at the dark ceiling. Really, though, I could stare at the wall, at the other wall, atthe floor, at the back of my eyelids. It’s all the same. The only hard part is willing my body to breathe through the pain. It isn’t numbing like I’ve trained it to do. “I’m fine,” I grunt, though my ribs say otherwise.

“You’re not fine,” she argues. “They shouldn’t have. It should have been?—”

“Don’t say you,” I cut her off.

Across the corridor, Damon’s voice rumbles through the dark. “What happened out there?”

I let out a slow breath. “Eugene.” I cough and then wince when the motion jolts through my ribs. “He’s pissed at those idiots more than me. Lucky break.”

Zoey looks like she’s battling relief with guilt on her face. Then she whispers, “Thank you.”

I turn my head and meet her blue eyes shining right at me. They’re the only light in this entire damn place. “You’re welcome, sunshine.”

The sharp,familiar jingle of keys snaps me out of my haze. I glance toward the corridor and my body tenses when the lock on Zoey’s cell clicks open. My pulse hammers. Two dregs step inside.

My fists clench behind my back while I watch them drag her out of her cell. I’m about to cause an uproar and refuse to let them take her again, but they don’t take her away. Instead, they open the door to my cell and shove her inside.