Page 126 of Devil's Iris

Never let them take you to a second location.One of our very first training sessions at the academy drilled that into me. Better to die fighting here than be transported somewhere elsewhere God knows what can be done to you. There are fates much worse than death.

I thrash harder, clawing at the thick arms holding me, kicking backward at his shin and whipping my head up, hoping to catch his nose. Instead, I connect with something much harder—his jaw, maybe, or even his forehead. But definitely not his nose.

Stars burst behind my eyes, and my knees buckle as I sway.

Rookie mistake.

My attacker uses my momentary weakness to tackle me to the ground, driving the air from my lungs. My hands are wrenched behind my back, and the familiar bite of handcuffs closes around my wrists.

Fuck.

I’m hauled to my feet and passed off to someone else—another man. This one ushers me forward, and despite dragging my feet and fighting his grip, it’s useless.

I’m shoved into a vehicle, two men sliding in on either side of me to cage me in. Then the engine growls to life, the car speeds forward, and the last of my hope dies.

This is it—I’m done for.

We drive for what feels like hours, taking so many turns I lose count. After the fifth, I stop trying to track our route and just sit there mutinously, waiting to see where they’re taking me.

At least they didn’t search me properly, so the gun I stole is still safely tucked in the crack of my ass.

If I can just figure out a way out of these cuffs, I can defend myself when the time comes.

When the car finally stops, I brace myself to be dragged out, but that doesn’t happen. The doors open and the men flanking me get out, leaving me alone in what I assume is the backseat.

I stay rigid, expecting to be hit or something. Instead, someone else slides in next to me, and even though I can’t see who it is, I can feel the shift in atmosphere. This must be the person in charge.

“I should kill you for what you and Emilia did,” the person says, his voice artificially distorted like he’s speaking through a voice modulator. “Pretty ballsy of you both.”

So he doesn’t want me to recognize him. That means he plans to let me live.

The realization relaxes me and makes my tongue reckless. “Then do it,” I mutter, irritated. “But you won’t, because you need me for something. If you were planning to kill me, you wouldn’t bother hiding your identity.”

There’s a moment of silence. Then—crack!

My head whips to the right, pain blooming across my cheek from the vicious slap. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth where my teeth cut into the inside of my cheek. I keep my lip pressed together, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me spit blood.

“You don’t talk back to me,” he says calmly. “You’re lucky Kayla is such a sweet girl.”

No, no, no.

The name hits harder than the slap, freezing me for a beat before instinct takes over. I scramble towards the opposite door, wrists twisting uselessly in the cuffs as I fumble for the handle. It doesn’t budge. Panic claws at my throat, then I’m thrashing my head, desperate to shake the damn sack off, lungs burning with ragged breaths.

“You’re not going anywhere until I’m done with you, Katie. Your struggling is pointless.”

“You fucking asshole!” I whirl towards him. “Don’t you dare touch my sister! I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Your rage is futile, agent. Your sister is safe from my touch—for now. Of course, I had to make her feel the consequencesof your betrayal, so she’s not too well at the moment. But she’ll live.”

All the fight drains out of me, my limbs going weak. My worst fear about going to Emily with everything I knew about Stacey’s operations was exactly this—Kayla getting hurt. But I couldn’t keep destroying my best friend turned sister to protect the biological sister I hadn’t seen in years.

“Who are you?” I demand. Stacey and her allies were all arrested—or so I thought. And for a moment, I’d let myself believe Kayla and I were finally free.

“That’s none of your concern.” The satisfaction in his voice is palpable, even through the voice distortion device. “If you want to keep both your life and your sister’s, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you.”

I slump against the leather seat, overwhelmed by a crushing wave of exhaustion. Is this all I’m good for? Being blackmailed and used? First Stacey, now this faceless asshole? When will Kayla stop being held over my neck like an albatross? Will that ever happen? Or am I doomed to go from one blackmailer to another, never truly free?

My breath hitches as tears sting my eyes, blurring the darkness around me before spilling down my cheeks.

Suddenly, I’m grateful for the sack. At least it means this fucker can’t see my helpless tears.

“What do you want?” I ask softly, my voice barely a whisper.

“I have a mission for you.”