Page 13 of Ghost

“Too bad you couldn’t cut through this tape, too, huh?”The accusation was filled with disdain.“I’m guessing you grabbed my knife and are hiding it in your clothes.”

She didn’t flinch as he held her legs in place, probably to avoid another kick to the face.He paused, and his thumb slid over the fresh cut near her ankle.

“Guess I should’ve stripped you naked at the house.”

Her muscles tightened.If he tried, she’d gouge out his eyes.

In one swift movement, the duct tape was ripped from her mouth.She hissed as her skin burned in its wake.Before she could register what he was doing, his fingers were gliding over the top of her bra then sliding under the band.Reflex made her kick her leg, but he stopped it with his meaty hand, pinning her knee roughly to the pavement.

“Nice try,” he crooned.Delving his hand between her legs, he ran his fingers over the seam of her shorts and around the waistband.Stopping, he snorted.“There it is.”Peeling down the back of her shorts, he pulled the knife from where it’d fallen against her ass.

She couldn’t stop the tension vibrating along her skin.

“Don’t get yourself wet, sugar.”He withdrew his hand and patted her cheek with his palm.“I wouldn’t fuck you if you begged, woman.Remember?”

Fury scorched her cheeks.She didn’t take her eyes off him.

His lips were curled with disgust and his brows were low over his menacing, stormy grays.He stood and returned with shackles and a chain.Fear hiccuped from her throat.

“We’re gonna keep those wrists tied.Tell you what, if you’re a good girl, I’ll tape them in front.But for now, you’re gonna have to deal with some discomfort.”

“Fuck you,” she spat.

The cold, heavy shackle slid around her ankle and the lock snapped.Following the chain to the wall with her gaze, she saw the slack wasn’t more than a few feet, and the other end was secured to a pipe.

He stood and picked up a metal bucket from across the room and placed it against the wall within her reach.“I’m sure you can figure out how to use that.No toilet paper for prisoners, though.”

Indignation flamed her cheeks.

He returned to her side and squatted.His hand came near her face and she flinched.He paused, his fingers hovering near her head, then slowly brought a napkin across her forehead.After mopping up the blood, he tossed the napkin into a garbage can in the corner.“Look, whatever your name is, I can be a prick or I can be decent.The choice is yours.Tell me what I want to know and maybe I’ll clean that cut for you and get you a blanket.”

She wrinkled her nose.“Go to hell, asshole.”

He sighed.“I knew you’d be difficult.”He got up and stalked to a hose she hadn’t noticed until now.“Unfortunately for you, I’ve got an abundance of time.I’ll keep you alive as long as necessary—until you tell me who hired you.”

She laughed.The sound was loud and brittle and foreign to her ears.

His jaw clenched.“What’s funny?”

She shook her head.“Oh, nothing.Just that you think I give a shit if I live or die.Go ahead, get your rocks off on hurting me.I promise you won’t be the first, and you probably won’t be the last either.”

Dark eyes weighed her as if he wanted to know more.Then his expression changed.

He pressed the handle on the nozzle and cold water blasted out.She gasped as he drenched her from head to toe.The frigid spray hit every inch of her—her face, her hair, her skin—unrelentingly.

He didn’t stop.

She coughed and sputtered, ducking her face from the hammering jet.Without the use of her arms, she could barely keep her mouth away from the ferocious water.The wound on her head pulsed from the pressure.

As quickly as it had started, the spray stopped.

Haggard grunts tore from her throat and her body shook.A draft blew over her skin, puckering her nipples and drawing her flesh into goosebumps.

Squelching footsteps approached.His warm fingers came to her cheek, pushing her hair away from her eyes and face.“Just say the name, woman.”

“D-Don’t c-call me th-that,” she sputtered.

His mouth worked into a sardonic smirk.“What should I call you then?”