Page 139 of Hurt

Willow was shoved onto the concrete floor. Her knees struck so hard it felt like her teeth would shake loose.

“What’s the matter?” Asher crowed as he leaned in close to Willow. “Cat got your tongue?”

More like a mangy dog, Willow thought bitterly.

Kurt was dumped beside her. He was still out cold.

Ezra walked in, dusting his hands off. Lifting a pair of mirrored sunglasses off his face, he grinned toothily.

“Welcome to the Catacombs.”

Willow mumbled through the tape.

“What’s that?” Asher asked, ripping the tape off with delight.

Wincing, Willow licked her lips and tasted adhesive. “I said, ‘what a stupid name.’”

Ezra’s smile fell, and his dark eyes took in Willow. He glanced at the ripped skin around her lips and the reddening around her mouth.

“I hate a noisy pet,” he spat distastefully.

Asher booted Willow in the ribs. She hissed and lost her balance. Without the use of her hands, she couldn’t catch herself as she fell on her left shoulder.

Ezra watched her fall with interest. He cocked his head and let his eyes roam up and down Willow’s body.

“Too bad you’re not my type.”

He turned his attention back to Kurt. Using the toe of his boot, he lifted Kurt’s chin. A grin broke out over his features, and he snapped his fingers.

Obediently, two ugly-looking Vega Cabal members shuffled over with a med kit between them. Ezra waved their hands away and dug through the tin box for a moment before pulling out what looked like a salt packet from a drive-thru.

The paper was long and slender, about the size of Willow’s pinky. Ezra popped the top off and waved the cylindrical tube under Kurt’s nose.

A moment later, Kurt began hacking and coughing. Twisting his head, his eyes snapped open, and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

“Nice of you to join the party,” Ezra sneered, stroking Kurt’s face with an almost loving touch. “I was beginning to miss you.”

Kurt looked around the room quickly. He saw Willow and tried to sit up. “Don’t you dare touch her.”

Ezra buried his fingers in Kurt’s hair. He tightened them amongst the purple locks until Kurt had no choice but to twist his head to avoid the pain. “Playthings who break the rules don’t get to give orders.”

Bringing his face far too close, he looked into Kurt’s eyes. “What did I tell you would happen if you tried to escape me?” He forcibly turned Kurt’s head until he was looking at Willow.

“I’m going to leash you so tightly that you’ll only be able to breathe if I give you permission.” His other hand came up to trail fingers down Kurt’s neck. “And your sister? She’s never going to see the light of day again. I’m going to let my little brother break every bone in her body and then leave her to die. Slowly. Painfully. Completely alone.”

Ezra’s fingers dug into Kurt’s neck, nails drawing red lines down the pale skin. He brought his lips against Kurt’s ear. “She’s going to suffer because you couldn’t behave. She’s going to die, and it’s all your fault.”

Willow spat in Ezra’s direction. “Shut up! Kurt, don’t listen to this shit!”

Ezra swore as droplets of spit landed on the hem of his jeans. “Tony, shut that thing up.”

She heard the sound of tape ripping. Shaking her head, she tried to avoid the tape, but a meaty hand grabbed her chin and slapped a thick piece of tape over her mouth.

Asher snickered. His ugly pug face scrunched up so tightly his eyes disappeared.

“She’s too noisy,” Ezra said imperiously. “Take her out of here.”

The big man, Tony, grabbed Willow under the armpits and dragged her to her feet.