Page 104 of Map of Pain

Owen laughed with genuine delight.“There’s my perfect little soldier. Shaw is going to be so pleased.”

The van began to slow, the engine downshifting as they took what felt like an exit ramp. But instead of preparing to leave, Owen’s features grew more vicious.

“You know what?” Owen said, suddenly backhanding Nick again, harder this time. “I don’t think you really understand yet.”

Nick’s head snappedsideways, more blood spattering from his split lip. Before he could regain his balance, Owen grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him down hard beside Luka, Nick’s body landinghardagainst the vampire’s side.

“Look at your monster,”Owen commanded, crouching over both of them.“Look how helpless it is. I could do anything I wanted to you right now, right on top of it, and there’s not a damn thing it could do to stop me.”

Nick’s face was inches from Luka’s, close enough that Luka could see the strategic calculation hidden beneath the tears and submission. Nick’s hand, pressed against his back for balance, found thepartiallyloosened nail in Luka’s upper back.

“Please,”Nick whispered, but his fingers worked with dexterous precision, sliding the nail free with one smooth motion. “Please don’t.”

Sensation exploded through Luka’s left shoulder as circulation returned. Still not enough to move, but progress.

Owen laughed at Nick’s pleading,clearlyinterpreting it as genuine fear rather than the cover it was.“Oh, I’m not going to do anything now. That comes later. But I want you both to understandexactlyhow this is going to work.”

He grabbed Nick by the hair again, hauling him back to his knees in the center of the van.“You belong to us, Nick. Body and soul. And your pet vampire gets to watch every second of what we do to you, knowing it failed to protect what it thought was its.”

Nick resumed his submissive posture, but as Owen turned to look out the van’s small window, checking their location, Nick’s handbrieflytouched Luka’s back again. The second nail shifted, loosened, ready to be removed.

Owen turned back with a satisfied expression.“Almost there. Shaw’s prepared something special for your reunion.”

He reached down and grabbed Nick’s faceroughly, squeezing until Nick’s cheeks bulged.“Open your mouth.”

Nick complied, and Owen spat directly into it. “Swallow.”

Nick did as commanded, his throat working as he swallowed Owen’s saliva, tears streaming down his face. “Thank you.”

“Good boy,”Owen purred, releasing Nick’s face.“That’s just a taste of what’s coming.”

As Owen moved toward the doors, Nick swayed, using the movement to lean toward Luka one final time and grab the nail. It slid free, the movement hidden beneath Nick’s apparent weakness.

The van came to a complete stop with a hydraulic hiss of brakes.

“Time to go home, Nick,”Owen said as he opened the rear doors.“Shaw’s been so looking forward to seeing you again.”

Feeling rushed back into more of Luka’s upper body, though the paralysis still held most of his limbs. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.

Nick stood and allowed Owen to guide him away from the van, but not before he caught Luka’s eye one more time.

The look they shared lasted less than a heartbeat, but it communicated everything. Trust. Love. And a promise that this wasn’t over.

Not even close.

Chapter forty

So beautifully broken ...

Nick

The abandoned diner felt like a tomb. Cracked vinyl booths sat empty under flickering lights, and the smell of stale grease hung in the air like a shroud. Owen’s grip on Nick’s arm was unnecessary—Nick moved with the compliance of someone who knew better than to resist—but Owen seemed to enjoy the contact anyway.

“He’s in the back,”Owen said, steering Nick toward a door marked ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’.“Dry storage. Nice and private for your reunion.”

The door opened to reveal a cramped space lined with empty metal shelving and scattered restaurant supplies. Shaw stood with his back to them, examining something on a clipboard, but Nick would have recognized that silhouette anywhere. Tall, lean, wearing the same charcoal gray suit Nick remembered from their sessions. His graying hair wasperfectlystyled, as always.

“Sir,” Owen announced. “Delivery complete.”