Page 416 of The First Taste

My mouth drops open an inch when I realize that he’s definitely speaking with an American accent. It also kicks something wild into drive for me. The second that the man corners me and tries to grab at me, I wrench my entire body back, kicking and punching, making my limbs flail.

I punch at him directly, screaming again. He doesn’t stop or even slow. He just backs me against the wall, pins my arms at my sides, and begins to secure my hands behind me with zip ties. I knee him in the balls and for a second, he staggers backward.

“Don’t resist,” he says, a little twinge in his voice. “It’ll all be over soon.”

I lunge forward, my mouth opening, intending to bite him. He brandishes a black cotton bag, gathering the material in his hands.

I can’t make it easy for him. The other men look on, almost bored, as I writhe and fight with everything I’ve got. My feet still work, and I kick at him, landing a blow to his thigh.

“Fucking bitch,” he mutters.

He manages to pin me down, using the weight of his big body to hold me as he maneuvers the black bag over my head. I scream again and he punches me in the ribs, swift and hard.

All the breath twists from my lungs. I struggle weakly as he lifts me over his shoulder and starts carrying me out of the room.

I can feel tears pricking the corners of my eyes as I am stuffed in a small, airless space. A trunk of a car, perhaps.

I get up the will to scream again, but it feels utterly useless. The car starts a second later and I am carried away. My mind whirls, wondering who the hell these guys are and what, exactly, they intend to do with me.

Hades

When I finally climb out of the car at the remote hotel, it’s twilight. I give Ares a hard look as I scan the parking lot.

I see Eros’s matching sedan not far away and pull out my phone to text him.

Ares gets out of the car and stretches. “That was longer than I like to travel in a day,” he says.

“We should have been here over an hour ago,” I fling over my shoulder. “If ye hadn’t given me bad directions and had us running all over the countryside, our trip would’ve been shorter.”

“Ye should’ve known better than to listen to me.” He shrugs as I start walking toward the car. “Ye know that I’m an idiot.”

I stop, sliding him a glance. Usually Ares is pretty defensive about his own intelligence.

“What?” he asks. “Ye know it’s true.”

“Ye started a fist fight with me the last time I merely suggested that ye were short sighted and hadn’t thought something through.”

Ares shrugs and raises his hand to shade his eyes. “Where are Eros and Persephone?”

“I’m not sure.” I survey the scene, sweeping my gaze around the entire parking lot and the dingy little hotel building again. “Their car is here…”

Something is off. The hotel is too quiet. One part of me hopes that Eros and Penny are just resting… but deep inside, I already know that’s not the case.

A chilled note of fear-spiked adrenaline slides down my spine.

“Hey.” Ares brings me back with a word. I glance up at my brother, who is squinting at the hotel. “Does that seem right to ye?”

He points at the faded gray building, motioning to the very farthest door. I look where he points and notice that the door is leaning against the doorway. It isn’t attached at all but has been arranged very carefully to look like nothing untoward has happened.

“Fuck.” My gun is tucked at the back of my waistband. I draw it and train the barrel at the doorway. Turning to the side, I start moving closer, my steps guarded and quiet.

My heartbeat pounds faster, all my senses on full alert. I’ve trained for moments like these but it’s still hard to stay calm when all this adrenaline hits my system.

Steps behind me, I can see Ares drawing his own weapon, moving in the exact same tactical manner as I do.

As we approach the door, we automatically split up so that I’m on the right side and he is on the left. There are little bits of splattered wood scattered on the ground and they crunch beneath my feet as I draw up against the wall.

I squint at the door, listening carefully for any signs that there might be someone still inside. Ares motions to a thin wire laid across the threshold of the door.