Page 107 of Uprising

“Yeah?” Darius replies. “Guess he’s not gonna get that is he?”

I screw my face up before I can stop myself. They’re going to kill him. I know they are. “Please, he’s my cousin, please don’t hurt him.”

Darius laughs before shoving me so hard I fall backwards onto the floor. “You can stop the pretence now Rose. Your little trickery is over.”

“What?”

“You think we didn’t speak to the guards, you think we didn’t ask them about his comings and goings? Turns out he’s been visiting you a lot. Turns out the two of you keep having little secret conversations.”

I gulp, my stomach reeling as I realise this whole charade is collapsing around me. That both of us are utterly screwed in this moment.

“What were you discussing huh?” He continues. “What little plan were you coming up with?”

“I…” I gulp. “I was asking after Lara. He knows where she is. I just wanted to make sure she was safe. That she was okay.”

“Sure you were Rose.” He replies. “Just like you were making sure Sofia would be safe too.”

His hand hits me before I see the movement. I’m sent flying to the floor and I cry out as my body slams into it.

As I lay stunned he grabs my hair wrenching my head around to look at him.

“Your daughter is gone. Roman’s already seen to that. Guess you were last on the list. Bottom of his give-a-shit pile.”

I stare back at him, biting my tongue. I won’t goad him further now. There’s no point.

He drags a chair over and shoves me into it. As I try to move he grabs my right wrist holding it in place as someone wraps tap around and around, fixing it to the arm. Then he does the other with my left wrist as I struggle so hard to get free.

“What I want to know is why you turned tail?” Otto says grabbing Ty by the throat. “We all know Rose is a whore but you, what’s in it for you? What did the Montagues promise that was so great?”

Ty glares back at him. “They promised me nothing.”

“That’s a fucking lie.” Otto snaps before kneeing him in the chest.

“Stop.” I cry but he doesn’t.

“I love Sofia.” Ty gasps. “I love her and you were killing her.”

“Yeah?” Darius says before wrenching my head at an angle by my hair. “What about Rose? You consider the consequences for her in all this?”

I gulp meeting Ty’s gaze. Trying to tell him that I can handle it. Whatever they throw at me. Whatever they do. I can take it.

“Where is he?” Darius asks.

“Where is who?” Ty replies.

Otto says the name, as if Darius can’t even speak it. “Roman Fucking Montague.”

“I don’t know.” Ty states.

They both laugh at that.

“Let’s see if we can jog your memory then…” Darius murmurs looking over to the guards and jerking his head as some sort of signal. I hear the footsteps, the pounding as someone struts out of the room.

“Darius…” I try again and he backhands me before I can even get the word out.

The guard comes back and when I see what’s in his hand I let out a whimper. Darius smirks at me as if my fear is amusing him now, as if this entire situation is a comedy for him.

“This is how this is going to go…” Darius says pointing the cattle prod at me while Otto tapes Ty to a chair the same way I am. “You claim to have amnesia, you claim to have conveniently forgotten where Roman is hiding which is fine, so to help get your memory back we’re going to play a game…”