Somehow, Juliette doubted that would help. The stench coming off the slab of meat was bad enough to make the hairs in her nostril shrivel up and cower.
She set her plate down. “How long do you think it’s been?”
“Don’t think about it.” Maraveet chewed and swallowed. “You’ll just drive yourself crazy.”
Juliette glanced over at the other woman, her curiosity getting the better of her. “How many times have you been in this kind of situation?”
Maraveet raised her head. “A few.”
“How did you get out?”
Plate all but licked clean, Maraveet set it aside and dropped her spoon down on top of it. “Not easily.”
Her tone said very clearly that that was a topic they would never discuss. Honestly, Juliette couldn’t blame her. Being there in that prison was bad enough. She couldn’t imagine being in more than one.
“Occupational hazard, huh?” she said instead.
Maraveet nodded slowly. “Something like that.” She dusted her hands and peered through the bars at the stairs. “This actually isn’t so bad.”
Juliette didn’t want to know what could be worse than living in that cage and knowing their time was running out.
“Do you recognize the leader?” she asked.
Maraveet shook his head. “He’s just a kid. Can’t imagine what Killian could have done to piss him off this badly.”
“He hasn’t asked for anything,” Juliette murmured. “In the videos, I mean. He just keeps making these stupid riddles and they’re barely five seconds long and make no sense. If he’s trying to get Killian to find him, he’s doing a horrible job of it.”
“Yeah.” But the woman seemed distracted. She was staring at her spoon, turning it slowly between her fingers.
“What?”
“Give me your spoon,” she said instead.
“What?” Juliette repeated.
Maraveet looked up. “Give me your spoon!”
Bemused, Juliette passed her spoon over and watched as the bowls were snapped off and pitched unceremoniously into the bucket in the corner. The handle pieces were pressed together. Then she reached behind her and pulled out two more broken handles and joined them.
“Give me your elastic,” she demanded, hand already outstretched.
Not asking any questions, Juliette slid the band from her hair and dropped it into the open palm. She watched as it was wrapped around the plastic.
Secured firmly, she turned the jagged ends over and began grinding them slowly against the concrete. She kept doing this until a small pile of plastic shavings had collected beneath her hands and the plastic had been rubbed down to a sharp point on one end. Maraveet paused to blow the excess shavings away before examining her handiwork.
“It’s not the best, but it’ll do.” She passed it through the bars to Juliette. “You can probably get one or two good uses out of that if you’re really careful. Plan your attack and make sure you don’t miss!”
Juliette’s mouth went dry even as her palms began to sweat. She stared from the jagged weapon to the woman watching her through the bars.
“What … are you serious?”
“Do you want to get out of here?” Maraveet countered. At Juliette hesitant nod, she continued. “Time your attack,” she said again. “If you strike too early, you’ll get stopped early and you’ll lose the element of surprise. But if you wait and time it, you can maybe even get three.”
Get three.
What did that even mean? Kill them? Was she supposed to stab them with the crudely shaped weapon?
“You can do this.” Something in her face must have given away her fears, because Maraveet reached through the bars and grabbed her arm. “You have to do this, Juliette. Do you understand?”
Juliette swallowed. “What about you? You seem to know what you’re doing—”
“Because there is nothing they can do to me that I haven’t already been through before.” Something about the deadpan way she said it made Juliette’s blood run cold. “But I won’t let you go through the same. I’m going to make sure you get out of here.”
The bit of plastic bit into Juliette’s clammy palm. “Why?”
Maraveet never wavered. “Because my brother loves you and losing you would kill him.”
While the idea of being loved that deeply by Killian made her heart patter just a little faster, Juliette couldn’t shake the doubt his words had cut into her. But there was no point bringing that up now.
“You don’t think he’d be hurt to lose you?”
“He better be.” The woman drew back. “I’ll haunt him if he isn’t, but I’m not you and he needs you, so you need to make sure you get back to him.”
Her gaze lowered to sharp point of hope resting in the palm of her hand. “How do I even use this thing?”
Maraveet shifted closer. “Grip it firm and when you do use it, go for soft tissue.”
“Soft … tissue?”
Maraveet nodded like she was explaining a complex recipe. “The eyes, throat, and genitals are the best places and ensure they won’t get up any time soon.”
The very idea of jamming that thing into another person’s eye made Juliette’s insides waver. Bile shot up into her throat before she swallowed it down.
“I don’t know about this…”
“It’s them or you,” Maraveet said with a bite. “And trust me, the games are only just beginning.
Chapter 27
The betrayal was a crippling lance sweeping through him with a cruelty that made his insides feel torn. There were no words for the hurt and shock that came with the knowledge that someone he knew, someone he trusted would hate him so much that they longed to destroy him.
“I trusted you.”
Brown eyes darkened by dilated irises, eyes Killian had looked into since he was a boy peered up at him from a face he had once trusted without question. He sat tense in the chair. His navy suit unusually rumpled, revealing his loosened tie and wrinkled dress shirt. He hadn’t made a run for it, which had surprised Killian. Instead, he sat hunched and defeated in the chair, staring down at his knees.
“Why would you do this?” Killian asked, unable to bring himself to care that all his pain was radiating through his words, weakening them. Weakening him. “I don’t understand.”
Marco said nothing.
“Sir, perhaps I can have a few words with him?” Frank offered.
Killian shook his head. “No, please leave us.”
Aside from Frank, Vi was there, as well as Aaron, Dominic, and Jacob. His men left promptly without question. Vi hesitated, but she relented and followed the others out. Frank shut the doors behind them.
Neither Killian nor Marco moved. The silent battle of wills only hurt all the more. A part of him wanted to lunge across the desk, wrap his hands around the man’s throat, and squeeze until he told Killian where Juliette was. Another part of him couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that someone he trusted would do something so horrible.
Climbing out of his chair, Killian started around the desk separating them. He stopped once he was directly in front of the other man. The table edge settled along his ass cheeks.
“Where’s Juliette?” he asked quietly. “Where did you take her?”
Marco remained stubbornly silent. His pale face was tight with fear and guilt. Killian leaned back. His feet flattened on the floor as he rose. His hands curled into the ledge. It was all the restraint he would allow himself.
“I could have you tortured until you talk,” he mused softly. “I could do many terrible things to you and I want to. I want you to suffer for what you did, for what you’re doing to her right now. It’s only the fact that you’ve been part of my family since I was a boy that is saving you. It’s the only reason I am willing to give you a chance to tell me where you took her and who has her. If you tell me, you won’t die a slow and horrible death. If you don’t…” he let his words trail off. “You know what I am capable of. You know the things I will not hesitate to do to people who hurt those I care about. Juliette is mine and I will take down anyone who stands in my way of getting her back. So, what will it be?”