Criminal Affinity [18+]

Chapter 33

'Cause I'm tryna give the impression that I get the message you wish I was dead.

| Lie - Halsey (ft. Quavo) |

×

Ava sits up with a start. She fell asleep. Stupid. Her head throbs so hard she bows, groaning. Her stomach churns, eyes darting around. She finds a metal bucket in the corner and drops hard on her knees, the contents of her stomach emptying.

Her horrible retching noises fill the basement, echoing back at her. She cringes.

She allows her three deep breaths before she pushes up, eyes casting around. She is in a cell, nothing in the room except a small bed and a bucket. It smells musty and dank but thankfully not like rotting corpses or feces.

When she stands up, her head spins wildly. Her throat hurts. A sharp pain pulls her attention down to find her knees blood. She scraped it on the unrelenting concrete floor.

Worst of all, the ache between her thighs reminds her of what transpired, making her go cold all over.

No tears come. No throb in her chest. Nothing.

She's dehydrated, injured and half naked. Just how she likes existing. She walks back to the bed, gathering her thick hair to one side. They didn't think to take her heels off, sharp and clicking loudly on the raw concrete.

She's going to make them regret that. And taking the handcuffs off her.

A large metal door whirrs open. She hears some struggle, prancing to her feet and craning her neck to check the commotion. There's ringing silence for a moment before she hears a silenced gun go off.

A soft feminine voice. She listens harder, closing her eyes. Sirena.

Ava lets go of the metal bars like they burned her. A single pair of footsteps—male from how heavy they are—approach her cell and her heart pounds in her throat. Nothing about this is right.

Ava waits until a dark figure comes into view. She knows there are cameras here, every breath of hers is being recorded.

Her training reminds her that she didn't just wake up. Her body knew a threat was on the way.

"Hi, baby." He clicks her cell open, keys jangling. Everything inside Ava roars alive. Neil Leo. "Did you miss me?"

Ava does not move from her spot, even as he comes right in front of her and looks down at her. He's smaller than she remembers, thinner too. Her stomach quivers and she waits for a lash of fear.

Nothing. Her knees tremble. Not with fear. Not anger. Not anxiety.

Thirst. For his blood.

"Don't they feed you?" Ava remarks, her voice hoarse and rough. "You're awfully scrawny for a villain."

Something sparks in his overenthusiastic eyes. "You sound different. Colder. Meaner. I like it."

She gathers a wry smile, identical to the ones William usually gives her. "I guess you cut the weakness out of me that night, huh?"

Just saying that should have taken something out of her. It takes nothing. Her hands are itching to feel slick with his blood.

He smiles his usual smile and bile turns in Ava's stomach at the horrid memories it brings forward. "You're sexy when you talk like that."

He walks. He moves around her, circling her like she's some item in his collection. She should never turn his back to him, but at this point his touch is a trigger point waiting to unleash everything that's barely restrained inside her.