Twisted [Degenerate Series, Book 1][Blackfrost] ✔️

Chapter 23

I woke up with a brand new pain in my head. To my surprise, I wasn't in my bed where I had initially fallen unconscious. No, I was in the god-awful cell that I had been in now three times.

I let out a long sigh and looked around. My gaze met that of Clint Barton. He looked smug.

"I give you all the answers you desire, and you lock me up." I said, standing up.

"That's what happens when you kill two people." Barton replied angrily. "And try to kill a third."

"What are you talking about?" As soon as I was standing, a wave of nausea passed over me. I touched the pain in my head and my fingers came away sticky with my own blood. I curled my lip. When did that happen?

"Don't play stupid. You tried to kill Natasha. You're lucky it wasn't me who bashed your head in. Steve went easy on you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. What was he talking about? "I want to see Natasha." I said.

"What? You want to finish what you've already started?" Clint asked.

"Barton, that's enough." I looked over at Bruce, who had walked in at that second. "Natasha wanted me to let her know when he woke up. She wants to talk to him."

Barton turned his angry gaze on Bruce. "Fine."

"Let's go get her, then."

The two men left and I was left alone with just my thoughts. What the hell was going on?

Bruce came into the hospital area followed by Clint. Neither of them looked particularly happy. I sat up in bed immediately.

"He's awake." Bruce said dully. I climbed out of the bed and stood up. That's when I noticed that Clint didn't just look unhappy, he looked furious.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. My voice still sounded like crap. He nodded curtly.

"Thanks for letting me know." I said to them both. "I'm going to go and see him." I gave Bruce a small smile and he returned it.

I opened the door that led out of the hospital and continued with a steady jog to Loki's cell. I froze in the opening, down the stairs where I was out of his view, though I could see him. He was pacing, and the sight gave me a small stab of nostalgia of when we had first spoken.

I climbed up the stairs and he froze before turning to me. "Natasha." He said softly. His voice was his again. I had never been so relieved to hear his voice before. I never would have thought I would be this relieved to hear his voice ever. "Are you alright?"

I crossed my arms. I wasn't sure what to say. Loki approached the glass until he was as close as he could get to me. My mind flashed back to the last time we were in this position (though I was farther away now) when Loki had been threatening Barton and me, his voice a deep growl. He had seemed crazy at the time, his eyes swirling with madness and a maddened smile had been plastered on his face. The memory forced me to take a step back.

"Natasha?" He said, his voice was quiet. "What happened? Your neck..."

"What do you mean 'what happened?'" I questioned, my voice just as quiet.

"I don't remember. Barton told me that I killed two people, but I don't remember. I don't even know when this happened," He pressed his hand against the glass.

As soon as he did that, my mind flashed back again to Loki's threatening words.

His fist slammed against the glass. "I won't touch Barton," his voice was a low snarl, "not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately. In every way he knows you fear."