Run (10 page)

Rat-face lifted the majority of his weight off Aya, but he pressed his knee into her chest to keep her anchored to the ground. Aya could barely breathe. Without taking his weasel-like eyes off of her, he spoke to the newcomer. “O’Shaughnessy. You’re just in time to see me put this little bitch in her place. I’ve got to say, I was concerned when I saw the offering this morning until I spotted this one. But she has made the day more than worth it. I’m surprised I caught up to her so quickly.”

Aya wheezed, frantically gasping for air. She hit at him as hard as her weakened body allowed but the harder she fought, the more pressure he applied to her chest.

“You can’t have fun with a dead woman,” Dare pointed out. “If you continue to hold her down like that, she won’t last for very long.” He spoke so casually, as if her life wasn’t about to be snuffed out. Son of a bitch.

Almost defiantly, Rat-face pressed his knee harder into her chest cutting off her air supply completely before removing it altogether. He glared at her and then a smirk curved the thin line of his almost non-existent lips. He turned his head briefly to look at Dare. “You’re right, of course. I have plans for her and I want her to be fully conscious when that happens.” He ran a clammy hand down the front of her body.

Aya couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever been more repulsed. Not even the humiliating strip search she’d been subjected to after her arrest had been as disgusting as having this sadistic asshole touching her. It was hard to form a coherent thought while she fought to remain conscious but she could tell there was something not quite right with this man.

“Rather presumptuous of you to make so many plans with my property.”

“Well, I’ll need to break her in and…wait—I beg your pardon? Your property?”

“I’m sure what I just said was crystal clear. And as I’m a man who never learned to share and don’t care to start doing so now, I’d suggest you back away from her. Quickly!”

Rat-face’s mouth fell open. “B-but, she’s mine. I got to her first. The rules of the game and all. I mean, well, I don’t mind sharing. I promise not to hurt her…too much and then she’s yours,” he negotiated.

Aya wasn’t sure who she’d be better off with at this point. The one who would probably torture her until she was on death’s door or even dead, or the one who would make her wish she were. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation for her. Licking her lips, she contemplated her escape, trying to figure out if she could get away while these two argued it out.

But then there was Macy to think about, helpless and unprotected. There was no way Aya could leave the other girl when she’d been so helpful to her. She attempted to scoot away to put some space in between her and the slimy predator, but he placed a hand on her chest to halt her. Fuck!

Dare studied his nails, not because he was overly obsessed with his grooming or that he actually cared what his nails looked like but because he was very close to losing his temper. In no circumstance did he want to show West that he mattered enough for him to actually make a scene with a sudden display of emotion. He glanced in Aya’s direction, despite the darkness of her skin he could see several purple bruises starting to form on her skin. There was a rather nasty one on her side, most likely from the kick that West had delivered. He wouldn’t put it past West who had the reputation of being an abuser, kicking her repeatedly. It was said, many of the girls he accumulated from The Run didn’t often make it out of his house alive and if by some chance they did, they had all retreated so far into their own minds that they were walking, talking vegetables. It wasn’t Dare’s concern what West did with those other woman, but Dare did have an issue with him causing damage to what belonged to him.

Dare had locked on to her coordinates the second he’d stepped onto the gaming the grounds. Because Aya had been marked, all patrons were supposed to be given her coordinates. However on his behalf, Ronald had announced a rule change. They had to pay for it, which most of them ended up doing. Ronald had then given them all fake coordinates while giving Dare the correct ones. He hadn’t put the wheels in motion to get her here only to lose her to another patron, not that he would even let that stand in the way. It was just, this way there were fewer complications.

The other hunters had gotten a head start on him while he changed into more suitable clothing. He’d been unconcerned about anyone finding Aya, until Briggs had notified him of a glitch in the system that gave the correct coordinates to another patron as well. West.

Enraged that such a mistake could happen, he had been very close to firing Ronald on the spot even though the man had been with him for ten years and his work could not be faulted otherwise. Mistakes were costly and he’d be damned if he allowed this mistake to cost him the one thing he’d most desired that was almost within his grasp. But it was also his need to get to Aya that saved Ronald’s job.

Dare made it just in time to see West kick Aya in the ribs. His first instinct was to beat the shit out of the motherfucker for daring to touch her, but he held himself back and calculated a different way to make him pay. A much more subtle way. That the fool didn’t realize how precarious his situation was at the moment was another reason Dare would show him no mercy. With an exaggerated sigh, he finally responded to West. “How can you share something that doesn’t and has never belonged to you?”

West opened his mouth and then closed it before taking several moments to reply. “Those are the rules. I paid for these coordinates just like the others. But, I got to her first.” He whined liked a child, further annoying Dare. The bastard had no dignity whatsoever.

“What the other patrons wanted is not my concern, but as I stated before, if you don’t move away from her, the only thing that will be broken around here is your neck between my hands.”

“But—”

Dare advanced on the other man but West had the good sense to scurry away before he made contact.

“Wait, there’s no need to be hasty.” West held up his hands in supplication. “I almost had her branded. You were nowhere in sight. Those are the rules. You run the games, so I’m sure you don’t want word to get out that The Run isn’t being managed properly.”

Dare raised a brow. His lips tilted into a half smile, almost amused by West’s subtle attempt at blackmail. It was apparent that West wasn’t smart enough to realize who he was fucking with. Dare had destroyed people for lesser offenses. “Exactly what do you think will happen if as you say word got out?”

The other man appeared taken aback by the question. “Well, I uh, I mean—”

Dare narrowed his eyes. “What?”

West took another step back. “I don’t see why we can’t be civilized about this. We are business associates, after all. No need for bad blood over this Dreg, who would probably be much better off if she learned her place. I can make sure that happens so when she comes to you, she won’t give you any trouble at all.”

With the remainder of his patience gone, Dare slipped off the supply pack he had strapped to his back. Never taking his eyes off his prey, he unzipped the pack, dug into it, and pulled out a short black tube, then dropped the pack on the ground. One of his passions was collecting weapons. There was a wing in his house where they were prominently displayed, all types and from different time periods. Each piece in his collection was a prize and had their own merits but they were nothing like the modern weapons that were invented to maximize the pain of the victim, like the demobilizer he now held.

After dropping the bag on the ground, Dare twisted the instrument to unlock and lengthen it until it was approximately a foot long. This particular weapon was one used by the enforcers to keep the rowdy element under control. It contained four darts that when released, pierced the skin and triggered the pain receptors in the body to a level so intense that the shock alone could sometimes kill a person. As he was heavily invested in the company that produced these beauties, he’d been able to get his hand on several.

“Uh, what are you doing?” West eyed the demobilizer warily.

As an answer to the other man’s question, he aimed the weapon for the center of West’s chest and released a dart by pressing the button on the side.

West’s eyes widened and he released an ear splitting, “Ahhhhhh!” as he crumpled to the ground. The idiot rolled around as if he’d been set on fire, howling and convulsing.

Annoyed by the man’s theatrics, Dare sneered. “Care to repeat what you said before? About you sharing what already belongs to me? I can assure you, I have more where that came from and trust me it would be my pleasure to unload every single one of them. Now repeat what you fucking said again!”

West clutched his chest, gasping for air. “Please.” His voice came out like a wheeze.

“Please what?” Dare challenged shooting another dart in West’s direction that flew by his head, deliberately missing as a warning.

The front of the dark pants the other man sported steadily grew darker as it became apparent that he’d wet himself. “I. Didn’t. Mean. It,” West gasped.

“That’s what I thought. Have some goddamn pride and stop being such a fucking pussy. That was on the lowest setting, by the way.”

West managed to wobble to his feet still clutching his chest. With gritted teeth, he pulled out the dart still stuck in his chest. “She’s yours,” he groaned. His face was beet red and wet with perspiration.

Dare shrugged. “There’s no need for you to state the obvious.”

The germ of a man edged away but not before casting one last resentful look in Aya’s direction.

“Don’t even fucking look at her,” Dare growled.

“I won’t.” West started to stagger away but halted. “I wondered…that other one. If she’s not already yours…” He pointed in the direction of the unconscious brunette a few feet away from them.

“What you do from here on out is none of my concern as long as you don’t touch what’s mine.”

“Of course.” West bobbed his head in agreement.

“Noooo!” Aya cried out. Her voice was weak and sounded hoarse but the passion behind the word was there. Dare had thought she was passed out from what she’d been subjected to but it was now apparent that she’d been listening to the entire conversation between him and West. The fact that she’d been able to hold on this long showed a fighting spirit within her that he couldn’t help but admire.

Even covered in cuts and bruises, she still managed to remain defiant. He would make it his mission that whenever she looked at him in the future, it would only be with one emotion: passion.

Ignoring West who was closing in on the unsuspecting woman behind him, Dare grabbed his bag and a pulled out a pain pin. Slowly, he made his way over to Aya and knelt down beside her. She attempted to roll away from him but he caught her arm to keep her steady and stabbed the pin into her thigh.

She gasped. “Get off me.”

“Give it a minute and you’ll be thanking me.”

Her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “I would rather cut my own tongue out before thanking you for anything,” she hissed. “Don’t let him take her.”

He couldn’t help but note the irony of her request. Despite being in no position to ask anything of him, she found the nerve to do it anyway. “Is that the way you ask for something, Aya?”

“Please,” the word almost sounded as if it were painful for her to say. “Please don’t let him take her.”

“I like the sound of you begging, Aya, but unfortunately, the rule of the game is finders keepers. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

She managed to move into a sitting position making her breasts bounce. The sudden movement indicated that the painkiller had kicked in. “Yes there is. This is your game! Look, he’s taking her. Stop him!” She was on her feet in an instant and made a move to run past him, but Dare hooked his arm around her waist.

“You’re right, Aya. This is my game and I can do what the fuck I want.”

Aya struggled against him. “Let me go!” She screamed at him but her gaze was focused directly behind him. Dare didn’t bother to look, not caring what West did with the other girl. It was not his problem.