by Skyler Andra
“Scream again and I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you.” A cold shiver ran down my body. I didn’t have a reason to think he wouldn’t do it.
“Supergirl?” Tor again.
I kicked the wall twice. The burning sting of metal dragged across my neck. I clawed Devon again, scratching his face. He grunted again and slapped me with an open hand but he moved his hand and I drew in a lungful of air. Weak with fright, I sagged against my pillow.
“Sentries!” Tor shouted over and over.
Scorching hot tears streaked down my cheeks. I moaned into his hands.
Devon leaned closer, whispering into my ear. “Last chance, sweet tits. What’s ya answer?” He relaxed his grasp on my mouth.
Blood thundered in my ear, but I could hear voices in the hallway, metal clashing. I flinched. The lights in my cell flashed on. I blinked, but I couldn’t focus.
“No.” The words came out shaky, appropriate since my entire body was quaking.
“Ya teammates ain’t angels, you know? They murdered their teammate.”
An invisible hand wrapped around my throat. Tor said they killed a gantii. Oh God. I didn’t know what to believe. A motherfucker who’d broken into my cell to threaten me or Tor, captain prankster himself. I had to get answers.
“Ya might be next if ya not careful.” Devon ran the tip of his knife over his cheek to highlight his point.
The lock on my door clunked. He lifted off me and tucked the knife down the back of his pants. I scrambled into the corner, gasping for air.
Four sentries burst into the room and apprehended him. His knife dropped onto the floor and each time it clattered I flinched.
“What the fuck are you doing in here after lights out?” One of the guards asked. “That’s against the rules.”
A second, holding onto his upper arm, shouted, “He’s got a knife on him.”
The sentry at the front moved to snatch the weapon. “No weapons outside of training and missions.” He tapped Devon on the top of the head with the blade. “The warden’s not going to be happy.”
“We had some business to discuss.” Devon spat on the floor of my cell. Bastard.
The head guard clamped handcuffs on him. “Get him out of here.”
Two guards dragged Devon out of my cell.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Tor shouted. “Supergirl?”
“Shut Tor up would you?” The head sentry told the last guard and he obeyed the order, leaving my cell.
I huddled in the corner of my cell, crying and hugging myself.
“Come on. I’ll take you to the infirmary.” The sentry curled his fingers around my biceps and I gasped and jerked away. Thanks, but no more touching.
“Is she okay?” Tor argued with the sentry in the hall. “Let me out. Let me make sure she’s okay.”
Another door clunked open.
Tor rushed inside my cell, sat beside me and ran the back of his hand below the gash on my throat. I winced. His face flushed and his pupils dilated. He tore off a piece of my sheet and pressed it to my bleeding neck.
He turned his head and glared at the guard. “Who did this?”
The head sentry glanced at the other guard by the door. “Devon. Probably just trying to shake her up.”
Tor wrapped me protectively against his chest. “I’m taking her to the doctor.”
I shuddered and cried in his arms as he carried me to the infirmary and explained the story to the doctor on duty. He patched me up with bandages and I sat there numb and out of it. At the end, the doctor gave me a sedative in the arm with a needle, and I flinched at the pain.
Back in my cell, the sentry clamped a hand on Tor’s shoulder. “All right, time to go back to your cell.”
He shook the guard off. “She’s not safe. She’s staying with me.”
“One prisoner per cell,” the head sentry argued.
“Fuck that.” Tor lifted me into his arms, and I didn’t fight him. I groaned, light-headed from shock and drowsy from the sedative. “That creep broke into her cell and cut her!” They had a glaring match for about twenty seconds before Tor shook his head. “Don’t make me tell Vartros about the two hours a night you disappear when Ladies of Wrestling is on Friday nights.” He looked at the other guy. “And the way you’ve been helping yourself to Gin and Tonic bombs for Wednesday night happy hour.”
Confusion set in and made my head ache. I didn’t know if Tor lied about the charges that brought him and the rest of the team into this institution or if Devon fucked with me to convince me to change sides. And I was too traumatized to care. The tears and shudders started again.
When the sentries didn’t argue, Tor nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
He carried me out of my cell. “She’s staying in my room from now on.” Once inside his lockup, he kicked the door with his foot, and I flinched as it slammed shut. He set me down gently on the bed.
The head sentry glared at him through the door then activated the lock.
My wits came back, and I twisted, mostly because being this close to him, along with the effects of that sedative made my head even lighter than it already was. “Put me down.”
But he was a killer, and that wasn’t something I was likely to forget, drugged or not. I squirmed, but he set me down on his bed. When he brushed his hand along my cheek, I pushed him away.
Two things were certain. I didn’t want to be alone after what had happened. But I also didn’t want to put myself in any more danger than I was already in. “Did you kill, Jaz?”
He hung his head and let go of me. “He told you that?”
“Yeah.” I moved to stand with my back against the door.
“Let me out.”
“You’re stuck in here for the night.” Tor’s voice hammered in my skull.
Fuck. I squeezed the edge of the barred window tighter, pressing my forehead against the solid iron door. I was screwed if he tried anything. He was so much bigger than Devon and I was weakened by drugs along with an adrenaline crash that made my eyelids heavy and my arms weigh a thousand pounds each.
Tor slowly approached me from behind. His warm hand seized mine as he twisted me to face him. “It was an accident.” Regret ached in his voice. “And I’ve paid everyday since.”
Accident or no accident, he was convicted of the crime, and sentenced to work off his penalty in the Guild’s prison. Just liked I’d been guilty of breaking the Guild’s rules.
Tor turned away from me. “Jaz was no saint. He sold secrets to the Brotherhood of Serpents. Planted evidence on us to keep us quiet. Got us all convicted by association.”
Fuck. That rat.
Tor settled on the bed, fluffing his pillow. “Get some sleep, Supergirl.”
How the fuck was I supposed to sleep after what happened? I didn’t move even after the lights went out. I stared out into the hall, at the opposite cells, the stairwell some feet away in the corner. This was going to be a long night.
He rolled on his side. His breathing slowed, and his muscles lost their taut edge. My eyes trailed the curve and hardness of them. Damn, he was sexy.
After a few minutes, I sank to the floor.
Tor sighed and rolled over. “You gonna stay there all night?”
I was so tired, I didn’t even know how much longer I’d be able to stay awake. And damn it was cold. My bones felt like they’d turned to ice and would snap if I moved. My teeth chattered and body trembled as my eyelids grew heavier and my fingers tingled.
Tor sighed and climbed off the bed. I was too tired to resist when he bent and lifted me into his arms. My heart raced, out of fear and excitement. He set me gently on his bed closest to the wall. Before I had a chance to protest, he slid in beside me, snuggled closer, rubbing my arms and back. Sparks zinged through my chest.
I tried to move away, but it wasn’t worth the energy it would take. “What are you doing?” My words came out slow and thick.
He snuggled closer. “Just relax. I’m not going to do anything besides keep
you warm.” He whispered the last word, probably teasing me again, but I was too tired to care. His tender but heated strokes lit a small flame in me, chasing away the ice in my bones.
“You’re still freezing.” Tor reached down to the edge of the bed and pulled up another blanket, laying it over me.
“Thank you.” I burrowed deeper.
That was the last thing I remembered before the sedative dragged me under.
Chapter 23
Astra
“Supergirl,” a voice whispered to me. “Supergirl, wake up. We’re late for practice.”
“I’m dreaming of Ragar”—a sexy anime character who lit my dreamy fire—“Mom. Leave me alone.” I pulled the blanket up until I could tuck it under my chin.
“Ragar?” A man murmured, his warm breath tickling my ear.
A hard body pressed against me, cradled me with powerful arms. We fit together like we were meant to. I groped a muscled forearm, found a thin smattering of hair, and small veins.
Whoa! I shook that thought out of my head. No Astra. Don’t go there, girl.
But then that devil on my shoulder chimed in my ear in her most convincing voice. Oh. But he feels so good. Warm. Hard.
Silver Blazes. Speaking of hard. His excitement pressed into my ass.
I glanced over my shoulder. Fuck. I was in bed with Tor. How the hell had that happened? My mind felt hazy and thick, like pea soup. Shit.
“Come on.” Tor nudged me. “We have to get to training.”
I grabbed the side of my head. “My head’s killing me.”
I examined the single bed we squished into. Not much room to maneuver with Tor’s long body and me facing the wall, curled into him. If I moved away, I’d lose the blanket and the warmth and comfort of his body. But that said, his boner in my ass had my body five kinds of confused. It felt good. Like it belonged. But it also was inappropriate. Uncomfortable. I shouldn’t get down and dirty with another prisoner. What if things ended badly? I’d be stuck on the same team, training together, hating each other and having to pretend we didn’t. Uncomfortable.
“Ahem.” I shifted away from his erection, to lie flat against the cold and hard wall. Not the most comfortable position.
He yawned, long and sharp, and my heart pounded because it sounded strangely like a sigh caught on a groan. “Sorry, it’s been a while. We don’t get a lot of sleep overs with cute feisty women.”
Be still my horny heart. He thought I was cute? I turned my head and smiled into my pillow.
And was he saying he hadn’t he hadn’t slept with anyone since he’d been here? There were plenty of woman in the prison.
“Like how long are we talking?” I turned to face him. For clarification’s sake. Not because I was interested. Not one bit. Nope.
“Wow.” Tor shifted and plumped his pillow. “That’s kind of personal.”
“Oops. Rude Astra.” We were back to playing. Even though I really wanted an answer. About the dangerous bad boy who might or might not have been a murderer. But he intoxicated me. Excited me. I’d never dated a bad boy. As much as I hated to admit it, some deep part of me was drawn to him.
Despite his initial objection, he answered anyway. “Six months.”
Whoa! I’d never survive that long without getting my groove on. Talk about restraint. I looked up at him and those blue eyes held me prisoner. My fingers twitched, wanting to brush my fingers along his chin and jaw, feel the friction of his stubble.
“Are you a priest or something?” I was half-serious.
“Got something to confess?” His words came with another smile and it was a good thing I was already lying down. “How about we start with your crime?”
This again. I was keeping an air of mystery. I promised myself I wouldn’t get close to anyone in here. Least of all my team who didn’t want me here. Why make friends when I planned on leaving.
“I told you, I’m a thief.”
He sniffed and leaned up on an elbow then used his free hand to twirl a lock of my hair around his finger. “Yeah, but what’d you steal?”
I said the first thing that came to mind because I was a little flustered at being so close to him. “The headmaster’s dildo.”
Oh God. Really?
He laughed, a deep, honeyed sound that warmed me lower in my belly. “No wonder you ended up here.”
I resisted the urge to close my eyes at the way he played with my hair.
“I like dildos too.” That one he purposefully leaned in to whisper in my ear, and his hot drone had my stomach fluttering.
Kinky. I’d never been with a guy who liked to use vibrators I’d not been much of an explorer… but secretly I wanted to. Silver Blazes… after listening to all those hot and steamy audiobooks, I was dying for a kinky fuck.
I just had to ask him, “For the girl or yourself?”
“Both.” His wicked smile had me clenching my legs tight to suppress the tingle down below.
My face flushed. I giggled and buried my head in his chest.
I was attracted to him. No getting around it. He was tall, brimming with green hair, fit, sweet and considerate even. Oh, shit.
He cleared his throat and chuckled. My core tightened.
“That went to the gutter and fast.” He shook his head and laughed. “Maybe we should do the basics first. Like standard introductions.” He squeezed me tighter and pressed his lips to my neck, leaving my skin burning and my nerves crackling. “I tell you where I’m from, about my family, my general life story, and you reciprocate.”
“Okay.” Damn. It came out before I could stop myself. The devil on my shoulder was taking control.
“I’m Tor, single, hot and—” He leaned in to whisper in my ear. “A secret superhero.”
I giggled. “Reciting from your Tinder profile?”
He poked me, and I laughed. “I don’t have one. Don’t have time for it.”
I wanted to flirt with him a little more so he’d put his hands on my waist again. Hell, I wanted to touch him everywhere. But I was a little afraid and unsure to go there.
“I come from Adelaide,” he offered. “Believe it or not, I’m an uncle. Am I too young and good looking to be an uncle?”
“No.” He tickled me, and I changed my answer. “Yes.”
What he said next had me reevaluating my whole opinion of him. “I support my sister who is divorced with two kids, and my mom who has MS. I don’t get to see them much because”—he lifted his hand and motioned to the walls—“prison. They don’t know about it. They think I work overseas in finance.”
His story had me tearing up. Because it reminded me that I’d have to lie just like Tor about my situation. At the Shadows, I could visit every weekend, no questions were asked. But at the Guardians, we only got monthly passes if we were well behaved, and so far, I’d already been in trouble over the mothman incident, so I had to assume my monthly pass was revoked. I didn’t know how I’d explain that. And I missed my mom and sister like crazy. They were my everything.
“Where the hell do you get the money?” Unlike the incredible income I earned back at the Shadows, I don’t get paid a wage at the Guardians.
“I trade in contraband.”
“Fuck, Tor.” I buried my head in his chest again, and I swear he groaned a little in response.
“My mom needs medicine and my sister’s ex doesn’t pay child support.” I clutched his arms and squeezed. His motives were admirable, but he was digging a worse hole for himself. “Enough of that dark shit.” I studied the way his throat bobbed when he talked, and my fingers itched to trail down his neck. “When did your powers manifest?”
Not a topic I wanted to venture into. But something about Tor sucked the information out of me as if it wanted to be shared. “They emerged as a protective mechanism to fend off a guy in high school who assaulted me.”
The shame of the event had shaped me in so many ways. For years I’d blamed myself for wearing such a short skirt and low-cut top. Only in the last six months at the
Shadows, I’d been brave enough to wear a midriff bearing tank top.
Tor’s arms tightened, and I snuggled into his warmth. I felt safe. He pressed his lips to my hair and proceeded to tell me his story. “Mine surfaced the same way. Under an intensely emotional event.”
Earlier, he’d admitted that superheroes were the lens through which he viewed his life. I loved my comics, crusaders and champions, but they were the fantasy world where I escaped reality. His preoccupation seemed somewhat childish, yet oddly sweet in a way, and something about the way he clung to the notion hinted at a cover for a deeper scar. Like Batman with a tragic past.
He confirmed this. “My girlfriend in high school went to a party with her friends one night. Some guy hit on her. She told him she had a boyfriend and he just wouldn’t hear her say no. He… he…”
Oh, God, no. My stomach churned, and I wriggled to face him. My hand found his chest, and I dug my fingers into him.
His blond brows pressed into a low line over his cobalt eyes. A fragility crept into his mouth. He’d lost his confidence. Stripped away the cape and masked superhero he hid behind.
We all had events we’d rather forget, but these kinds stuck to us, and no matter how much we tried to forget, they were with us for life.
“Fuck.” Tor wiped his chin. “What he did to her, I was so fucking mad, I couldn’t control myself. I tracked him down at a local bar, forced him to smash a beer bottle on the counter and stab himself in the neck.”
I didn’t know what to think in that instant. Whether to be frightened of Tor’s temper or sympathetic. Was he fiercely protective or plain old vengeful? Last night, he’d been concerned for me, shouting out my name, forcing the guards to let him out so he could get to me. This made me lean toward the former rather than the latter.
Silver Blazes. Last night. I dug my fingers into Tor’s chest. I shut away those memories not wanting to think about them.
“Fuck, Tor. I’m sorry.” I clasped his face between my hands, studying the pain riding in his eyes. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in to kiss him, my pain blending with his, in a sweet mixture of torment. In that moment, nothing else mattered except taking away his pain, and mine with it.