The Last Hero (Villains & Monsters #2)

Chapter 3

He swayed a bit, then steadied himself and hoped that Sierra wouldn't notice him. For a moment, he thought about running, but then he figured that it would only make things worse for him. A few more turns, and they were at a door. When Sierra opened it, it revealed a spacious meeting room.

"He's here," she said.

"Thank you, sweetheart," A woman sitting at the table responded, and Jamie froze, blinking a few times in surprise. Valerie Reid, one of the most powerful women in the world, was sitting there.

Sierra sat down in the corner of the room, more than likely staying to observe, and Valerie gave him a soft smile. "Have a seat."

He snapped out of it, then sat down across from her. She studied him, and the expression she wore on her face was extremely similar to Simon's when he was focused. Him and Sierra had Valerie's hair and expressions, and he assumed that the rest of their features came from their father.

"Looking at you now, it's very hard to believe that you have red hair, Jamie Meyer. Black suits you."

He froze when he heard his name -- his real name. Sure, in his mind, a tiny part of him would remember who he used to be every now and then, and maybe even dream of it some nights, but actually hearing his name from someone else was a major shock to him.

"Do you know how long you've been here?"

"No," he muttered.

"Today is February 11th, 2046."

He faced the ground and clenched his hands tightly into fists to stop himself from shaking. He had been here -- held captive, tortured, then trained -- for nearly eight months.

Last night floated in his memory. He thought about how he imagined Simon and his entire team like snakes, and Daija Cross was the deadliest one that liked to take her time. She had coiled around him tightly and squeezed every bit of life out of him, then bit him hard, filling him with her venom until he was all of her and nothing of himself.

"I am going to fucking shatter you until there's absolutely nothing left of you. Then I'll put you back together. Lovely, perfect and loyal."

Valerie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "If it's any comfort, a ton of people have been here way longer."

Definitely didn't bring him comfort -- only more fear. The fact that he had no clue how long Daija would keep this up was driving him insane.

"Are you going to say anything else?"

"I thought I was doing the right thing," he said quietly. It was mostly the truth, because deep down, he knew what he was doing was so twisted and so wrong.

"Hm," she hummed as she took a plastic spoon and stirred some sweetener into her coffee. "You remind me of Oliver. A kind face, so smart and gifted, but dangerously obsessive. He also thought he was doing the right thing."

Right. Oliver Stevens. The man who started it all. When he was going through the heroes' files all those months ago, he became more afraid of himself as he learned more about him. They shared similar thought patterns, wanted to make impossible things possible, and made dangerous mistakes all while still wanting to genuinely help people.

Reading about Oliver was like looking in a fucking mirror.

When the silence grew too heavy, he eventually asked her, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Nope. I have back-to-back meetings later on, and I can't afford to get my hands -- and clothes -- dirty right now, so you can let that idea go."

He knew better than to even show just the slightest sign of relief.