Agent 34 (Book 1)

28. I'm not you

"If I have to chase after you," She suddenly spoke before I even had the chance to push to my feet. "I'm going to be very unhappy."

I didn't say anything. I didn't move. I just stared at her. It was dead quiet in the room once more except for the clicking of keyboard keys and for a moment, it was easy to believe she hadn't spoken at all. That my nerves were just causing me to imagine things. That is until she finally stopped typing and turned her cold gaze onto me.

I resisted the urge to look away. The expression on her face, the look in her eyes, was downright terrifying. Like locking eyes with something deadly just before it devoured you. There wasn't a hint of life in her eyes. Just the gaze of a predator and she watched me like a shark that had smelled blood in the water.

I opened my mouth to speak, and found I had some difficulty. "Why . . ." I had to stop to clear my throat. "Why am I here?" I was finally able to ask.

She stared at me for a long moment before turning back to her computer, her fingers once again typing away. "You did enough damage to your room that I can't put you back in there until it's repaired. I don't have any other spare rooms to put you in and the cells haven't finished being constructed yet." She paused in her typing to look over at me once more. "No one else has time to keep an eye on you, so I'm stuck with you . . . or rather, you're stuck with me."

"That's not . . ." I started to say and then thought better of it. Did I really want to engage in a conversation with my kidnapper? My eyes strayed to the door once more and the decision was made. No, I did not want to have a conversation with her. Unless she was the one being held in a cell. I wanted to get the hell out of there.

I wanted to be back with my team. Back at the agency.

Or you know, anywhere but here.

"I really wouldn't," She spoke up again. "if I were you."

She wouldn't. I however totally would.

I shoved to my feet as quickly as I could and ran for the door. I wasn't as fast as I would have liked to be as there were still drugs in my system, but still, I was able to move quickly enough.

At least, that's what I had thought, until a wave of pain so intense passed over me, that it brought me to the floor.

I gasped as it felt like my whole body was suddenly lit on fire. I clawed at my skin as if that would do something to stop the pain. I felt a scream trapped in my throat, but I couldn't let it out. And just when I thought I would rather die than endure this any longer, the pain faded until it was gone.

I was lying on my back on the floor, my chest heaving and my breathing coming in short, fast pants. Tears were streaming out of my eyes and I couldn't stop myself from trembling.

I'd had a lot of injuries as an agent. Almost died in several different ways. I'd been drugged before. But that was something completely different. And I never wanted to feel pain like that again.

"Well," Lydia's voice echoed around the empty room. "I suppose Sebastian deserves some praise for this."

I turned my head to look at her as she held up a small little black remote.

"What-What is . . .that?" I managed to get out between gasps of air.

Lydia turned it over in her hands, admiring it. "The controls to that collar around your neck."

I reached my hands up slowly, feeling at the thick metal contraption around my neck. How I hadn't even noticed it until she said something, I had no idea.

"You put a shock collar on me?" I questioned, anger and disbelief beginning to take the place of the pain and anxiety. "Like a dog?"

She waved a hand at me dismissively. "Of course not," She replied as she set the remote down on the desk and turned back to her laptop. "That would be inhumane and crude. No." She shook her head. "No, I had my people develop something much worse."