IGNITE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

EZRA

Iregain consciousness in a dim space, vision still spinning from getting fucking hit in the head. Again. Which just further convinces me that Gabriel’s shitheads are behind this attack.

Odd that they would strip me down to just my black pants, though. It makes me squirm in the chair I’m resting in, and I quickly discover the rope securing my wrists and ankles. My heart lurches down into my stomach, and a bubble of sickness expands in my gut.

I’m so tired of being kidnapped.

My head drops back as my breathing grows frantic, my lungs struggling to find air.

It’s okay, Ezra. We can handle this.Isaac taught me new coping skills. This is just another test.

I focus on assessing my surroundings instead of feeding the panic unfurling inside of me. The weird shaped room holds a musty odor. Probably the ancient red carpet. The eggshell walls are barren except for a crooked wooden cross. A lone stain-glass window cracked to let in a gust of cold air that raises the hairs along my skin.

A fucking church?

My stomach worms itself into tight knots. Rev mentioned that there were church groups aligned with the trafficking operation.

Immediately, I wish I could erase the thought from my brain. Instead, I fight against my restraints harder, ripping my skin on the coarse rope binding me in place. Warm blood drips down my fingertips.

Would Cain even think to search for me in a church? How many of them are there in the city? Hundreds?

Fucking fine. If this is my end, so be it. I just wish someone knew to look for Jakey. God, this sucks in every way possible.

A woman with curly, ink black hair and near-black eyes to match enters the room from a set of heavy wood doors. She’s wearing a cross necklace and earrings, as if advertising her faith eliminates the fact that she’s got me bound like a pig in a holy house.

She touches the end of a knife under my chin, and I stop fighting to free myself. No point going out that way. I do have some pride.

The woman cocks her head. “You smell like sin, though I suppose you are pretty enough to keep. Father Mason will be pleased to have you back.”

I don’t need to ask who she means. Panic expands in my chest, putting pressure on my heart and lungs until they feel like they’re going to explode. Flashes of that cold, dark basement infect my brain. The weight of heavy chains on my bare skin. The drip of a leak somewhere in the foundation, often the only sound to accompany me in purgatory while I questioned if I was slowly going insane.

Father Mason.

After years under his control, I finally have a name, and it makes it so much worse.

The woman runs the tip of her blade down my sternum, drawing a line of warm blood and a slow note of pain. “Ah, there’s the fear.”

Doors creak open once more, and I sense his presence before he even steps into view. He was never an intimidating man in appearance. It was his voice and his touch that slithered inside of me. The patience he had for breaking me down.

“Oh, Leo,” he hums, features alight with pure joy. Every step he takes toward me is another nail driven into my throbbing heart. The terror he summons in me is unnatural. It cleans me out with razor claws.

Father Mason stands before me and drinks me in behind his glasses. “How I’ve missed you. What a game of hide-and-seek you play. Fate has brought us back together, and I’m so grateful. I never found the right replacement for you.”

I thrash against my restraints. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

I hate this weakness bleeding inside of me. I hate that I can’t help but give away how much this man still affects me. Cain and Rev tried to make me strong, but I think I might be a hopeless case. I’m nothing more than a frightened child in the presence of demons.

And this demon isn’t going to make the same mistake of letting me get away.

Soft, glacial fingers dip into my hair, and I can’t help but shudder. His fingers trail down my cheek to play with my lip ring. “This is new.”

When I jerk my head away from him, he lets his hand drop to my bare chest. I swear my bones dissolve. I slump in the chair, desperate to put as much space between us as possible.

“I don’t like that you’re bigger than me now,” Mason says with a tilt of his head. “I’ll have to keep you restrained all the time. Learned that lesson the hard way, didn’t I?”

My eyes drift to the scar on his neck. Had I just been a little stronger back then, had I struck a little deeper, I wouldn’t be in this position.

He leans in, bringing his mouth close to my ear. “But the rest of you… yeah, the rest is the same, isn’t it, Leo?”

My insides curdle. God, please just take me. Maybe I could piss Mason off enough to kill me. Would Cain continue to protect Jakey even when I’m dead? Would he burn this entire fucked up trafficking ring down to avenge me?

I can be a martyr if it means other children will be spared of these horrors. Gladly, I’d die for them.

Swallowing, I ask, “Why are you working for Gabriel?”

“Working for him?” Mason’s laugh is low. “Oh no, Leo. You’ve got that backwards. I hired Gabriel to help me with my business. I needed extra hands to keep up with demand.”

Dread coasts through my body. “You’re in charge.”

“I’m in charge.” He sweeps fingers over my pebbled nipple, and I let out a pathetic whimper. “You would have fetched a steep price, too, had I not been so captivated by you.”

I rage against my bindings once more, even though I know it’s fucking useless.

“Love is a powerful motivator. It can make you do foolish, out of character things. Like storm right into a trap. At least, that’s what your hot-headed CEO is going to do.”

No. No. No.

Tears leak from my eyes as I snap them shut, splattering onto my jeans. I pray for this to be a nightmare. A test.

“Sinro will no longer play vigilantes in this city. Then we’ll go back to the way things were. You and me, Leo. Forever.”

I start to sob as he slides a piece of silk fabric over my eyes.