Her Assassin's Heart - Book 2

Chapter 30

    The blow that struck her just behind the ear sent her reeling into the wall with such force that her vision blurred. Cassandra gasped, wrapping her arms around her head to shield herself from any further blows. Her ears were ringing, and she didn't know he'd come toward her until a hand closed around her leg, fairly cutting off her circulation.

    With a whimper, she looked up at him, and her muddled mind saw Graham's gray eyes looking back at her. His hand caressed her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. She could always feel safe with Graham.

    "I hope you're still awake enough to feel this." The image rippled, and a sharp, angular face replaced Graham's.

    There was a cruel smile twisting the thin lips. She gasped in shock, trying to jerk away from his touch. This was a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare. It couldn't be real. At any moment, Graham would come.

   "Oh, good. I thought I'd have to help you a little." He chuckled cruelly.

    She weakly fought against his steel grip as the man jerked her arms over her head. Her fighting, however, only seemed to excite him. He looked down at her gleefully, jerking a rope tightly around her wrists.

    "You know, Granger wanted to bring you in with the fight still in you, but I'm not sure I can wait that long. It's been an age since I heard a woman's voice screaming, and I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy yours too much to want to share it." He said, running his tongue over his lips.

    He tied her hands to something above her head—she was too dazed to care what. The rope bit into her flesh, and she couldn't stop herself from crying out as warm, sticky  liquid trickled down her arms. He laughed.

    "You know, this would be far more fun if Donahaven were here to watch." He lifted her jumper up. "Although, by now, I'm sure the boys have gutted him quite prettily. We'll have no disturbance from him."

    She struggled uselessly as he pulled her shirt up, too, revealing her stomach. He ignored her attempts at fighting, staring at her bared skin with a glint in his eyes. Slowly, as if relishing every move, he removed a wicked looking knife from a hip sheath.

    "In case he isn't already dead, though, leaving a message for him will be almost as fun." He looked at her and grinned.

    Cassandra's widened eyes followed the blade as he poised it over her stomach, cocking his head to the side like some deranged animal. The saliva in her mouth dried up, and her tongue felt thick and foreign.

    "Please—" she managed, panting in terror.

    "Again." He groaned, closing his eyes and leaning a little closer.

    "Please!" She said, and the word was almost a scream.

    "Oh, yes." He looked her straight in the eyes, and his hand moved so fast she didn't have time to react.

    The blade bit into the tender skin of her abdomen right below her ribs. Pain shot through her like bursting fireworks, and she screamed, attempting to squirm away from him.

    "Now, now, now, that wasn't hardly deep at all." His voice was husky. "Just a flesh wound."

    "Please," she gasped. "You don't have to do this! I don't know who this Donahaven is—" Her words were cut off in a scream as the blade ran a path across the thin skin covering her ribs.

    "Don't lie to me. I don't like lies, and it might make me end this faster than I'd planned." He bared his pointy teeth in an animalistic snarl.

    Every breath sent shocks of pain through her body, and she could feel blood trickling down her sides. Tears were coursing uninhibited down her cheeks. A whimper escape her lips as he toyed with the knife just where she could see it.