Then I wanted them dead.
Slowly.
The woman on the floor made a weak sound.
Right.
Her.
I put two fingers against her throat and found a pulse.
Barely there.
Still useful.
That thought should have disgusted me too.
It didn’t.
Someone had taken Ella from this room and this woman was the only living thing left behind.
That made her valuable.
I slapped her cheek lightly.
“Wake up.”
Nothing.
I did it again, harder.
“Come on. Open your f*****g eyes.”
Her lashes moved.
“Wake up.”
She groaned and tried to turn her head away.
I caught her jaw carefully enough not to hurt her more.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes finally opened, unfocused and glassy with pain, and for a second she just stared through me like she couldn’t quite work out whether I was real.
Then she did.
Fear came into
