Stealing the Rogue's Heart by Erica Monroe

Author:Erica Monroe [Monroe, Erica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Quillfire Publishing
Published: 2017-01-23T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 10

When his father had been on one of his rampages, Charlie often slept on the streets, finding shelter underneath a shop awning, or upon the steps of a gaming hell like the King of Spades. He’d been a light sleeper then out of necessity, never fully relaxing. Even as a child, he had understood that evil was everywhere, a tiger prowling through an urban jungle, eager to sink its teeth into tender flesh.

All those nights under the stars with only a rusty pocket knife to ensure his safety had not prepared him for waking up like this.

He was drowning.

Last he knew, he’d been asleep in his bed. Then he was awake, shorn brutally from slumber by a rush of water into his lungs, making him cough and choke—which meant more sludge in his mouth, down his throat, seeping into his stomach. Bilge from the Thames, if the smell was any indication. He registered this detail with the sort of peculiarly aware abstractness one has when still half-asleep and piecing together an unfamiliar reality.

He was on his knees, on hard ground. A great pressure bore down on his head.

There was the water, so much water.

He opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. Not only did the vile water sting his pupils, but he knew now that he was being held down in a wooden bucket by a pair of hands far too strong to easily shake. All of these realizations took approximately thirty seconds, though he would have sworn a half hour had passed.

With full awareness of his situation came blinding panic. The knowledge that if he did not get free of this grasp he would surely die. He began to thrash wildly, striking out with his arms until finally he came into contact with his captor’s limbs. The grip upon his head loosened and with one final act of strength, Charlie lifted himself out of and away from the barrel.

Water streamed down his face, clouded his vision, burned his eyes. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, yet the murk remained. A man stood in front of him, but he couldn’t distinguish much more, and his ears were too water-logged to register sound. He shook his head frantically, then stuck his pinkies in his ears to dislodge the water.

His hearing returned before his vision. The first sound he heard was unmistakably laughter, a cruel, sadistic laughter he knew all too well. He didn’t have to see to know Jason was nearby; probably the one who had held his head down in the bucket.

He placed his palms flat on the ground, attempting to push himself up. His limbs wouldn’t cooperate. He got halfway up before his knees collapsed underneath him, and he slid back down to the floor with a sickening thump felt all through his body.

Footsteps approached. Jason came toward him, reaching out for him—no, no, he wouldn’t let the blackguard put him back underneath the water. He swung out, slapping Jason’s leg. When Jason jumped back, he tried to make distance between them, but he hit the damn bucket and couldn’t go any further.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.