You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 107

I blinked at the floor before sliding my eyes shut. I prayed for this moment to glitch into a dream. I swore I'd start attending church like a nun if it meant waking up.

"I—" my throat hurt from the dry gulp I took. "I was at Veronica's."

He nodded once, pulling the cigar from his lips. "You've been staying at her place for the past five days?"

I took another nervous gulp as I answered with a nod.

"So, you did quit your job."

God, I was doomed.

"Look, I'm—I'm sorry. I swear I was going to tell you this weekend. I just..." Deep breaths, Rali. Deep breaths.

Shit. My fingers were shaking.

I folded my arms.

"I had to quit. The place had become too toxic for my liking. You know, it's always a competition with the other staff. I've been working on this decision for a while now and decided this was the best time to move on to something better."

"Funny," he laughed. "Benita mentioned you were loved by everyone. Said the whole office was stunned when you showed up to resign."

I was so close—so dangerously close—to taking a step back. If a portal opened behind me in that moment, I wouldn't even ask where it led. I'd dive headfirst.

He didn't blink. He just kept smoking and looking at me like he was deciding how best to destroy me.

I'd never seen Void this way before. Angry, sure. Violent, definitely. But this terrifying quiet? It was the kind that made you want to kneel without being asked and beg for things you were yet to do.

"What did Grayson do, Rali?" His voice didn't just lack warmth. It felt subzero.

Right now, it felt like I was face to face with the Torturer, and judging from past experience, I knew it was the worst thing that could happen to me.

The version of him I'd grown foolishly comfortable with, the one who once turned my nerves into butterflies with bruised wings was nowhere to be found.

The man in front of me was the infamous Torturer. The one who didn't negotiate. The one who didn't feel even the slightest pity for a helpless insect.

And I knew the moment he stepped into that version of himself, I was no longer Rali. I was a problem he fully intended to solve.

"He didn't do anything." My voice came out a little shaken despite my effort.

Shit.

He nodded, so slowly I could hear the ghost of the decision being made. He looked down at the tip of his cigar and then looked back at me.

It was in that moment I knew—things were about to get messy.

I turned and sprinted to the door. Poor me.

Strong hands grabbed me, flipping me over like I was just furniture. I barely had time to gasp before I was forced down on my stomach. The sheets scraped against my cheek as he yanked my arms behind me.

What the hell was he doing?

I struggled just once before my body gave in. This wasn't just Void; it was the Torturer. There was no way I'd be any match for him.

The fact that he was barely saying a word was even more terrifying. Fear clawed at my sanity so hard I almost handed it over just to escape the moment.

After securing my wrists, he yanked me by the arm with just enough force to bruise, and dragged me toward the bathroom.

"What're you doing?" It felt like anxiety had a fist around my neck, and the words that left me were so small they could've been mistaken for a child's whimper.

His response was silence, still.

The second we stepped into the bathroom, my heart kicked against my chest like it was begging for a way out.

"No. Wait. Wait." I pushed against him, but there was only so much I could do when my hands were tied.

A tear tracked my cheek and a broken whimper tore from my throat the moment he forced me to my knees in front of the bath tub.

The tub was filled with water so cold it looked more like liquid glass. Chunks of ice floated in it and frost ghosted off the surface.

Somehow, I knew what was coming, and I already knew I wasn't going to like it.