Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4) by Rebecca Gober, Courtney Nuckels Page B

not broken, as I stare up at him.
    “I said don’t hurt her!” Tony calls with an angry voice. My eyes find Tony walking furiously towards Mr. Blake. Tony’s eyes are crimson red as he grabs the front of Blake’s shirt. He pulls him to where he’s only inches from his face. “You idiot!”
    Blake cringes as Tony roars at him. “She tried to play me! Look at her eyes; she’s trying to read my thoughts!” He points his finger at me in a jabbing motion.
    I lie there staring in stunned silence at Tony going head to head with my kidnapper. Except he’s not your Tony, Willow, his eyes are red.
    Looking from me to Blake, he yells a final order. “Go get the connection started.” He lets go of his shirt collar.
    Blake doesn’t waste a moment before he hurriedly exits the room. When did Tony become in charge?
    Tony comes to my side. The first thing he does is adjusts the connection on my IV. I instantly begin feeling what little powers I had control of lessen.
    Then he kneels down on the floor, moves closer to me, and examines my reddened cheek. He seems angry or is it concern that I see etched in his expression? He reaches his fingertips to the whelp on my face. I close my eyes and pray that Tony has found a way to get out of Zack’s control. That he will remove my bindings, take out that needle, and swoop me to safety.
    Opening my eyes, I find Tony gone. I look around the room for him but he’s not there. Tears spring to my eyes. I have no idea what in the world is happening. Then, just as quickly as he left, he appears again with something white in his hand.
    He strides over to me, sits back down next to me, places the ice pack on my cheek, and says, “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
    I lean my cheek into his hand and stare at him with hopeful eyes.
    Then he grins and my stomach clenches. “You think I care that the idiot slapped you, don’t you, sugar?” He pushes my hair back behind my ears in such a contrastingly affectionate manner that makes no sense when coupled with his horrible words. “No, what I care about is that you are worth a lot of money to me and he messed up your pretty little face right before I can introduce you to the bidders.”
    My mind doesn’t wrap around what he’s saying. “Bidders?” I ask. All hope for Tony overcoming Zack’s control is lost in this moment.
    “Yes, bidders. Your blood is worth a lot of money, sugar. Just look what it did for old man Blake. I can market your powers with endless possibilities. Best part is, they will have to keep coming back to get the goods. I told my dad that I wanted power and, sure enough, I will be the most powerful man in the world because of you.” He smiles proudly.
    Seeing that look on Tony sickens me even more. “So you are going to sell my blood?” I ask directly.
    “Yes,” he says bluntly.
    “Why aren’t you here, Zack? You finally got me! So stop using Tony to do your dirty work and show yourself. Only a coward would do what you’re doing,” I yell.
    “I would if I were nearby, but I have a few business transactions to complete first. I had no idea our Tony would have actually led me to you so easily. He did so well at staying away from you for weeks. I started thinking that I’d have to find another way to entice you to turn yourself in. Turns out all I had to do was let him be himself for a bit and have my men follow him,” he says.
    My blood turns to ice as I think of my dad, Sabby, and all of the other people that I love. He has so many pawns that he could easily use against me.
    He leans in closer to me, his familiar face only inches from mine. My pulse quickens. “You really do love me, don’t you?” he whispers.
    I shake my head. “I don’t love you, Zack. I love Tony. Now let him go!”
    He gives me a half smile. “I’m not stupid enough to throw down all of my cards when the game is getting so good, sugar.” He puts his hand behind the back of my neck and pulls my head up off the concrete floor, to