Crystal Mac: A prologue novella to Captive Series Book 3 HELL'S HILLTOP Read Online Free PDF Page B

don’t know. You’ll have to beat that out of him, too.”
    Mac lethargically looked down at the stun baton pressed firmly to his chest. One false move and he’d be juiced again… but, what the hell.
    With a strength born from hatred , Mac tore his left foot away from Crystal’s grip and slammed it into her midsection. She flew back, impacted heavily with the wall behind her. Instead of doling out another jolt, however, the other ghosts laughed. In a shot, she was on him, delivering a backhanded slap that hurt much worse than it should have. While Mac moved his jaw around, her chest heaved with anger and she leaned in close.
    “I owe you that,” she whispered just inches from his mouth, “and so much more.”
    “Then you better get your licks in now,” he growled in answer. “Because I’m not living through this.” Since he’d never disclose Rafferty’s location. That would mean leading them straight to a house full of the people he loved.
    Her lips quirked beneath the shadow of her hood, then passed over his in an open, flowy kiss that ended before he could back out of it. “Stay agreeable and you’ll be fine,” she said then hopped off his lap.
    The light above was turned off, leaving Mac to await their next move. Though he was blind, he knew they were not, thanks to the drug in their system.
    Holy shit .
    Anticipation began to eat at him, just like they wanted. This was it. He was about to die, not in combat, or in a bar fight, or beneath the tires of heavy construction machinery… No, nothing cool like that. It was to be at the hands of a smallish woman with separation issues. What kind of fucked up world did he live in?
    “We’ll need plastic,” Crystal suggested. “These offices open in the morning and we shouldn’t muddy up the workplace.”
    “Where do they keep it here?”
    “I don’t know. I just g ot back. Why don’t you go ask the maintenance crew?”
    It wasn’t a suggestion, but the other ghosts didn’t take kindly to her orders.
    “You go ask,” a male voice retorted with heat. “I’ll get started here.”
    “Bullshit,” Crystal argued. “You need to wait until we’ve covered the room.”
    “I won’t draw blood until you get back.”
    But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. The door opened and Crystal’s silhouette lingered against the lighter backdrop for a moment. Then, commanding assistance, she disappeared with the other two ghosts. Left him to deal with a threat he couldn’t see.
    “How would you like to start this… Mac? ”
    He searched the dark. “How about with the standard ‘fuck you’ and we can go from there?”
    A low laugh punched through the man’s chest as he unsnapped Mac’s denim shirt. “You’re a funny guy. Especially since you expected to sneak through these premises unnoticed, knowing who we are, what we do.” The presence bent closer. “I guess you forgot… we don’t miss much .”
    “Maybe when you’re lookin’,” Mac sneered as the shirt was peeled down his arms.
    But, did they know about Derek’s rescue the night before? Had Crystal filled them in on his survival? How much would she have told them when half of it would have branded her a traitor?
    Something cold pressed into Mac’s exposed chest and another current raced through him. He jumped, grimaced as he fought against the painful contraction of muscles. Once it stopped, he drooped in the chair, two hundred-plus pounds of dead weight.
    “The one time we blinked,” the ghost replied smoothly, “you killed Angelo. And for that, Crystal wants first crack at you.”
    Once Mac was able to unscramble the words, he slurred, “Felt like… first crack to me.”
    “Nah. This is nothing compared to what she’ll do to you.”
    Shit.
    “You see , she has her own special brand of electric torture. She calls it ‘The Soloist’.”
    “She’s not gonna… try and sing is she?”
    Laughter followed the remark, which Mac didn’t think was all that funny.
    “Well, you’re