January Read Online Free Page B

quid.
    Shite.
    He turned back, catching himself in Carter’s steely glare.
    ‘Where’s the rest?’ Carter demanded.
    ‘I swear, that’s all there was.’
    Kitkat tried to sound as genuine as he could but he was never going to be believed. In a flash of movement, the unseen people behind had yanked him out of the chair. This time he tried to kick
but he was outnumbered and disorientated. Before he knew what was going on, his legs had been bound together and he was lying on the hard tiles, head spinning. He squeezed his palms together,
attempting to give his wrists more room, but the ties continued to slice into his skin. He tried to scramble into a sitting position but a boot thundered into his knee and then he heard the
strangled screech of a pulley. He realised what was going on a moment before it happened.
    Within seconds, he was hanging upside down, legs attached to a railing on the ceiling, head dangling over the teeming sink. Without another word, there was a flicker of movement and
Kitkat’s head collided with the bottom of the metal sink. He was engulfed by soapy water that burst into his mouth and nostrils. He’d had no time, no warning, to take a breath. Now he
really was panicking, trying to lift his neck and get himself out of the water, thrashing his limbs in an attempt to return to the air. The bubbles seeped through to the back of his throat, making
him gasp and clamour.
    Suddenly, Kitkat was clear of the water. He wheezed a heavy breath that was largely water, sending a spray of liquid from his mouth as he gasped desperately. He panted, the flecks of water
irritating the back of his throat and nose. It was a while before he opened his eyes, feeling the froth running from his face until he managed to settle on the stony face of Carter. There was a
thick cord in the man’s hand but he seemed to be taking no pleasure from what he was inflicting.
    ‘Where’s my money, you four-fingered freak?’
    Chris’s name was on the tip of Kitkat’s tongue. He wanted to say it but what then? Carter and his men might kill his friend. If not, they’d definitely hurt him. Did Kitkat want
that on his conscience? Perhaps they’d believe him that there was only four and a half thousand in the bag.
    ‘That’s all there was!’
    Kitkat managed to snatch a breath in the fraction of a second that he saw Carter’s grip loosen on the cord. He scrunched his eyes as tightly as he could, feeling the foamy water swirling
around his face. He tried to tell himself not to panic again, counting the seconds instead of flailing. If he could stand up to the punishment, perhaps that would impress a man like Carter?
    It was almost a minute before Kitkat felt the pressure on his legs intensify and he was hauled clear of the water. He started to take a breath but the cord was released again and, before he had
a lungful of air, he was back in the sink, panicking and struggling. Water stung his eyes, filling his nose and mouth. Without meaning to, he gulped in the liquid, and then he really was
scrambling. His head rocked back and forth, sending the water spilling over the top of the sink as he bumped into the sides. He took a second mouthful, mind racing before it was over.
    In a flash, he was out of the water again. He puffed deeply, trying to get the liquid out of his mouth, expecting to be dunked once more. This time it didn’t happen as he slowly regained
some composure. The only noise was the sound of drips falling from Kitkat’s head into the sink. His eyes were still closed but he could hear the swirl of water disappearing from beneath him.
When he finally risked a peek, he could see the scratched metal at the bottom of the nearly empty sink.
    At some point – he wasn’t sure when – his hands had been cut free. His wrists were so sore from the slices that, even though they’d been separated, it still felt as if
they were bound together. Kitkat blinked and coughed, feeling the liquid scraping the back of his