No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

—But it was real. It was all really happening, right now,
and it could never be undone, and her artist’s fingers were
about to be crushed by unsympathetic metal.
Sandi gasped. “Jesus Christ, Ashley—”
“Don’t do it,” Jay begged, fighting Lars. “Please, don’t—”
But the tall shadow of Ashley Garver wasn’t listening. It
leaned in close to Darby, licking its lips, and she smelled
something sweetly bacterial, fetid, like decaying meat. “You’re
giving me no choice. If you tell me, I promise I won’t hurt
you, okay? You have my word. Where. Are. My. Keys?”
Fiveminutes—fiveminutes—fiveminutes—
She forced herself to open her eyes, to blink away the
tears, to steady her gulped breaths, to look the monster in its
green eyes. She couldn’t take the bait. She couldn’t submit and
play this game, because the instant he knew where his
keychain was, he’d kill her. There was no other option. Ashley
Garver was many, many things, but above all else, he was a
pathological liar.
“Please, Darbs, just tell me, so I don’t have to hurt you.
Because if you don’t, you’re forcing me to slam this door.”
He knelt down close so she could see the pained glimmer
in his eyes. She knew this was all staged. Another head of the
Hydra. This negotiation was just like any other act she’d
witnessed tonight, just another version of Ashley to be worn
for a while and then discarded, the way a python crawls out of
its wrinkly gray skin.
The entire room fell silent, awaiting her answer.
Inhale. Count to five. Exhale.
“If I tell you,” she whispered back, “you’ll just slam the
door anyway.”
His eyes darkened. “Smart girl.”
Then he did.