With a sigh, he reluctantly got up from the bed and pulled on his clothes. His babygirl would be all right without him for a bit. She probably wouldn’t wake up, but he left a glass of water anda small bar of the chocolate she loved so much on the table next to the bed. He should be back before she needed anything more substantial.
Moving quickly—hoping to be back quickly—he joined the Wolf in the security vid room. The Wolf was alone, leaning back in one of the chairs with his feet propped up on the desk. Toy and Pet were on the largest screen, in the center. The pair stood in the Wolf’s bedroom, staring at the wall.
“You’re just in time,” said the Wolf, jovially, although Jordan also detected a hint of disappointment or maybe sadness in his voice—not that the Wolf would admit to either emotion.
The man waved at the seat next to him, which Jordan took. Unlike the Wolf, however, Jordan sat in his chair normally, with his feet firmly planted on the floor. Slouching had always felt unnatural. The Wolf pointed at the screen, grinning, as Bella reached out and touched the symbol on the wall, making the secret entrance to the tunnel system open. Alex’s mouth dropped open as Bella backed away, an expression of both hope and fear on her face.
Jordan cocked his head, watching the two, frozen Moonies stare at the opening. “Think they’ll go through?”
On the screen, Toy approached the door, just before it closed back up.
“No. Toy might if it was just him. He’s impulsive enough to act without thinking things through sometimes, but Pet should have learned her lesson after last time. She’s usually the more cautious, more thoughtful of the two. She’ll keep him from going off the rails.”
After a few more minutes of watching the two on screen, it became clear that was exactly what was happening. Toy wanted to go into the tunnels, Pet refused, and he gave in. The Wolf and Jordan quickly became bored with listening to the captivesdebate as it was clear what the end result would be. They still gave the Moonies plenty of time to change their minds, though.
Jordan thought back on the bet he and the Wolf had made and sighed.
“You were right.”
“You shouldn’t doubt me.” The Wolf gave Jordan a crooked grin. It was true: the Wolf was much more astute when it came to human nature, reactions, and personalities than Jordan was. But, if they went by the information they’d hacked from the Moon’s database, Toy had the more forceful personality. That should have meant he had the stronger mind and would be able to break through the effects of the drugs more quickly. The Wolf sighed. “I’m going to want replacements.”
It was the shortest amount of time any captives had stayed with the Wolf, and Jordan could hear the reluctance to give them up in the Wolf’s voice. The man did seem to have become more attached to Toy and Pet than he had any others. Still, he was giving them up.
Jordan didn’t understand. If the Wolf wanted them, he should keep them. At the very least, he could keep one of them and send the other back. That was how it worked on Earth; how it had worked for decades. But the Wolf had already made small changes to the way many things were done.
“Of course.” Jordan shrugged. It wasn’t his business what the Wolf decided to do. “Any preferences?”
The Wolf reached out in front of him and slid a report to the right across the desk, so it landed in front of Jordan, who picked it up and raised his eyebrows at the two photos in the file. Normally, the Wolf asked for general, physical characteristics or sometimes personality quirks, if he asked for anything at all; it wasn’t unusual for him to leave the choice entirely up to Jordan. This was the first time he’d asked for specific people.
For a moment—a very brief moment—Jordan was tempted to ask why. But he quashed the impulse. He was one of the few who could get away with questioning the Wolf, but he preferred not to. He followed where the Wolf led, as he always had, since it had always worked out well for him. The Wolf was the one who had basically saved him.
“Jordan.” The Wolf leaned back, still watching Pet and Toy on the screen, although he’d muted the sound again. “You’re going to need to give her a choice soon.”
Every muscle in Jordan’s body tensed. He shook his head, even though the Wolf wasn’t looking at him.
“Why?” He barked out the question.
“You know why.” The Wolf’s tone was gentle, sympathetic. “You’ve had a chance to show her what it would be like, how you’ll take care of her—but it has to be her choice. Remember Trix and Chevie? She didn’t think he was going to stay once he was given the option, but you made her give it to him, anyway.”
“Because you told me to.” Jordan would have just let Trix keep Chevie. The man was better off here in the compound than he had been on the streets; he’d been happy working in the kitchens, and Trix had kept him well-satisfied. The Wolf had insisted the man be given the choice though, like everyone else. The last time anyone had chosen to leave had been nearly a decade ago, but…
His Trish wasn’t like anyone else. She wasn’t of Earth. Although she’d been lonely and looked down on in her position in life, she’d also been mostly safe and well-fed enough. She hadn’t been at the mercy of regular street gangs, starvation, and sickness, like so many of the civilians the Wolf’s soldiers took. She wasn’t like the other Moonies. She wasn’t excited by the same things—not the sexual decadence of the Wolf’s compound, not Jordan’s position at the Wolf’s right hand…
Would she choose to stay?
Part of him wanted to rush back to his rooms and wake her, pamper her; give her whatever she wanted so when he had to give her the choice, she would say ‘yes.’
But that wouldn’t be honest. That wasn’t who he was. It wasn’t what it would be like if she stayed. Jordan had been showing her what it would be like.
She seemed to like him well enough. They weren’t like Marek and Laura yet, or Trix and Chevie, but Trish was no longer afraid of Jordan. She talked to him. Asked him questions. But she hadn’t been happy with his short answers. That might be something he could change for her. He could be better at talking.
Jordan made a face. Well, he could try, anyway.
“You’ll have to ask her soon,” the Wolf repeated. “If she wants to go back to her old life when Alex and Bella return to theirs, you will let her.”
Jordan nodded. He would. Because the Wolf had told him to. But he wouldn’t be working for the Wolf much longer after that.
He could find Trish again and take her with him to Rio. It was one of the most beautiful spots left on Earth; one of the few areas that was both safe and preserved. Jordan could take her there; show her its beauty and the life he could give her there. She could still do her classes from there. He was one of the few people on Earth who could offer her a life in a place like that. Zadia said women liked beautiful places; even she’d said when she stepped down from the Wolf’s service, she’d want to live in a place like Rio.
