“Enough!” Dad’s voice snaps.
They instantly quiet.
I notice the chains bolted into the wall and red stains on the floor. Most of the red is concentrated around the iron shackles, as if people have bled profusely in that particular spot. Howmany have been dragged into this dungeon? How many have died?
The ugly sensations in my stomach get worse. Heaving over, I throw up everything I ate for lunch.
Dad covers his nose with tattooed fingers. “Lucien. Clean that up before he steps in it.”
Lucien, Dad’s righthand man, appears with a wet wipe. He kneels on the floor and cleans up my vomit.
I feel like I’m about to throw up again.
“How could youdothis to people?” I accuse.
“It’s easy once you get away with it enough times.”
The three people start crying and begging for their lives again.
“Get them out of here,” Jarod snaps. “I can’t even hear myself think.”
Immediately, his men step out of the shadows and shove them up the stairs. Daniel is dragged away like he’s a bag of garbage.
I grab Jarod’s arm, my eyes locked on his. “You’re going to let them go?”
“As long as they pay up.”
My shoulders sag in relief.
“But if I find out any of them knows something they shouldn’t…” He smiles.
My skin crawls.He’ll kill them.
Jarod watches me with a grin. It’s like he finds breaking me in amusing.
“I don’t personally kill people, Finn.” He puts a hand to his heart. “However…” Dad moves toward me, walking on a path of blood. “If a drug addict just so happens to overdose, now that can’t be helped.”
My eyelids flutter in revelation.
Cadence’s mom died of an overdose. Did he have anything to do with it?
Dad turns in a slow circle. The smell of this place doesn’t seem to bother him. “There was one case I’ll never forget. This woman faked her own death, thinking she could get away from me.”
I shake my head back and forth, begging for the sweet release of denial.
“She was a drug addict who pimped out her young daughter’s musical talent for money.”
The world blinks out of focus. “Stop.”
But he doesn’t. “I saw the potential in Cadence far before her mother did. Why do you think Tina never sold her to the streets? She would have, you know, that witch. She put a price tag on her daughters.”
My fingertips are trembling.
“As soon as she was of age, I sent Mulliez to that lounge to offer her a spot at Redwood Prep.”
My heart stops beating for a full minute.
“Didn’t you find any of that odd?” Jarod’s eyebrows fly up. “Cadence was offered a scholarship at the last minute. With no pushback. Do you really believe one lousy teacher had that kind of power?”
