“I’m not sure what I think, Nova. But I do know that we can’t take any chances when it comes to them. I’ll be paying you out ofmy pocket, I can’t mark this on my budget in case there are eyes watching me that I’m unaware of.”
“I’ll keep them safe, Marsten. My house is locked down like a fortress, and is monitored twenty-four/seven by my club. If he comes looking for them at my place, he’ll be fighting for his life.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Marsten says. “Let me know when you leave so I can take my team in and gather evidence.”
“I’m not going to leave much behind,” I warn him. “I will share what I find with you, but only you and my brothers.”
“Understood, and unfortunately, I agree with that decision. I’m not going to entrust these girls’ lives with people I’m not sure I can trust with mine, Nova.”
I nod my head even though he can’t see me before stating, “I’ll keep you in the loop, but expect a delivery. I’m sending you a burner phone. It’ll be safer for us to communicate that way.”
“I’ll let you know when it arrives. Be safe, Nova.”
“I will, you do the same,” I tell him before disconnecting. Now onto my next task, convincing these girls to leave on their own accord so I don’t have to take them out of here kicking and screaming.
CHAPTER
TEN
GIRL TWO
One and I keep glancing at each other as we pack our meager belongings. Both of us are anxious to leave for different reasons. Mine is based around fear and nothing but. I don’t want to still be here when our father gets back, but then again, I’m scared of what will happen once we walk out. What will happen to us if he catches us leaving? I don’t want him to release another can of whoop ass on us.
That’s what he says when he’s extremely mad.‘Girl, I’m gonna give you a can of whoop ass, and once that top’s been popped off, it’s not going back on,’and that’s when we know we’ve really,reallymessed up.
While we were bagging our things up, Nova kept searching down here, gathering things he’s found that he says will help him put Father away. I haven’t figured out what that means but if it keeps Father away from us and keeps him from hurting other people, I’m all for it. When my sister comes up next to me while I’m stuffing my favorite blanket into the trash bag, she says, “I don’t like this, Two.”
“I know,” I whisper back. “But this is our chance to get out. It may be the only one we get.”
“I was gonna get us out,” she states in a reprimanding tone.
“I know you believe that, but Father was never going to let us leave, One. We know too much about what he does down here.”
“After hearing what Nova said, you may be right,” she sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I didn’t realize the significance of what we’ve seen and heard until today.”
“It’s because we don’t know any differently, sister. What do you think it’s like out there?”
“I’m not sure, but I can’t wait to find out,” she excitedly quips.
“You aren’t scared, One? I am. I’m terrified of what’s out there.”
“I’ll keep you safe. Nobody and nothing will hurt you as long as I’m around.”
“Promise? You’ll never leave me, will you?” I ask, scissoring my lips between my teeth, chewing on them until I fear they’ll bleed.
“Never, Two. We’re a team. It’s you and me against the world.” She holds out her pinky finger at a crooked angle and I smile. Reaching up, I lock our knuckles together and we make a pinky promise. “Together. Always.”
“Always,” I parrot.
“You ladies ready?” Nova inquires, breaking into our moment.
“Does it matter if we are?” One sasses.
“Not really, no. I was being polite,” Nova remarks, not looking ashamed in the least. I have a feeling he and One are goingto knock heads more often than not. He lifts up our bags as if they’re light weight whereas I struggled to drag them over to the bottom of the steps once they were filled. “Is this all you’re bringing with us?”
“It’s all we have,” I state, my cheeks burning from embarrassment.
“We’ll get you more,” he huffs out.
