I close my eyes and lean my head back on the headrest. What the hell was he doing when he went out during those times he wasn’t actively stealing women from parking lots? My eyes snap open and I go to the carplay on my screen and pull up Marsten’s number.
“Nova? Am I good to send my team in?” Marsten asks.
“Yeah, but I think we need to look into rapes on top of the kidnappings,” I inform him, repeating the conversation I just had with the girls.
“Fuck,” he hisses.
“That about sums it up. He’s more than a serial abductor and murderer, he’s a serial rapist too,” I tell him my suspicion.
“We knew that, but we thought it was geared only toward those victims he snatched,” Marsten reminds me. “His victimology just changed.”
“You need to rework his profile,” I suggest.
“On it. Stay in touch, things just got more dicey, Nova.”
“If you can’t reach me, get with Booker. His lines are secure,” I state before hanging up.
“Father’s a really bad man,” Two whispers.
“Yeah, honey, he is,” I mumble, putting the truck back in drive and heading home. The rest of the ride is silent, all three of us lost in thought.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
GIRL TWO
When we pull up the driveway and Nova puts the truck in park, I crawl over One, throw the door open and jump out. I never want to ride in that death machine again.
“You alright there, Two?” Nova asks, an impish smirk aimed my way. If I was brave like my sister claims I am, I’d smack that grin off his face. “Not a fan of riding in a vehicle, huh?”
“Not in the slightest,” I admit, ready to hit my knees and kiss the pavement.
They’ll have to drug me to a state of unconsciousness if they ever want to take me somewhere because I’m notevergoing to be a willing participant and climb inside of it of my own accord.
Riding with Nova in that deathtrap is the most danger I’ve ever been put in—as far as I know.
One laughs at me as she gets out. I’m glad she finds my reaction funny since she’ll never get to witness me like this again. “You should see your face,” she snickers. “You’re as white as a ghost.”
“That’s because I saw my life flash before my eyes,” I sass.
Then I realize how snarky I was and backtrack. My sister has never raised a hand to me before, but I don’t know Nova well enough to know how he’ll handle it.
“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologize.
“For what?” Nova asks, looking at me with confusion.
“I shouldn’t be disrespectful and learn to watch my mouth,” I say, hanging my head. “I’ll take whatever punishment you deem necessary to teach me my lesson.”
I hit my knees and grab my wrists behind my back, arching my back outward in preparation for whatever lashing I’ll get. I’m not in that position long before Nova crouches down beside me, both of his knees hitting the ground as he softly places his hand on my shoulder. I flinch, expecting him to dig his nails into my skin but he never does as expected.
“Two, you’re allowed to voice your opinion and be a smartass. It’s human nature to defend oneself. I may not always agree with what you say, we may hiss at each other but we’ll talk it out and deal with it. With that said, I’ll never hit you. Not ever. There’s no reason a man should ever strike a woman.”
“Women are meant to be seen, not heard,” I repeat the words Father often spoke to me.
“That’s bullshit,” Nova spits out, his voice full of scorn. “Women aren’t accessories, they’re people with thoughts and opinions, Two. I want to hear what you have to say, I’m going to often ask you how something makes you feel and if you have an idea, I want you to share that with me.”
Unsure of what I’m supposed to say in response, I look up at One with a pleading look. She gives me a halfhearted smile becauselike me, she’s confused about how to react and what to say—this is completely different than anything we’ve ever experienced.
