“Don’t know.” She shrugs, examining it as she leans in further. “But it has to be alright for us or Father wouldn’t have gotten it.”
“You say that like he cares about us,” I scoff. “He probably saw the cover and grabbed it thinking it’d keep us happy.”
“I don’t think he cares if we’re happy, Two. He uses these books to keep us in line. He knows we like reading and it gives him something to hold over our heads.”
“Something he can take away if we’re bad and don’t do as we’re told,” I whisper, clutching the book closer to my chest to keep it safe. These are my treasures which is why I do everything he tells me to—even if it hurts.
“Don’t be scared, Two. When he gets back, it’s my turn to help him,” she reminds me.
“I don’t like cuffing the women to the bed. It feels wrong, One.”
“It is wrong. I don’t like it either, but we’re not strong enough to fight him, Two.”
Both of our shame sours our mood and thickens the air. We’ve tried to help the women Father brings here, but we aren’t shrewd enough to not get caught and the reprimand we receive is severe. I still have laceration marks on my back from the last time I snuck his friend some water after she begged for some. He calls them friends, but I don’t think they are. I think he hates them more than us which is why we never see them again after they are disciplined.
We run out of things to say and One gets busy separating the laundry while I turn onto my back, lifting the book into the air so I can read. I get drawn into the make-believe world and before I know it, I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open and drop the book onto my chest, opened to the page I’m currently on. I’ll rest my eyes for a little bit and then pick the story back up.
Heavy breathing wakes me up and when I look upward, Father is standing over me, his face pinched and his hands fisted on his hips. Sneering at me, he asks, “What’s wrong with you now, Girl Two?”
“I’m alright, Father,” I fib.
“Don’t lie to me, girl,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “I’ll draw my belt if you do.”
“I had a small fever. I feel better now that I’ve had a nap,” I tell him. Hoping he doesn’t call me out on this untruth.
“You better,” he says, grinding his jaw. “Your sister is taking care of my friend, I need you to come upstairs and deal with the groceries I had delivered. The ones on the floor are for you two and the ones on the counter are for me. Put everything away then get back down here. After the last time, y’all will stay locked up until I need you again.”
“Yes, Father.” I scurry to my feet as fast as I can and follow him up the wooden steps and into the main house. It’s dirty again, wrappers are strewn across the floor and dishes are piled up in the sink. “Do you want me to clean while I’m up here?”
“No,” he growls. “Once my friend is settled and I can keep an eye on you, I’ll bring you up.” I nearly groan out loud because if the food sits on the dishes longer, they’ll be harder to scrub and we’ll get into trouble if we can’t manage to make them sparkly clean. But I know better than to voice my concerns to him so I clamp my lips together and begin stocking the pantry and fridge beforegathering the bags meant for us and carting them downstairs. By the time I’m done, sweat is beaded on my forehead and I’m dizzy.
As my sister comes inside our cage, Father is behind her, locking us in. He whistles and I glance up wondering what he wants. He doesn’t say anything, but what he does do is launch a bottle of pills at me. It smacks me in the eye and it instantly waters. “Fix yourself. That fever better be gone by tomorrow.”
“Yes, Father,” I say, bowing my head. I cross my fingers behind my back, hoping that these are miracle pills and do his bidding so I don’t suffer at his hand for disobeying a direct order.
CHAPTER
TWO
NOVA
My phone ringing in the dead of the night has me jackknifing out of bed. There’s only a handful of people who’d call me at this time, and all of them are ones I can’t ignore. With blurry eyes, I check out my caller I.D. and notice it’s Riptide.
“Pres,” I answer, my voice sounding like I’ve been gargling rocks.
“Got a job for you, Nova. It’s an emergency call out.”
Shit. I just got home from my last assignment five hours ago and have only gotten three hours of shuteye. “Hang on, let me run to my office so I can grab my notepad and jot down the details.” My office is only one door down from my bedroom so I make it there quickly. Turning on the lights I blink several times while my eyes adjust. Shaking my head to get rid of the cobwebs of sleep, I slam myself down in my chair and grab an empty mission docket. Flipping it open, I find a blank page and begin scribbling. I notate the day and time of Riptide’s call on the top, and issue it a case number before letting him know I’m ready. “We’re good to go, pres.”
“We have another missing woman,” he tells me. “Same markers as the last five. Taken from the IGA grocery store parking lot. Parked off to the side where the cameras are facing the other way.”
“I’m gonna cut off their dicks and shove them up their asses. I’ve told them to fix that shit,” I growl. “I even told them we’d cover it, but those fucking managers keep stalling me whenever I approach them about it.”
“What’s your gut telling you, Nova?”
“Honestly, pres, I’m not sure. There’s a part of me that thinks they know more than what they’re sharing, but the other part of me says they’re just cheapskates who don’t want to help pay for the costs of the equipment.”
“I’ll get Shade and Icer to pay them a visit and put a little pressure on them to do the right thing. This is getting out of hand,” Riptide snarls.
