“And who am I to get in your way?”
TWENTY-EIGHT
ARLO
Confidential — Personal Use Only
OBSERVATIONS:
I should stop—it’s dangerous territory.
Venomous almost.
But I can’t, and I know I won’t.
Her boldness amuses me.
I raise my glass to my lips and take a sip. Her gaze flicks to my hand before returning to my face.
“You don’t have your beads,” she says.
“No, I guess I don’t.”
“Why do you have them?”
“I think we’ve had this conversation before.”
“Tell me again.”
“They’re a tool of control.”
“Who do you want to control?” she asks as I place the glass on the counter and step around it so I’m closer to her.
“I was abused when I was young.” Her eyes flicker with a hint of something at my admission, and I continue, “Growing up, my foster mother beat me.”
“You were in foster care?” Her eyes soften as she looks at me.
“Yes. I don’t recall my birth parents.”
“Is that why you wanted to help people? Because of your upbringing?”
I shake my head. One of the reasons I’ve been so loyal to the Forsaken is that it’s an outlet for me. I have a lot of anger, and it helps me release it.
I get to kill people.
And get away with it.
The hunts are one of my favorite things. Hunting someone, knowing they’re running for their life, is like a drug.
And I crave that drug.
All of the Forsaken members do in some way.
There are many reasons why and ways people join the Forsaken. Some are born into it. Take Soren, for example. Even Boston’s father was a member. Others, such as myself, go through an initiation process. But one thing most members have in common is money. We all have it, and we all want more. Money is the most powerful tool.
“Sure,” I answer her, help people. If that’s what she wants to call it.
“You’re avoiding the question, okay. Well, I ran away from anything remotely real for the fact that my mother constantly chased a love that died, and I was collateral damage.” She looks down at the ground at her admission, and I realize she is sharing with me without me asking her to. “I became devoted to my work once I was old enough, and that has so far fulfilled me. At least I had hoped it would…” She shrugs as her eyes find mine.
