I want to cry, but it’s hard to do that with shredded vocal cords. Conrad knew Vex, Skipper, and Carter were waiting outside this whole time. I should’ve known he was one step ahead.
Did I just kill four people in one night?
Adrenaline comes back around, so I begin the donkey kicking again, twisting and turning my body this way and that to set myself free.
But I end up slamming my head into metal.
“Oh dear,” yawns the man, like this is just another boring night shift to him. “Hopefully that knocked some sense into you.”
He finally lets go of me, transferring me from shoulder to chair.
I wink open an eye and find myself inside of a shipping container being buckled into a chair. I throw myself forward, but the straps yank me back.
Conrad steps in afterward with all the time in the world for a man who is at the top of the food chain.
“Why Otis? What could you possibly want a two-year-old for?”
He looks at me like I’m dumb. “You can never have two many bodies.”
Of course. To Conrad, none of these people working for him are human as much as they are soldiers helping him stay at the top.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so it’s better to train them young when they’re malleable.”
I vomit in my mouth.
“As for his mother.” He steps forward and curls a pale finger through my hair. “She’s mine. There’s a place for beautiful women like you, Carmen. I told you back when we first met. A woman like you deserves to be in much bigger rooms.”
My stomach contorts. “The girls never go anywhere, do they?”
The slanted smile spreads up his face, first making it to his cheeks, then his eyes. It looks like they’re infected with insanity. Like he’s transitioning into a zombie, a creature with only one thing on its mind. Destruction.
“You’re a bright girl, Carmen.”
I wish he’d get my name out of his mouth.
“Some of them do. Some of the women get used to the money and keep signing up to afford rent, their shopping addiction, new shoes, whatever it is they can’t live without.” His eyes freeze. “And then there are women like you. The ones who realize they’ve fallen into a trap. A miracle happens and they get out. But they never really stay out.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My men are like dogs. They want a reward after work. Of course, I know better than to give such treasure away for free. They bet, they lose and walk away counting down the days until the next auction. Think of it like bingo night.”
Despite all of this, I feel smug. “You didn’t think anyone was going to outbid you.”
“Because I didn’t think you were that much of a whore.” He cackles, tilting his head to the side to reevaluate his comment. “On second thought, yes I did. Life has always gotten the better of you, Carmen, hasn’t it? It even brought a son into the world for you…but impulse strikes every time, so much that you’re willing to risk your son’s life for it. And risk you did.” He squats down in front of me, the blinding, white light illuminating every wrinkle and pore on his face. There are too many to count. “You and Carter Trescott are very irresponsible parents.”
My blood runs cold. He was there. In my house. He snuck in and spied on us. He listened to every word.
“You’re not a good mom, Carmen, and you know it. Carter was only saying that to get into your pants.” He skims his rancid finger over the top of my thigh, and a freezing cold shiver runs down my spine. “But I’m here now. And I can promise you that Otis will be looked after.”
Looked after by whom? The other soulless soldiers? The ones who were fed O’Neill propaganda from the ripe young age of two years old, brainwashed and manipulated until they passed the test?
It hurts to think that the future has been right in front of me this whole time. Ever since I bought Otis those stupid plastic action figures, I’ve been walking around with my eyes wide shut to the warning signs.
I see his tiny hands curling into fists, play-fighting with Carter. He launches himself onto the man, screaming“attack”with the innocence of a young boy who doesn’t know any better. Andthen he returns to his army of action figures and strategically organizes them into an order. Big ones at the front. Small ones at the back.
If he’s already thinking like a goddamn killer this early on, it’s not gonna be difficult for the O’Neills to convert him.
Suddenly, I need Carter more than I have ever needed that bastard in my life. I need him and his two biker friends to save my boy before he becomes property of the O’Neills. They have to save him and leave me here. I can handle being on stage. I can bite my tongue and deal with the audience ogling me if I know that Otis is safe.
