Spluttering and crouching, I opened my eyes. I tried to sit up, forgetting my arms were tied way too tight for me to be able to move at all. The water was ice cold, but at least it halfway cleaned my face of the driedblood.
“See?” Joan saidproudly.
Still spluttering, I glanced over at the couple with hatred. I loathed them both for so many reasons. Joan looked tired and much thinner than when I had last seen her. Her bare arms were covered in needle marks from her heroinaddiction.
Morgan seemed fairly put together. His face was clean-shaven and he wore what looked to be clean clothes, unlike Joan. He did seem paler than he had been the last time I saw him. Sicklypale.
I remained quiet, waiting to see what would happen. After a few moments, Joan huffed out a breath and stormed out of the room. She slammed things around in another part of thehouse.
I tugged on the rope again, knowing it was futile, but I didn’t know what to do. I felt lost and awkward as Morgan stared at me, not sayinganything.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said towards the rope that binded me. “I can’t have you running off while I was sleepin’. We won’t be here long; it’s just a short stop while we rest. I’ll be getting rid of hershortly.”
“Why?” I asked, deciding I’d try to keep him talking. Maybe I’d try to get him to earn my trust before I tried to escape his hold. I had to get out. I didn’t know what he’d do to me, and I couldn’t stay here. I was worried about Elijah, and about my baby girl. My mind was going a mile a minute, and I didn’t know what tothink.
“Why what?” he asked, tilting his head. “Why get rid of yourmother?”
“Yeah,” I answered. I wanted to know why about a lot of things. Why was I here? Why did he takeme?
“Oh, she’s always been in the way,” he laughed. “A means to an end,” he shrugged. “I don’t need her. I did in the beginning. She helped get rid of Quentin; he was always around, saying he was going to take you far away. Away from her, away from me. I got her hooked on the heroin, and she couldn’t stop. She tried once she knew her debt was paid, but it was so easy to get her to go back to it. Now she only cares about her next hit, it makes it easier on me. Plus, the drugs make her forget things and not care about what she’slost.”
“Why me?” I asked, pulling on my arms again, trying to get some sort of feeling back intothem.
“Because you are mine,” he answered with a smile. “I’ve never been able to have kids. I tried—with Joan in fact, before she even got pregnant with you—but yeah, it didn’t work out. So, I did the next best thing: I killed your dad so I could stepin.”
“Why did you take me to Galvin, then?” I asked quietly, keeping my emotions out of myvoice.
“Joan owed him money. Plus, I was mostly living there and I wanted you trained to be the best of the best. I didn’t realize how much I wanted you untilthen.”
“Oh,” I said, not really knowing what to say to that. The only thought that went through my head was that he was sick, and needed majorhelp.
“Enough of the talk,” Joan shouted through thehouse.
Groaning, Morgan stood up, giving me another look before heturned.
“Can I use the bathroom, please?” I asked before he left the room. I did need to go, but also wanted to take a look around the house to see if there was any way I could getout.
“Fine,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Make it fast. And don’t try anything. Gotit?”
I nodded. I wouldn’t try anything—yet. “Ofcourse.”
He carefully untied the rope from its hook on the wall, but not my hands. He smiled sadly at me as he helped me stand. It was a good thing, since I couldn’t support myself; my legs were weak. He only laughed as he helped me out of the room and across the hall to thebathroom.
Darn, I was hoping to get a better look. I glanced around and saw a small living room, but that was it, before I was forced into the tinybathroom.
“I’ll leave you be, but I’ll be just outside this door,” Morgan warned, helping me lean against the stainedsink.
Once he was out of sight, I did my business. The bathroom made me cringe as I’d become used to having a clean one. After flushing, I looked in the smoke covered mirror, seeing myreflection.
Part of my face was red and swollen, and a partially dried cut was along my right eyebrow. I ignored the rest of my body as it ached, and I didn’t want the visual to go with thepain.
I checked to make sure that the phone was still in my sock before calling out for Morgan. I wasn’t going to risk letting him know I had it onme.
“All done?” he asked, toosweetly.
“Yes,” I answered, hoping to please him and not say too much. I needed to hide the phone before he tried anything. “Do I have to be tied upagain?”
“I guess not. You’re weak,” he laughed. “Jay not feeding you wellenough?”
