I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice was too hoarse, nothing but a wheezing whistle came out.
Javi sighed as if this was all a boring inconvenience. “You should ask her if she knows how long you’ve been in here.”
Her eyes flicked to Mother, and I followed his gaze.
“Mmm,” I couldn’t get past the first sound, my jaw stiff and my mouth so dry it felt like I’d never be able to move my tongue again. I settled for repeating the one sound. It took several tries before she finally lifted her head, revealing her blotchy face and a busted lip. She stared at me with tear-filled eyes, a bitter frown on her face.
“You took him from me,” she spat, her voice hoarse. “You took my son, you demon.”
I blinked slowly, her words not registering. She scoffed with disgust, shaking her head.
“They killed him, but they spared you. You filthy swine.”
Theo.He’s dead?
My throat burned with the urge to cry once again, but no tears came.
“Oh, come on, Shiloh. Don’t tell me you actually cared about the man?” Javier scoffed.
I sent him an angry glare. He didn’t get to judge me after everything he’d done.
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned with more important details? Like who this ‘they’ is that killed him? And why are you both still here alive?”
Javi and Adrian shared a look before looking back at me.
“He has a point,” Javi said with a head nod.
I licked my lips, like it didn’t burn like sandpaper, and it might magically bring some moisture to my mouth. I swallowed roughly, trying to get my vocal cords to work.
“Wh-who?” I finally managed to whisper.
“The devil, I’m sure,” she muttered, adjusting her feet, the chain scraping the concrete. “I only know that Kit knew who they were. He wasn’t surprised when they dragged us out of bed at gun point. They came in the middle of the night. Took us all, except…” she hiccupped, covering her mouth. “Except Theo. They made me watch. Made me watch my baby,” she paused, a heaving sob muffled by her hand, “my baby. They shot him, like he…like he was a rabid dog!”
She wailed, her cries reaching a pitch that made my ears hurt.
I suddenly gagged, foamy bile spilling onto the concrete in front of my face. I tried to move away from it, but my limbs were filled with lead, and I grimaced as the warm, sour liquid crawled across the concrete, seeping beneath my cheek, around my ear and into my hair.
I knew where we were. I knew who had taken us. I just couldn’t fathom why they were keeping me alive.
Because Los Siete never let a traitor live.
???
With nothing but the sound of Mother sobbing and the oppressive humidity that did nothing to bring me warmth lying on the hard as ice concrete, the seconds crawled. Time had stopped. Days, months, years, it could have been any of them passing by.
I was so thirsty I’d considered trying to lick the moisture off the brick wall beside me. If I could only get my body to move. I considered maybe my limbs had been detached from body as I couldn’t even get a finger off the ground.
“Why haven’t they killed us yet,” I rasped, speaking to Adrian and Javi.
Javi tilted his head in thought before finally speaking. “I don’t know.”
I closed my eyes. “Why are you here if you’re not going to be helpful?”
“Why would I help you?” Mother asked. I’d forgotten she couldn’t see Javi and Adrian.
I didn’t waste my energy to respond. I eyed the chain around my ankle.If only I could get the energy to move enough, I might be able to use the chain to choke myself into oblivion.
Javi read my mind. “Too short. Wouldn’t be long enough to wrap around your neck.”
