I grab her face and make her focus on me. “You did kill him! You did that, no one else. Like you said, it was you or him. In this world, it’s kill or be killed. Only care about yourself and be the apex predator. Prey only gets destroyed.”
My voice is firm as I want her to absorb what I’m saying and understand that she has no choice if she wants to live.
“My brothers are the only ones who matter to me. We have each other’s backs. One day youmay be like us, but you’ll have a target on your head. If you want to survive, you have to save your own ass.” Alpha would beat my ass if I said she mattered to us. I have to make her feel like she’ll be alone.
She sits in silence for a moment, my words turning the gears in her skull. “Why? Why make me like you?”
I’ve been waiting for her to ask this. So far, she hasn’t questioned much. Her focus on winning and saving herself from punishment.
“You’re our whore. If you’re gonna continue to serve us, eventually, you’ll have to do more than open your mouth and spread your legs. You’ll be an asset to our business. No one expects a woman, and that will help us. Femme fatalesare hard to find. We are killers, hitmen, the thing people fear in the dark.”
“As your owners, we can use or make you do anything we want. Sometimes, sneaking into a job is difficult because everyone expects a man to be a killer. But they won’t see you coming until you are standing over them as they take their last breath.” My tone is sharper than I intended, but I need her to understand this.
Red doesn’t speak again. For a few minutes, she only blinks up at me. Then, she scoots over and wedges herself against my side. I toss myarm over her and let her contemplate her new life.
I don’t have feelings or emotions. My brothers and I were always hardened killers. But this little devil is getting under my skin.
I wrap my other arm around her and shift Red until she’s on my lap. We sit there enjoying the silence. At leastthat’s familiar to me.
Chapter 35
I carry the plate of cut chicken breast and vegetables down the stairs. When I reach the basement, I unlock the last room in the basement that Red hasn’t seen. Flicking on the lights, I enter the rec room.
It looks like a soft room at a cop station where they bring kids to relax while their parents are being questioned.
There’s an old box TV with a VCR player built in, and a black leather sectional sits in front of it. I move towards the couch and set her food down on the coffee table. Beside the TV is a shelf with tapes on it for her to watch.
I head over to the mini fridge by the bookcase to grab a bottle of water for her. The bookshelf has a few novels, board games, cards, colouring books and some other art supplies. When Red earns her freedom to explore the basement, I feel she’ll spend a lot of time here.
Unless she’s in our playroom servicing us.
Charlie is still in her room. Last I checked the camera, she was curled up in his arms having a nap. It’s been about 3 hours since Red killed that man.
After we hauled the body up the stairs, we dumped it in the walk-in freezer Bravo keeps in his garage. He’ll breakdown the body in the next few days and add it to his fucked up meal plan.
We don’t understand why he feels the need to be a fucking zombie, but we all have our weird hobbies. Me with my cross stitching and Charlie with his computers.
We are far from saints, but everyone has to have a way to unwind. I add the water to the coffee table and leave the door open as I go to her cell. Popping the door open, the sound startles her and she jolts awake.
“Dinner and gift time, Red, let’s go.” I spin on my heels and walk away with no explanation.
I’m sitting on the couch waiting for them. Bravo beats them to it and plops down beside me. “You made her bland chicken? Doesn’t even look like you seasoned it. Are you allergic to flavour or something?”
I grit my teeth and smack him upside the back of the head. “Shut up, you know I can’t cook, and she won’t eat it if she knows you made it. Told you not to add your stash in it.”
He’s about to say something when he cuts himself off. C and Red walk in, and we study her. She’s holding Charlie’s sleeve with one hand and is slightly behind him. Red looks like a scared child. I told her this was a treat, so she shouldn’t freak out.
She’s stunned and looks around at everything with a childlike wonder. “What is this?” Letting go of C, Red pushes past him to check out the room.
“Your rec room, once we allow you free rein of the basement, you’ll be able to come in here. Until then, this will be your reward for winning our games.” I explain.
I watch her as she checks out everything, looking at the books and art supplies, checking out what movies there are. Then, her eyes lock onto the food sitting on the table.
I wave for her to come kneel at my feet. I’m expecting her to protest, but she listens. Tucking her feet under her ass as she settles in front of me on the floor.
Red’s eyes move from the plate to me, and when I give her a nod, she digs into the food. I can still see the shadows of guilt in her expression. The meltdown she had earlier isn’t the end of it.
Charlie comes and flops beside Bravo, and we all sit in silence as she eats. When she’s done, she sits back on her ass and drinks the water. “You can ask one question if you’d like, and I’ll answer it, since you never got a chance the night after your isolation.”
