“If you could live in a normal house. If you could go outside, play. Would you want to?”
A swallow moves down her throat, and she nods.
“Yeah?” I glance at No Name but he’s looking at me like I’m crazy, so I turn back to her. “Would you ... would you talk?”
Her eyes dart to the bone in her hand, and she fidgets with it for a long minute. When she lifts her head again, she nods slowly.
No shit. Blowing out a breath, I sit up straighter. I angle my head and squint as she sets down the half-painted fibula and folds her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.
She really can get out of here, can’t she? I bet she’s even young enough to still make a life after this shit.
“You’re kidding, right?” No Name chides. He leans in and mutters, “I’m smart enough not to free Katerina’s spawn, not even if my life depended on it.”
Ignoring him, I tip my chin toward Sofia. “Hey. It’s okay. Maybe we’ll, uh ... maybe we’ll figure something out.”
Her eyes lock on mine, and something I’ve never seen sparks in them. Something that looks a helluva lot like hope.
The door slams open, and she jumps.
All the lights flick on at once, making each of us squint in unison.
“This one here,” Katerina says from the open doorway, gesturing toward the cage where No Name and I sit. Someone stands in the hall, but I can’t see anything except their shoes. “I’ve been trying very hard with this one. He reminds me of Pet in some ways, so I held out, thinking there was hope. I’m afraid months under heavy evaluation have only proven he’s not like Pet at all, below the surface. There’s just something missing.” She looks at the kid beside me, frowning, and my eyes narrow. “Heart. That’s it. He’s missing heart, and I cannot connect. I’m afraid it’s time to call a spade a spade and redistribute.”
No Name stands, a smirk on his face. He fucking winks at me.
I shake my head, my lips tipping up. The sly son of a bitch. Guess that’s one way to get out. “You know where you’ll be redistributed, right?”
His eyes darken, but as quickly as the shadow shows up, it clears. “No way I’ll let it get that far. Just need one foot out the door, man. One foot out the door.”
I turn back to Katerina just as she reaches forward, toward the man hidden from view. Her gaze drops while she smooths out his tie, extending the material enough for me to see bronze. I squint, unease uncurling in my stomach. It’s strange as hell watching her touch anyone so intimately—especially when he touches her back, stroking her arm with the backs of his fingers.
Finally, the mystery person steps into view. I’ve never seen him before, but I know right away who he is. I hear his name from at least one of the adults around here on a daily basis.
Murphy.
He’s tall and fills his tan suit. I have no clue what kind of suit it is, but I’ve stolen from enough rich people to know it’s fancy as shit. His hair is gelled to one side, his shoes shined, and he stands like he runs a hell of a lot more than this underground operation. I’ll bet everything he touches turns to gold.
“Holy shit,” No Name mutters, taking in Murphy’s wealth, just like me. “Him. I wanna be him when I get outta here.”
