King sniffs and looks away, his eyes moving to the list of drinks on the wall behind the counter.
“Citi was abducted when she was ten. She was held captive for fifteen years.”
“Shit,” Will curses. “No wonder I recognized my wife in her. Put a pretty bird in a cage long enough they can’t see when the door has been left open.”
“They can, it’s just after a while, freedom becomes an illusion,” King mutters, not looking away from the board. “What do you two want?”
“Black coffee for me. You know what Six likes,” Will answers. I give him my lunch order and turn back to Will.
“Want to join us?” I figure he might have an insight into how to help Citi, and I’ll take all the help I can get right now.
“Lead the way.”
I take him over to where we are sitting, pulling a couple of chairs from the neighboring table to accommodate us all.
“How long has she been free?” he asks as he sits.
“A little under a year.”
“The first couple of years are the worst.” He opens the button of his jacket before he sits. “The guy who took her?”
“Dead. He got off way too fucking easy if you ask me.”
“I feel you on that one.”
“I won’t lie. I’m worried half the time I’ll do more harm than good. She was a fucking child when she was taken. What she’s learned in the interim has been through watching TV and reading books.”
“Could be worse. She could have had no means to learn at all.”
I let out a rough sigh. He’s right. “Neveah told me she was an exceptional reader, well beyond most fifth-graders, which is where she was when she was taken. She taught herself further, reading everything she could get her hands on, and by using the closed captions on TV. She taught her daughter the same way.”
He jerks back, his eyes wide. “Daughter?”
I swallow. “Star. She’s five, soon to be six.”
“That motherfucker.”
I grit my teeth and nod. “She’s all her mother, though. Never seen a bond tighter in my life.”
“And I doubt you ever will. They’re not just tied by the bonds of mother and daughter—they’re tied by their will to survive. That’s pretty fucking powerful.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second. I like to think I’m pretty fucking tough, Will. Hell, I spent half my life beating people unconscious for a living. But I’m man enough to admit, I wouldn’t have survived what she did, what they did. No way.”
“You never know what you can survive until you’re forced to claw your way out of it.”
“No. Not this.” I look around and lean closer so I’m not overheard. “Star wasn’t her first child. Every one before her was a boy, so he killed them. Jasper wasn’t interested in a son. He wanted a?—”
“Replacement,” Will hisses.
I nod. “.The guy was a pedophile. He took a ten-year-old girl because his preference lies between ten and eighteen. The second she became an adult, his interest waned, Citi admitted as much herself. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t just kill her and find a replacement until I realized he intended to create a replacement from scratch that he could mold into the perfect victim.”
“This world is full of sick motherfuckers.”
“If we hadn’t found her when we did…” My voice drifts off as I think back to that fateful day, watching from afar as she sat among the wildflowers where her children were buried, saying her goodbyes. If we hadn’t found her when we did, I do not doubt that eventually she would have ended up lying right beside them. And if it wasn’t for Star, I hate the fact it might have been something she would have welcomed.
“But you did. The thing is, however bad you think it was, it was worse. The fact that she’s still standing, still functioning, is a testament to her strength. But that doesn’t mean she has it in her to be strong every day. Be her shield. That’s what I am for Six.
“I try not to put limits on her. This world may seem dark to us, but Six has found a way to always find the brightness in every dark space. It’s an almost childlike innocence that I see in Citi, too. Maybe it’s because they never experienced the same things that shaped most teenagers and young adults. They’re a mix of soft spots and sharp edges, wariness and wonder, courage and caution. It’s a lot. If you don’t think you’re up for the ride, back off. Because if there is one thing she needs right now, it’s consistency. She needs someone to be her strength when hers fails, because it will. None of it will be easy, my friend. The nightmares, flashbacks, and triggers are a bitch to navigate. But Six is it for me. You have to decide if Citi is it for you. Because if the answer is anything other than yes, you’re more of a risk to her now than the guy that took her.”
