“You know I don’t make empty threats,” I say mildly. “She’s being looked after. For now.” I act bored, but my heart thumps as I pull out the chair across from him. Grimacing, I take a seat. Negotiations for Thea will happen at a table. His daughter for Thea’s release. Then I’ll offer payment. I’ll bribe him withmillions for a woman who’s not even mine to bargain for. When really, I want to negotiate for her heart and bribe her with Frosted Flakes. I shudder, thinking how this can’t be her life. How selfish would I be if I secured her freedom only to expect her to remain with me.
Graves attempts a lazy smile, but when he tilts forward, placing his hands beside his phone on the table, his fingers twitch. I shove my hands into my pockets and manage an indifferent smile.
“Henry seems to think you don’t have the money. What can you offer for her, Slade? That’s why you’re here, right. For her.”
“Say her name.”
He smirks. “Does it make a difference? She’s one of many. The other Market girls have been moved to other EV chapters. She’s the only one left, and she is strung up in your grandfather’s basement.”
My eyes bulge, and I focus past him toward the tinted glass rippling away to reveal the Market girls’ quarters. Workers, dressed in white hazmat suits, move around. Their oversized gloves scrub each inch of the room, their attention to every detail meant to remove any trace of the girls.
“Moved? What do you mean moved?”
Graves checks his phone. “It was too much of a risk with Piper still out on the streets.” Then he types something out, rushed and in a hurry. “Iwantmy daughter.”
“I want Thea released. From EV, from your scrutiny, and with zero risk from the Cleaner.”
“How do we know she’ll keep quiet when she so blatantly ran to Piper?”
“Her concern was for the other girls, andtheyare no longer a concern. She’s one girl. I’m willing to pay for her severance.” I push out the words as I think of Thea under lock and key with my grandfather.
Graves pretends as if he’s contemplating my appeal, but there’s the all-too-familiar gleam swirling around in his expression. “Henry cut you off. I doubt without his money you’ll have?—”
“Ten million.”
Graves freezes. Not because of the number. He finally understands I didn’t come here bluffing.
“Surely that’s enough for one girl you’d most likely only sell for a couple hundred thousand abroad. Let her go, Senator. For your daughter’s sake.” I yank my phone out of my pocket, ready to text Edmond for the transfer.
Graves nods slowly, concern breaking his indifference as he reaches for his phone once more. This time he picks it up and dials a number. He places the call on speaker, and the chilling voice that answers with the screams on the other end makes my heart stop.
“Graves.” Henry DuPont pants between sloppy breaths, but in the background …
Shrill shrieks echo off the walls, elevated above the classical music blaring.
“What are you doing to her?” I spit, face hovering closer to the phone. Evidence of my ire drops across the smooth glass screen. He’s hurting her, messing with her.Stop!
“Slade?”
Chains rattle in the background.
“Henry, Slade has the money. You need to release the girl.”
“He doesn’t have the money. She’s nothing. Property of the Echelon Vanguard for me to do as I please.” He chuckles. “And God, do I please …”
More chains rattle, and it’s followed by a bloodcurdling scream that turns my stomach. My nostrils flare, and I slam my fist on the table. “Don’t touch her!”
Graves swipes invisible dust from the table. “That’s an order. Have a good evening, Henry.” Then he hangs up the phone. I gape at him. “Now, about that ten million. Oh, and my daughter.”
I fumble with my phone, typing out a message to Edmond and instructing him to wire the ten million. Then Knox with the go-ahead. In a matter of seconds, Graves’s phone dings, and he nods. “Always a pleasure, Slade.”
I scramble out of the room, running out the door and back to the elevator.
My mind tricks me into thinking I see her in the reflection of the doors in front of me. I conjure her voice, which evolves into the wails of hysteria. I hate myself for not being stronger, for moving quicker, or fighting harder.
I’ve read about heroes saving the day all my life, while my grandfather made it his mission to turn me into the villain. Well, it’s time I gave him what he’s wanted.
Kenji paces the parking garage as I offload from the elevator. “And? How’d it go?”
