She says all this as she motions for me to meet her at the end of the bar, handing me an apron and a uniform. The apron isred, and the hat is white; both say “Maggie’s Diner.”
I tie on the apron and put on the oversized cap. Once they’re on, she motions for me to take a spin. I do, and she raises a brow. “Not bad, hon. This might be good for business: dump the old broads and start hiring young studs like yourself. Look alive, you’re gonna be my shadow until noon, then I’m throwing you to the wolves. Otherwise known as lunch hour.” She hands me a pad and a pencil. “Just look over my shoulder, I’ll teach you restaurant shorthand so you can jot down orders quickly. These goons order rapid fire and ask too many questions, considering they’re eating at a damn diner.”
I nod frantically, not because I’m nervous, but out of sheer excitement. I’ve never worked before, and this doesn’t feel like a job. This feels like something else, a new chapter. I’m breaking free. Everything about this place isreal,and I’ll get to seehimwhen he comes.
I really hope I get this job so I can see the look on his face when he sees me working here.
Chapter 5
Torren
“Son of abitch!” I suck the blood trickling down my finger—the third finger I’ve nicked today—and peek into the waiting area to find two older women looking at me like I’m a damn heathen. “Sorry,” I mutter in their direction.
I grip the bumper and slide the creeper out from under the car I’m working on, then make my way to our first-aid kit.
For the third time today.
At the rate I’m going, I’ll have Band-Aids on all ten fingers. My mind can’t focus on work. All I can think about ishim.
The monster within me roared when I saw Felix. I could feel it gnashing its teeth. Why?
It’s not because he’s the mayor’s son. I only said that to push him away, but I wouldn’t hold him responsible for his shitty father.It’s not like my adoptive parents were any prize.
It was something else. Why did he wake this up?
I clench my eyes shut, willing my mind to forget him. But when I reopen them, the dark walls of my shop remind me of the Kays’ cellar, and the memories come flooding back—the damp floor, a steamy haze of sweat and fear, and the faces ofthe men who used Tobias and me like playthings…
The Kays didn’t just take us in; they ensnared us in a twisted scheme of child sex trafficking until we took matters into our own hands and ended it.
“Take the knife, Torren.”
“No, I can’t do it. Don’t make me–”
Tobias pulls me close, his desperate eyes meeting mine. “I can’t do it alone. They’re all drugged. They can barely stand. They deserve it!”
I cover my ears, trying to block out the mumbling and slurred catcalling of the men downstairs.
“They’ll do it to others,” Tobias adds.
My breath hitches, and my mouth turns dry and chalky.
“Even if we run, they’ll find others. These are the kind of men who find a way to hurt kids like us.”
And that’s when my mind goes from panicked to still.
Frightening still.
Methodical and determined.
My gut vibrates, sending ripples of adrenaline throughout my body.
Tobias is right. It’ll happen to more kids if we don’t do something.
My eyes meet his. “It ends tonight.”
He nods and reaches for my hand. Together, we descend the stairs leading down to the cellar.
Gabriel, dropping a wrench, pulls me out of the memory. I stare at the blood dripping down my finger, remembering the jubilation I felt when I ended those sick perverts. That moment marked the beginning of my descent into darkness. I let the wicked rage that consumed me morph into somethingviolent and wrong, and I’ve been trying to keep it locked up ever since. I believed I could control it, but today…
