“Not ten minutes ago, I was going to make you watch her die. Slowly. Painfully—”
Anton whimpered, horror written across his battered face.
“—but that would mean I’d have to kill you, wouldn’t it?”He shifted to the left, angling himself so Anton would see my tear-streaked face.“You’d never forgive me for hurting your little toy, so here’s how this goes. I don’t fucking trust you anymore. You flushed that down the drain when you failed me. You deserve to be punished for that.”
“Do your worst,”Anton spat at him, though his eyes remained locked on mine.“Beat me up, burn me, snap my fucking fingers one by one. Break every bone, just—”
“No, no, no,”Octavius clicked his tongue.“You can take pain, brother. That’s the problem. Any punishment I carve intoyour skin you’ll wear like a badge. You’ll forget it as soon as you’ve healed. No... I won’t hurt you. Not like that.”
He marched back toward me, my pulse kicking up a riot with every thud of his combat boots. I wanted to disappear, melt into the couch, but Octavius gripped my wrists, wrenching me into his arms.
“I’m taking away your toy, Anton.”
“No! Please, no! Anything, anything but this!”He thrashed wildly against the men pinning him back, spit flying from his mouth as his voice broke like eggshells.
“Silence!”Octavius boomed near my ear, his hold bruising my wrists.“Shut the fuck up and listen. I’m taking her. And if you want her back, you’ll prove your loyalty, prove I can trust you. Fail me again and I’ll make sure she dies screaming. Any order I give you’ll follow without a hiccup. If I’m pleased, maybe I’ll let you talk to her. Maybe even see her. But you won’t touch her until I’m satisfied with your behavior.”
“You think I’ll do a fucking thing for you while you’re holding her hostage? While you use her? Hurt her?”
“I give you my word that not one hair will fall from her pretty head. Not one man will lay one inappropriate finger on her. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
The words hung there forever. My pulse pounded so loud I could hear it in the hollow of my ears, each beat pushing me toward the surface of the fishbowl I’d been living in. Every word Octavius spoke sounded like a net breaking the water’s surface.
Like salvation.
A way up.
A wayout.
I almost believed him because I had to believe something. I had no hope of escaping Anton, but if Octavius took me away, maybe I could run. Maybe I could breathe again.
Reality crashed around me when Anton’s earlier words hit me right in the gut. They didn’t fully register while I was still floating somewhere between cognizance and my dreamlike existence, but once new hope filled my veins, I understood what he said. My dad was gone. He wasdeadand I was alone.
“I need a decision,”Octavius pressed.“Either you watch her die right now, or I take her away for safekeeping while you mend your mistakes. Your choice.”
Anton stared right at me, tears escaping the corners of his eyes.“I’m so sorry, sweetheart... I’m so sorry. I’ll fix this. I promise. You’ll be back here with me sooner than you know, but right now you need to go with Octavius, okay?”His voice broke on each syllable.“You need to be brave for me, sweetie, can you do that?”
A battle started inside my head. I wanted to rage, scream, lunge at him and tear his eyes out so he’d never look at me again. His lips were stained with blood, his face a disaster, and he shook so hard I knew I could do some real damage.
But Icouldn’t.
I was weak, still dazed, and surrounded by three armed men who’d put a bullet between my eyes without blinking. It wasn’t the time to rage. I had one fucking chance at getting out of there, and I wouldn’t waste it.
“Okay,”I breathed in that sweet, docile voice he conditioned into me.“I’ll wait.”
He exhaled a shaky breath, blinking his tears away, then looked back at his brother.“No one touches her.”
“As long as you do everything I say, exactly as I say it, no one will touch her. No one will hurt her, but step one fucking toe out of line and I’ll fuck her myself before passing her over to everyone else who’s willing.”
I open my eyes and the room tilts for a second before it steadies. My chest aches, my throat’s tight, and the memory swirls in my head, still fresh. The apartment, Anton, Octavius...
Koby wipes a stray tear from my cheek, his thumb drifting across my skin before he leans down, pressing his mouth to my eyelid, then the other, then my nose, and my forehead.
“You okay, hellcat?”
“They’re all dead,” I say, my fingers fisting his t-shirt. “My stepmom, my father, Aalyiah... Everyone I ever called family is gone and I’ve been left behind.”
He pulls me into him, his big hand cradling the back of my neck, lips on my temple. I press my face into his shoulder, but Koby doesn’t let me hide.
