“What happens now?” I asked.
Hawk walked past me, heading for the door of the holding room. “Now you get your shit and come with us.”
16
VIGO
Hawk wasn’t happy,but he’d get over it. Especially when we started to play with our new toy.
Brandnew, if you know what I mean.
Virginity wasn’t usually a thing that turned me on. I didn’t like the responsibility: making sure it was nice for the girl (because only a monster wouldn’t), making sure she was okay (I was usually too reckless to make sure anyone was okay, even myself), taking care of her afterward when what I really wanted to do was fuck again or jump on the bed or run naked through the backyard or eat two sleeves of Oreos.
But this time was different. I didn’t know if it was because she was Bram’s little sister or if it was just her — the way she shook like a baby bird when we’d led her out of the tunnels, not an ounce of defiance in her sweet little body — but I was looking forward to breaking her in right.
Other than Titus and Goose, still outside the door to the tunnels, the Orpheum was quiet and deserted when we emerged into the hall upstairs. Fight Night was long since over, the Orpheum’s other recreational activities finished for the night,and we led Cassie past the concession stand and out onto the street, which was just as deserted.
The sky was still dark overhead, a slim line of orange light hugging the mountains in the east. We usually liked to make the Hunt last. This one had lasted less than six hours, but with our little mouse between us, I found I didn’t care.
“You drive here?” Hawk asked her.
She shook her head. “Walked.”
“Let’s go.” He was five steps ahead of us when she started moving.
We walked a few feet down Main to where I’d parked the G-Wagon. We usually walked around town, but we never knew what time of day it would be when we left the Orpheum after a Hunt.
Plus it was impossible to tell what kind of shape our girl would be in when we left the tunnels, and sometimes we weren’t able to salvage her clothes. We were always toeing the line of what was legal, and more often than not, crossing it. No reason to draw attention to ourselves traipsing through town with a naked girl who was covered in blood.
“This is yours?” Cassie asked, looking sideways at the bright orange G-Wagon.
“Not what you expected?” I asked.
“Actually, it was exactly what Ishouldhave expected.”
Fair.
Hawk opened the door. “Get in.”
“You don’t have to come with me to get my stuff,” she said, climbing into the back seat. “It’s not like I can leave town.”
I saw her point: her business was here, her brother. But no way was I missing out on an opportunity to check out her place. You could learn a lot about someone by where they lived, and I was eager to know all I could about our new little mouse.
“No offense,” Jagger said, “but I’m not sure you want to walk down Main Street right now.”
She looked down at her clothes, rumpled and dirty, then pulled out her phone. She used the camera app to look at her blood-streaked face and grimaced. “Fine.”
Jagger climbed in next to her in the back. Hawk took shotgun as I walked around to the driver’s side. I was used to driving when we were together: Jagger’s car was way too crowded for all of us and Hawk’s wasn’t much better.
Plus I valued my eardrums and Hawk was always on the verge of blowing his speakers.
Once I was behind the wheel I looked at Cassie in the rearview mirror. “Where are we going?”
“Coffee shop,” she said. “Cassie’s Cuppa.”
“I coulddefinitelygo for a coffee,” I said.
“I live there,” she said. “Over the shop.”
