Wrenching my hand free, I shook it out and continued walking. I walked past rooms filled with supplies, empty rooms, living quarters, nearly knocking into anyone who made the mistake of being in the same space as me. I didn’t know where I was going. Where was there to go?
Autumn had found her way out of Purgatory. She hadn’t told me about it, not a word, only solidifying my suspicions. This was her out. Guards or not, she wasn’t coming back.
Outside now, in the middle of the marketplace, I glanced up at the sky. It was a cloudy day, the air considerably cooler than it had been. And Autumn had only the clothing on her back when I’d dropped her off this morning, a pair of holey jeans and a ratty black T-shirt. Winter was coming, and how the hell ...
No. I shut down that line of thinking. What did it matter? She’d survived this long on her own, living out in the wild. She’d smear herself in shit and mud, go back to eating bugs and grass, and living in trees or under rocks, or who the fuck knew where. I didn’t give a fuck.
Shoving through a small gathering of people around the barrel fires, I started for home, only to find myself pushing through the door of the Cave instead. It was warmer inside the brothel, as if the constant friction of bodies within these walls was more than enough to heat the place.
As usual, it smelled like sex, sweat, and just general filth, so much so that no amount of disinfectant or bleach would ever really be able to wash it clean. When it came time to retire the sins of Purgatory, if that time ever came, this was one building that shouldn’t just be demolished, but burned to the damn ground.
The bar area was nearly empty except for Dori, not unusual for lunchtime. What customers were here were upstairs, or in the back busy trading their lunches for a blow job or a fuck. Taking my usual seat at the end of the bar, I ignored the wheelchair-bound blonde beside me and pounded my fist on the wood.
The young man working the counter, one of the few openly gay men in Purgatory and the only male prostitute, gave me a lazy stare, then rolled his eyes before turning away to pour my usual.
“E?” Dori asked. “Where have you been? Everyone has been talking about you.”
Ignoring her in favor of the drink being placed down in front of me, I gave the young man a biting grin. “Not working today?” I sneered. “That ass all used up already?”
“No thanks to you, darlin’,” he said with more snark than was healthy for him, brushing a lock of imaginary hair over his shoulder and blowing me a kiss.
Glaring at him, I grabbed the dirty glass in front of me and brought it to my mouth and inhaled the bitter odor of Dori’s homemade concoction. It tasted like shit at best, but it burned a delicious pathway down my throat, settling hotly in the pit of my stomach. Shit tasting or not, it always got the job done.
“E?” Dori’s usually soft tone was more pressing now. “E? Is it true? Did you brand that girl? The one who killed Nathan?”
Finishing what was left in my glass, I sent it down hard onto the bar. “More,” I barked, before turning to Dori.
“Explain to me,” I bit out, “how the fuck any of this is your business?”
Gripping the edge of the bar, holding tightly to it so as not to fall off her stool, she leaned forward. “I worry about you,” she whispered, her eyes darting to the bartender. “That girl is insane. She belongs back in the wild. What if she kills you in your sleep?”
No need to worry about that,the voice said.She’s gone now.
Tensing, my jaw locked, I glared at Dori. “She won’t. Now shut the fuck up.”
“E—”
“Shut up, Dori!” I roared, slamming my open palm down on the bar.
Dori’s tiny frame jumped and a shiver of fear rippled through her. “E, I only meant—”
“I know what the fuck you meant,” I growled. “You live for this shit, always up in everyone’s goddamn business because you’ve got no fucking business of your own.”
Another drink came crashing down in front of me, the amber liquid sloshing over the edge of the glass. “Don’t speak to her like that,” the bartender said, his voice more masculine and fierce than I’d ever heard it before.
Palming my drink, I gave him nasty grin before downing the contents in two large swallows. Then I slid off my stool, and still gripping the glass, I pinned the bartender with a stare. “You don’t talk tomelike that.” And then I whipped the glass over the bar.
He ducked, the glass just barely missing his forehead. It collided with the wall behind him, shattered, and sent shards of glass flying. Curses followed as I walked away, but as for what damage I might have done to him, I didn’t know, and I sure as shit didn’t care. I was out the door before the final shard hit the floor.
I stopped just outside the door. Right here, right in this exact place was where I’d first seen Autumn. Wild eyed, beaten down, covered in her own shit, she had glared up at me, looking terrified but determined.
Smirking, I dropped to her level and leaned in close enough to get a hearty whiff of body odor and shit, probably her own. Smart woman ... the worse you smelled, the less the rotters noticed you.
“Welcome to Purgatory,” I said coldly, lifting my brow. “Last stop on the road to hell.”
The vision of her hanging limply before me as I gave the order to send her to the brothel evaporated, and the booze in my belly began to curdle. Running a hand over my freshly shorn head, I staggered off the steps.
I could have taken her right then and there, could have saved her from ever having to step foot inside the Cave, from having to kill someone, from all of it. I could have snatched her up, and while everyone was busy fixing the broken gate, I could have sneaked her out and sent her back to her life.
