After a few minutes of silence, Liam clears his throat. “Just got a message from one of Astero’s men. They have the girl and she’s in agreement.”
I’d be lying if I said that some level of eagerness and excitement didn’t come over me. “Good.”
“They want to know what the next step is. Are we going there? Or should they come here?”
I tap the steering wheel for a moment, considering my options. “We’re going there. Make the arrangements. I want to see the dock for myself, anyway.”
I can hear the grin in Liam’s voice when he speaks. “Understood. America, here we come.”
3
Amy
Everything is stupid. Okay, more than stupid, everything is downrightcruel.My grandparents want more time with me? Nah, they need me to marry some dude so we don’t all die. Couldn’t just be anormalvisit, now could it? No, that’d beridiculous.Oh, someone finally wants me? No, he just needs to marry me to access some docks. Adock.Am I really only worth that?
The first thing I do once I finish talking with my grandmother is lock myself in the room they loan me when I visit. It’s lavish, but impersonal. I know it’s not mine— the golden chandelier and silk wallpapers remind me of that fact every time I look at them.Enjoy it while you can, because it isn’t yours and nothing like this ever will be.
I told my grandmother I’d marry the man.God help me.She’s putting it in motion with my grandfather as we speak. Should I have taken time to think about it? Yeah. Probably. But I panicked. I might be a people pleaser, but my grandmother had talked aboutdeath.Not just for me, but our whole family. It felt likeshewas holding a gun to my head.
Or, rather, that this…guyis holding a gun toallof our heads.
That’s right,guy.I’m not going to call him this grandiose, scary title like he probably wants.Irish Demon. Pathetic, really, to call yourself that. So dramatic. If you need to call yourself that, are you even scary?
God, I hope he isn’t. I have to marry him, after all.
In my panicked state, I forgot his real name. It isn’t something I care to fix. I’ll probably have to hear his name everyday for the rest of my life, which may be a short one for all I know. I’m going to enjoy this time when I don't remember it for as long as I can.
The bed creaks when I plop down onto it. It reminds me of what my grandmother said when this same bed had creaked under my weight when I visited some years ago.Perhaps you should use the gym in the basement, Amy. It’ll be good for you.
Eh, fuck that. I would never say that to my grandmother, of course, or anyone else for that matter, but my mind is my one safe place to be who I really am.
I grab my phone and type out a text. My best friend, Lily, is going to lose her mind about this. I know she’ll be upset about the situation with me, as she always is. We always vent to each other in support of one another, through thick and thin. She’s the closest thing I have to an external safe place. We’ll be able to bond over terrible fathers, since she never knew hers, but apparently he was bad enough for her mom to flee to a whole new country while pregnant.
That’s gotta be pretty bad.
Still, that doesn’t make mine any less horrible. Who knew Dad’s gamblinghobbycould ruin my life so prolifically? So much for daddy’s little girl getting everything she wants, right?
Yeah. Like that’s ever happened. Pretty sure my mom has to remind him when it’s my birthday.
It only takes a few minutes before my phone lights up. Lily is calling. I answer quickly. “I assume you got my text?”
Lily laughs on the other end, obviously assuming I’m not serious. “Uh, yeah. You’re joking, right?”
“Nope.” I pop thep.“You know, when I kinda distanced myself from my dad, I never thought that he was literally carrying out my demise the whole time.”
There’s silence on the other end as Lily processes the fact that what I texted her isreal.“No, no. Don’t say that.” Lily huffs. There’s a tense moment where she’s silent again. I can tell her mind is racing, looking for a solution. “Listen, we’ll find a way to get you out of this, right? I mean…your grandparents can’tmakeyou get married.”
I sigh into the phone. “No. But I already agreed.”
There’s silence on the other end for a moment. “Youwhat?”
“I know it sounds crazy, Lily, but my grandmother says that he’ll kill us all if I don’t.”
“And you believe her?” Lily asks in a slightly high-pitched voice.
I pause. I hadn’t considered the fact that she could be lying. “I…shit.”
It’s Lily’s turn to sigh. “Did you at leastgooglehim?”
