“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“You keep looking at him.”
She blushes. Actually fucking blushes. “To check he hasn’t left me.”
“He makes you feel safe, huh?”
“He does.” The pink in her cheeks darkens.
“Kathy?”
The woman raises her gaze to mine. “Yes?”
“Have you ever had a boyfriend? Been with a man?”
Her expression darkens, body stiffening. “That’s a very personal question, Jenna.”
“I apologize.” I hold my palms up in surrender, as much for her as for the inked dude creeping in on me. “I was just curious.”
“I have not,” she admits quietly, as though so he won’t hear. “It was never allowed.”
Another breadcrumb to her past. “Well, a little bit of advice from one less regulated woman to another: guard your heart. They don’t all tell you the truth. Most of the time they tell you what they think you want to hear purely to get whattheywant.”
Her hurt gaze flashes to Circus, and I almost regret the warning. Yet, at the same time, she seems so trusting. Easily fooled and gullible. I’d hate to see her taken advantage of, knowing I could have done something to prevent it.
Maybe it’s not your place to prevent it.
Or maybe it is, and a patriarchal world merely taught me that the correct response is to look the other way. To walk away and avoid conflict.
To behave like a lady.
To let them do whatever they fuck they want to us because they can and no-one will dare to stop them.
The Devil’s Breed are testament to that.
My father is testament to that.
“Can I ask you one last question?” I pose.
Kathy nods.
“How did they pick you up? What did they do to get you in that place?”
Kathy sighs, extending her hand for mine.
I take it and swallow back the knot of emotion threatening to spill forth.
“Theydidn’t do anything,” she reveals. “My grandfather did.”
“Pardon?” I frown. If I’m to do anything to help dismantle this trafficking ring, the least I can do is gather notes on how the Devil’s Breed currently operates. “What do you mean?”
“They didn’t snatch me,” she says, staring me dead in the eye. “They bought me.”
My stomach sours, Circus’s protective gaze burning a hole in my periphery.
“My grandfather sold me when I passed marriage age.”
I squint a little.Did she say what I think she did?
