Page 167 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Riley’s heart is going wild. ‘Julian?’

She nods. ‘Daddy calls him Jules, and other things sometimes.’

‘The man downstairs… did he… did he take you from your Daddy?’

‘Yeah. Jewel says it’s hide and seek.’

The thought of his brother trying not to frighten Mimi, to make it easier while they’re bargained over or, worse, sold.

No.

Riley cannot allow it.

He glances at the door.

‘Can you do something for me?’

She brightens instantly. ‘A mission?’

‘Yes, exactly,’ he says, latching onto the concept. ‘Can you… I need you to bring me, um… a phone? Do you know what they are?’

‘I know. They chit-chat loud all the time in the air. You gonna call Daddy on the phone? He’s sad-mad right now. I feel it in my heart.’ She lowers her voice. ‘I don’t think he knows it’s hide and seek.’

‘Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll call your Daddy and tell him where you are, don’t worry. I just need a phone.’

Mimi looks all around. ‘There’s a string phone somewhere. The lines are singing.’

She must mean a landline. ‘Do you know where?’

‘In the low place.’

The fucking basement, great.

There is a small office down there, but he’s never been inside.

Noise from downstairs draws Riley’s attention.

‘You’d better go now. Lock my doors again, please.’

‘OK,’ she says cheerily. ‘But I tell them to open whenever you want. They listen to me.’

She walks away and true to her word, closes both the steel door and bars simply by touching the wall. Riley wonders if she’s a Brightling like Troy once told him, thinks she must be.

He hears her shoes skip away, waits for her heartbeat to fade and then he runs to the bathroom. Riley splashes water on his face and winces at his reflection. He looks disgusting.

Hasn’t shaved in forever.

His hair is crazy.

Riley uses the electric shaver Troy got him that he only used once to show he understood it and then he bathes thoroughly and ties his long, damp hair away from his face. The boots Troy refused to take back are sitting under his chest of drawers. Riley puts his sock-clad feet into them and ties the laces the way Troy taught him.

They fit perfectly.

His heart is pounding.

He needs all his strength, his instincts, his senses.

And he needs to be patient.