“Hello?” he said, his eyes on me the entire time. He took the phone from his ear. They must not have spoken, because Fate lowered it without another word.
He dropped the phone into my purse and handed it to me. I grasped it and turned my back to him, digging into my purse. But the phone wasn’t in there. He had taken it with him. I turned back quickly, but he’d already left the stairwell, the door shut behind him, my phone in his possession.
I yanked at the door but it didn’t open. Slamming a fist repeatedly, I screamed for someone to let me out but was ignored. My fist was sore when it finally opened a few minutes later.
The Jinxes stood in a line in front of me. They threw their hands into the air. “Hey, don’t bust our chops! He told us to do it.” Bobby, front and center, thumbed the air in the direction of the lobby.
I was furious at them but the only thing I could come up with was, “Don’t look for your scotch next week.”
I sprinted out of the building, ignoring how my knee burned in pain and their yells about how unfair that was. By time I got outside, Fate was gone, along with his car. He’d left and taken my phone with him. And I didn’t know Luke’s number by heart, I only recognized it from the three zeros in the area code. Why hadn’t I written it down? Sloppy. How could I be so careless?
The Honda sat ten feet away and I rushed to it. In my haste, my fingers fumbled and dropped the keys. My knuckles scraped on the pavement in my rush to retrieve them.
“Are you alright?”
I let out a small yelp, startled by the voice. It was Fred, the accountant and single human occupant. “What?”
“Are you okay?” The words you don’t look it didn’t come from his mouth, but his expression was screaming them.
“I’m fine. Just in a rush. I forgot about an appointment.” I smiled half-heartedly.
“Okay.” He nodded politely and moved away slowly, as if he doubted it was the right direction.
The door creaked open as I got in and I drove straight to Wal-Mart, while I tried to remember Luke’s full number. The last two digits were stubbornly evading my memory, but I’d try every combination until I got him.
By time I got to Wal-Mart, my knee refused to bend, but it also didn’t want to completely straighten out. It was clearly rebelling against the sprint. I grabbed a cart to lean my weight on and headed off toward the electronics section.
It didn’t matter what phone it was, I just needed it quickly. Dodging children and adults, I grabbed the first pay-as-you-go phone I saw and handed it to the teen behind the register, shoving bills at him before he had a chance to ask.
“No bag.” I grabbed the phone back and started trying to tear into that horrible hard plastic. It would have been easier to break out of handcuffs than to get this hard clear stuff off the phone. The young man behind the register took pity on me and handed me a pair of scissors.
“Thanks.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when it rang the second it was torn free. The area code to Nowhere, USA, displayed on the ID. I’d forgotten; as soon as I knew the new number, so did they.
I answered it while returning the scissors. I hobbled as quickly as I could to the front of the store, afraid I’d lose the signal.
It was time to do damage control, because Luke was going to be pissed. Losing connection now could be disastrous. “Hello?”
He rattled off an address. “Be there at eight o’clock.”
“Sure.” He didn’t say anything about Fate answering the phone. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Perhaps he wasn’t that mad.
“And don’t ever let that happen again.”
No, he wasn’t mad, he was furious, and either Kitty or I would be paying for it later. I just hoped I could afford the price.
Chapter 24
My own private horror show.
The address was a one-story cinder block building located at the end of a dirt road, in the middle of no man’s land, South Carolina. There was no one around to hear the screams but the birds.
Luke was smiling when I walked in. If I hadn’t known it was going to be bad, I would’ve known now. Luke wasn’t happy unless he was inflicting pain.
I kept a close guard on my expression, but that wouldn’t always be the way. One day, I’d be the one smiling as I ripped his head from his neck. It wouldn’t be a quick death, though. There was a debt that could only be repaid in pain.
That thought was one of the things that got me through this: Kitty, and imagining the pain I’d inflict. Today might have belonged to him, but tomorrow was wide open. It lurked just around the corner, and the opportunities were endless. Every morning I woke might be the day I’d get my revenge.
He tilted his head toward a back area, his smile never faltering. I didn’t want to follow but did anyway. No matter what was to come, in my mind there was no choice. Kitty was worth a beating, or worse.
I’d discovered I could handle the pain. A blow here and there wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was the day-to-day loss of control, and the eyes I knew were always on me, that kept me from sleeping. It was Kitty, imprisoned under the control of a sadist like him, that woke me in the middle of the night. When I did step into that room though, I’d thought whatever was going to happen would happen to me.
The far wall was lined with black curtains. Luke pressed a button on the wall and they drew back automatically, to reveal a window to another area. Kitty sat tied to the chair, blindfolded. This wasn’t where they normally kept her. I was positive of that.
A man entered to her left. He stopped behind her and loomed. He was so large; he made her appear the size of a child in comparison. I might still be paying part of the bill today, but it was clear I wouldn’t be the only one picking up the tab for my earlier misstep.
There’s a huge difference between taking a beating and watching someone I cared about take it for me. I could handle the pain but not this.
“No. This isn’t the agreement.” I moved in front of Luke, my back to the window. “I work for Malokin and she remains safe. That’s what I was told. That was the agreement.”
Luke shrugged. “Unfortunately, you haven’t been working that well. I thought you needed a little inspiration.” He motioned to my hand, which was already digging out my phone. “You can call Malokin. I assure you, he knows.” He rocked back on his heels, waiting for me.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I knew he was right; I didn’t even doubt it.
“This isn’t fair. Whatever you plan on doing, do it to me.” There was desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care. This is what he wanted. Control. He had it.
He was still smiling, and that’s how I knew the answer was no without him having to speak. He knew what this was doing to me, and he reveled in it.
“Let’s see, we had the issue of him answering the phone.” He held up a single finger to the man.
I ran to the door that connected the two rooms, but there was no surprise it was locked. Even if I could break it down, I knew there were men behind the other door across the room. I could smell their rotting skin. I’d never get Kitty out. They’d kill her before I did.
“Stop. I’ll do whatever you need.” If I had to beg and grovel for her, I would.
“Too late. Come.” He pointed to the space next to him, like I was a dog he was bringing to heel. “You’ll need to witness this, so that I know you are fully aware of the ramifications of your actions. We don’t want to have to do this every day, now. I’ve got a busy schedule.”
“I’m not watching.” That’s what this was about. Inflicting pain upon me. If I didn’t watch, he wouldn’t care what happened with Kitty, and maybe I’d just catch the beating I now so desperately wanted.