Page 45 of Fixation of the Mind

I swung around, squinting to make out a thin sickly-looking man in slacks and a white button down. He took out his keys and opened the door to Star Finder. He went in for a second before coming back out, blue puffer jacket on. He lit up a cigarette and smoked out front.

Something about his mannerisms and the way he stood were familiar. A tingle in the back of my head was telling me I needed to remember because I knew this person—or at least I used to know this person.

I took a step closer, but Ravi’s hand snapped out. Grabbing my arm, he shook his head. I rolled my eyes. “I think I know him, but I can't tell from this far away.”

His grip tightened, the thin line of his mouth showing me that he wasn’t budging on this. I knew that I had seen this person before, and I just needed to get a closer look. Maybe a different approach would work. I came up to his side and stuck out my lip. “Can I please get a closer look?”

Smiling back at me with a jackal’s grin, he bent down, grabbing the back of my head, bringing his forehead to mine. “I don't like you being interested in other men in front of me.” His eyes traveled down to my mouth, his own parted in anticipation. My tongue swiped out along my lower lip, and his eyes flared.

The sound of a car passing us had us both looking towards it, bursting our little bubble. Reality came back, and he let go of my head, taking my hand and bringing it up to his lips. He whispered along my knuckles, “It's Gabe.”

My brain took a second to catch up to what he’d said, but once I did, my eyes snapped back to the man leaning against the wall, smoking his second cigarette. What?! What was he doing here? This was far away from the orphanage in Virginia.

Ravi's voice sailed over my shoulder, his lips just a breath away from my ears as his hushed tone followed. “He came out here with a culinary dream. He got a scholarship for his first semester, but when he didn't keep his grades up, the scholarship didn’t renew for the second. He ended up dropping out.” I watched Gabe while Ravi told me the story, trying to match the sweet yet cowardly boy I’d known to the twitchy cigarette smoker in front of me.

Before I could ask for more information, Gabe looked at his clock, put out the bud in his hand and walked back into the shop. Not five minutes later did a pretty, young blonde girl in a crop top and mini skirt click her way up to the door in high heels. She stumbled, then righted herself before opening the door. I looked at my clock, knowing it was quite late for a girl her age to come to a shop like this, meeting with a man on her own.

That only ever spelled trouble.

This icky feeling in the pit of my stomach grew, but I ignored it. “What are they doing?”

Shadows flew across his face, hiding his expression until he walked to the side, waving for me to follow him. We went around the back of the building and hid behind a large garbage can, watching a blacked-out SUV pull up.

When I tried to ask Ravi again, he held up his finger and pointed back to the scene. Grumbling under my breath, I did as he said and watched. Something was off about the two men in the car. They looked too big for their seats, and their black sunglasses were completely out of place in the growing darkness of the evening.

The one in the passenger seat popped out and threw open the door to the car. He had a gun in the back of his pants, so I figured he was bad news. What the hell did Gabe get himself into?

Before I could think more on it, that girl came out the back, Gabe beside her, holding her up. Her eyes were shut, and she was fumbling around even worse than before, looking drunk. She was immediately shoved into the back of the SUV by the guy who’d opened the door.

“What the fuck?” I said before I thought about keeping my mouth shut.

The man passed something over into Gabe’s waiting hands, and he greedily shoved it into his pocket as the guy got back in the car and drove away. This felt wrong. So incredibly wrong.

As they drove past us, I heard a click. Ravi had his phone out and was typing away. “What’s going on, Ravi? What the fuck is Gabe into? Where are they taking that girl?”

He got up, motioning for me to follow him as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, his face giving away nothing. No frown, no smile. Just blank. Seeing Ravi like this made me hesitate, but I wouldn’t get answers if I hesitated, so I followed.

We walked to the car, got in, and he drove us down the street to another seedy-looking part of town. The car was quiet, and Ravi’s face grew darker as we parked on an abandoned street. Looking around, the houses were all boarded up, the yards a mess of weeds and unkept shrubbery. If you were going to do something criminal, this would be the place to do it.

“What are we doing here?”

Ravi glanced over his shoulder and pointed to a two-story tagged-up house. “We’re going in there.” I stared at him, my gaze demanding that he tell me more, but he kept his head straight.

What the fuck are we doing?

With all the things adding up, my stomach rolled and my mouth went dry. I knew in my soul that he wouldn't hurt me. Even facing all of this, I trusted him to keep me safe… but why were we here?

Before I could ask, he whispered, “Look,” and I saw the shadow of a person quickly slinking around the corner and disappearing into the house.

Ravi got out and, always being the gentleman, came over to my side to open my door. He shut it quietly. “Let's go.” He started toward the house, and for the first time I noticed that his steps were light, almost like he was trying to sneak in.

I’d had about enough of this, so before we went through the door, I pulled on his jacket. “Tell me right now what’s going on.”

He hung his head as he sighed, mumbling, “I knew it wasn't going to be this easy.” He turned around, eyes searching our surroundings before he clutched my shoulders, his tone sharp. “Rin, I need to show you something, explain something to you, then you will have a choice to make. That's all I can say right now.” He stepped closer, cupping my face, his tone going low and pleading. “Trust me, please.”

Staring into those gorgeous eyes, I saw the hints of blue and green sparkle. A calmness came over me, easing my fears as I soaked up his presence. Nodding, he gave me the barest of smiles before grabbing my hand and pulling me through the door.

I immediately recoiled. A sour, putrid smell filled the space, choking me as Ravi pulled me forward. Inside, the house was worse than its outward appearance. Dirt and grime covered every surface, and everything looked broken or half used and splayed out. The inside was tagged up worse than the outside. Walls looked like they were decaying before my eyes.

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