Page 18 of Repossess My Heart

That alarm sounds again as his drone zips to us, “What’s that sound?”

“Your heart rate is too high.”

“Reverie must relax. Her heart rate is nearing unsuitable levels.”CeCe’s voice rings through my ears like she’s right here next to me, threatening me with little pokes and long naps.

I shake it away as I lift to my knees, letting him take my weight for a moment. My head resting on his thigh, making him tense. I ignore it. He can fucking deal for a second.

“You’ve been listening to it since earlier. Do you have to?”

“Have to what?” He asks. The bite of his mechanical hands shifts my knotted hair off my back, making it curtain to the ground off to the side.

I shiver as those harsh fingers run along the ridges of my spine. “Listen to my heartbeat all the time.”

He shifts, barely giving me time to catch myself as he abruptly stands. “We need to move.”

Asshole.

His drone deposits something in his hand before floating away, continuing to tidy the room. He doesn’t help me stand, instead he glares at me as I get to my feet. “Open up.”

“No.”

“Just take this.”

I open my hand, staring at him as he begrudgingly deposits a tiny white pill in it. “What does it do?”

He rolls his eyes, “It’s called nitroglycerin. It’ll stop you from ruining that heart of mine.”

I frown. I never had access to meds before. Other than taking chances with the stuff you get on the Down Market. Half of it will kill you or make you trip ass. Unregistered residents can’t get the real stuff. Can’t get anything or into most buildings, housing, restaurants… CeCe burned up her reserves quickly, keeping me out of it most of the time. I have no clue where she started getting the stuff in the end.

“I don’t like the way drugs make me feel.” I argue, pushing the little pill around in my palm.

“Take it or I’ll tranquilize you and shove it down your throat.”

“You’re the worst.” I mumble before popping it into my mouth.

“Good girl. Now let’s move.”

7

A Collection

“Thefloorsshifted,whichmeans it’s going to be far harder to leave now with you tagging along.” Nine’s tone is hushed, his hand tightening around my waist where I’m slung haphazardly over his shoulder.

“Then why move me at all? You could-“

His fingers dig into the pliant skin around my waist. “Dead people don’t talk, so shut that pretty mouth of yours before you get us caught.”

You could just kill me? You know, do your fucking job.

I finish in my head because there’s no way he’s getting the last word. Fuck me. Fuck this and whatever creepy trauma bond I’ve formed with my murderer. My teeth dig into the sensitive flesh of my bottom lip as he walks, biting back another useless tangent about how displeased I am with his work ethic. His boots dig into concrete flooring, my eyes widening as I watch the otherwise seamless slab part. A long-bisected line of flooring separating, he steps around the growing gap easily before shifting and turning us. The loud sound of heavy slabs scraping along each other sound from around us. I don’t question how he knows where to go with the floor that’s quite literally shifting. Not sure what I thought he meant when he said that, but it wasn’t this. A whole maze floor dedicated to killing.

What the fuck?

Do other citizens know about this?

Somehow, the elaborate design of the place they take the ones that aren’t gutted on the street, makes what they do… even worse. Less like a mindless transaction and more like a game we don’t know we’re playing. Not until it’s too late and we’ve already lost. If I were normal, the tinge of unease I feel in that would grow until it choked me. Until I had to try… try anything that would get people’s attention. Try to escape, maybe even change something, but I’m not that girl. I’m not a heroine in one of those stories CeCe would tell me. Those girls had something I…nobodyhere does.

Hope.