Page 56 of Anything But Convenient

"You're not fun when you're quiet," she said as she strolled closer.

I still felt weak from the shot they gave me, which I guess she knew from watching me. She wouldn’t get closer if she thought it would put her in danger.

Leaning down, she put her face right in my line of sight. “I can see the way your mind is working. You're just like everyone else. They see me, this slip of a woman, and assume that I hold no power. That I'm some homemaker waiting to give birth to the babies of the world. That I'll be under a man's thumb and do as he says until the day I die. But the truth here is that I will never be under anyone's thumb. I am the thumb, and I will press down on every single person who underestimates me until they are nothing but dirt in the ground. Six feet under, preferably, though I am a fan of a little mutilation.”

I must make some kind of expression because she waved her hand in my face.

“Not you, dear. I don't have the energy to do that to you. Besides, you are better suited for other purposes.”

Her hand reached up to cup my cheek, her nails trailed over my skin, almost in a loving manner, if possible.

“You're far too beautiful, Archie. From the moment I saw you appear around those NightShade assholes; I knew I had to have you as part of my collection.”

I didn't like that word — collection. As a knee-jerk reaction, I repeated it.

"Collection," I said.

She clapped her hands and stood to her full height. "Oh, goodie, you can speak. That's wonderful, considering your husband can't. He was originally my ideal prize, but then he had to go and get shot. While my clients do love those that don't talk back, they also love the ones that understand them completely. Given your gift of languages, you would be an excellent resource. If nothing else, you could work for me for a while before I findyou a perfect home should you not fetch a high enough price. Then you’ll go somewhere where you are taken care of.”

I scowled. “What clients?”

Somewhere along the way, I had put the puzzle pieces together of what was going on with Mordecai. The way that she spoke and moved, the animosity she had against men. All of it painted a clear picture. And the moment she said "clients," I figured that maybe Memphis had gotten it wrong.

I would never say the words to his face because the man was very proud of his work. But there was no way this Mordecai person wasn't involved in the skin trade. Maybe they worked with Ajax or in place of them, but she did speak like someone in the gun trade.

"Have you figured out my secret yet?" she said while I remained quiet. “Most people don't. In fact, I was really disappointed when Memphis didn't. All the clues were there. I mean, sure, I had hidden everything for years, but considering he's supposed to be the next prodigy in the computer science world, and the FBI still tries to take him from Tank, I thought that he would connect the dots a lot quicker. Of course, taking you will probably ramp up things. Which is great! I love a good party.”

The woman was off-kilter, to put it kindly. I imagined a psychiatrist and a team of therapists would have a field day going through her mind. Nothing she said made sense. This entire situation was some fanatical dream she had cultivated based on her own desires. Desires that were fueled from something I couldn't understand. The more she talked, the more her deep-rooted issues became obvious.

Still, there wasn't much to work off of. And I was no caseworker.

“Well, it seems as if you're done talking for now, so I will leave you to it. I figured you could sit here for a bit while I watchthose NightShade men run around in circles. They are quite hilarious to observe, especially considering they don't even know I'm watching. It's so much fun. Like my own little personal TV channel. Of course, they are only one of many. I like to keep a variety of things going, you know? Besides, it would be boring to only watch one thing all the time.”

I had a million questions to ask her. How was she watching them? And what kind of security did she have that she could bypass the protocols Memphis had in place?

If Tank didn't know about this, then surely he would soon. Nothing stayed secret to him for long from what Takeshi told me.

As much as I feared what could come out of this woman's mouth next, I knew that the team of men that I had befriended and the man that I loved would do everything they could to get me back.

It might have been quick, but I knew my feelings to be real. I loved him with every part of me.

And I knew he cared for me too. It’s why I trusted him to show up.

I'd heard the stories about what happened with Damari and with Sinclair, and even Cohen and Godric. They weren't the type to leave someone behind. Knowing that gave me the confidence to close my eyes.

The woman came closer, her heels echoing louder. I felt her body heat as she leaned forward. Her lips pressed against my forehead. “Rest now, pet. I'll see you again soon.”

I wanted to claw at the skin. Needed to forcibly remove her touch from the place where only my husband’s touch should be.

With that she left me alone. The lights returned to their brightness, drowning out the figures that surrounded me. It didn't matter if she had ten men or ten thousand. Her hold on me wouldn't last. It was only a matter of time.

CHAPTER 22

TAKESHI

Every minutethat passed without new information was excruciating. I wanted to know where my husband was. I needed to find him.

The longer the day went on, the more I regretted not having some type of tracker on him before now. It seemed like a completely ludicrous idea whenever it was brought up in a discussion before we got married. Memphis had indicated the way our luck had always been with our guys and how people always wanted to take them from us lent to the idea of implanting small devices for the inevitable.

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