Page 15 of What Doesn't Kill Us

Finally, I give a curt nod, muttering to myself in annoyance. I know he’s right, and that Lilith would also agree with this makes me more inclined to accept that the tracking device is there for my safety. But it still frustrates me that everyone can keep tabs on me while I still live mainly in the dark.

I step further away from him, turning my back on the two of them as I calm myself down. The initial rush of adrenaline is fizzling out, and I’m left with this flat, dark feeling. I hate feeling powerless, incapable of handling what’s being thrown at me, and unable to maneuver these intense feelings that continuously rush over me without warning.

Dare walks up behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders, his warm breath against my ear as he leans into me. I force myself not to lean back against him, and he chuckles against my ear, the sound triggering a shiver to run down my spine. I grit my teeth, feeling the answering smile playing along my lips.

That bastard.

I clear my throat, shaking him off me, and then turning to face him. “Tell me again, what are you two doing out here?”

He puts his hands in his pockets, leveling me with a serious look. “Waiting for you.”

I raise my eyebrows at him and snort. “And sucking face was required?”

He smiles. “As you already heard, Agatha figured that was the easiest way to get you to show yourself. Otherwise, we figured you were going to wait it out until you could get her alone and then try to snatch her.”

I incline my head at him because that’s accurate. If I had to choose between getting my hands on either of them, I would’ve waited around to grab her. “Seems to me like we have a lot to talk about.”

“Yes, we certainly do. But not now.”

I glance around, finally noticing Agatha has left the room, and I feel my blood pressure rise again. “Where the fuck did she go? I have questions for her.”

Dare inclines his head toward the exit, showing that she left the building. “Her job was done for now, so she’s waiting outside until I’m ready. I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll give you as much of an explanation as I can.”

“So what? You’re consorting with the enemy now?”

“Agatha isn’t the enemy, Toni. We’re trying to work together to locate and eliminate the real enemy.”

I frown at him, shaking my head in disbelief. “How can she not be the enemy when she bought you, then vanished out of the country for months?”

“This is where things get complicated.”

“How complicated can it be? She purchased you, put you on a plane, and flew you to another country. She then kept you hidden for months, and from what you said, at some point, you were in prison.”

He gives me a patient look, and I’m overwhelmed with an urge to wipe the condescending look off his face. He’s silent for a moment, obviously considering his words before he finally speaks. “At a glance, that’s exactly how it would seem, but that’s not what happened. Someone else purchased me from Dickwad. Agatha executed an epic double-cross, which resulted in me going directly to her instead of to the person who purchased me. Unfortunately, somewhere between where I first met Agatha and our second rendezvous point, we were ambushed, and both of us were taken. That’s how I ended up in prison. That’s how we both ended up caged.”

I gape at him and ask, “Well, how the fuck did you get out of it?”

“With a lot of planning and a lot of luck. Agatha has a small crew, but they’ve been with her for a very long time. So, when things went to shit, they did what they had to do to locate her and get her back. I’m the lucky fucker who got to tag along at her insistence because, frankly, they would’ve left me there.”

“How the hell did they even find her? She could’ve been anywhere. That’s insane.”

He laughs. “Apparently, we’re not the only ones who understand the value of a well-placed tracking device.”

My mouth drops open in shock. Suddenly tired, I walk over to the chair in the middle of the room and sit down, leaning back and crossing my arms over my chest. “A fucking tracker. Who would’ve thought micro-chipping ourselves like animals would be so useful? What amazes me is how this isn’t standard procedure at this point.”

He nods. “Seems humans are far more serious about locating their lost pets than their lost humans. And apparently, there’s this whole thing about ethics, whatever the fuck that is.”

I chuckle, then catch myself and stop. I clear my throat, narrowing my eyes at him. “That doesn’t explain who is behind any of this. Do you know anything about the man who bought you from Dickwad? Or the person who took you after Agatha diverted your delivery? Are they the same person? None of this makes sense.”

“Well, we know who took us and kept us prisoner, but so far, we know nothing about who bought me. The few leads we’ve had have led us nowhere, and since I can’t find Dickwad, I have made no progress there.”

“He’s dead.”

Dare frowns at me. “Dead? What do you mean, he’s fucking dead?”

I shrug my shoulders as I reply, “He wouldn’t talk, so we tried to make him talk, and evidently, his heart couldn’t take it. It was quite anti-climactic, if you ask me.”

Darius groans, his hands coming out of his pocket as he paces back and forth a few times. I can tell from his demeanor that he’s pissed off, but there’s nothing I can do about the guy having a weak heart. “We didn’t mean to kill him; we barely even touched him when he keeled over.”

---