Page 51 of A Fine Line

I burst out the back door into the parking lot, not bothered that there might be someone standing on the other side of it, ready to cut me down. I finally understand every stupid fucking thing Darius ever did in pursuit of keeping Nettie safe.

Of course, there’s no one there.

I’m standing a few feet from the closed door, trying to catch my breath as I curse a blue streak. I pull out the phone I have hidden in the waistband of my pants that their piss-poor pat down missed and send the group a message, letting them know I’m out back and Carolina is gone.

After a few moments, the back door pops open, and I whirl around, pissed at myself for leaving myself open to someone shooting me in the back. Lilith stands there, making gun fingers and says, “Bang.”

I glower at her as I mutter, “Shut the fuck up, Lils. I don’t need your shit right now.”

“Our amateur asses didn’t have anyone on this side of the building, so whatever went down back here, we missed it.”

“Those two fuckers in there said the Beast took her.”

She shakes her head and replies, “I can assure you, the Beast did not fucking take her, though it would be super cool if he had, and we could just go home.”

I stand there for a moment, staring at the ground as the pressure in my chest becomes suffocating. Then Lilith sighs and asks, “Is it fuck around time, then?”

I toss the gun to the side and pull my leather gloves from my pocket. I slide my hands into them, taking comfort in the familiarity of their grip, and then pull out the two small blades I have hidden in my boot.

“Let’s shut this motherfucker down.”

Chapter Nineteen

Carolina

So,maybewhenIagreed to swap myself for my little girl, I hadn’t thought it through. Not that I regret it or anything. Knowing that Flora is safe from this nightmare is a huge relief, though I feel bad Tony didn’t get more of a warning. I was relieved, even after my long absence, Flora accepted my instructions and went out and did as I asked without question.

I’m sure Tony handled it just fine, but I’m certain he’s probably pissed and back to cursing my name.

Seeing Lilith alive and well threw me for a loop. She tried to get me to come with her, but I was so stunned to see her that I froze on the spot, and it didn’t take long for the enemy to realize Lilith wasn’t who she was pretending to be. I threw a fit as a distraction so she could get away, but in the ruckus, I got knocked silly and missed our escape.

I suppose I should be thankful to Lilith for providing a small distraction from what must appear to be my demise, as it’s not every day a criminal mastermind is resurrected from death. I’m sure once the anger and shock passes, they’ll be ecstatic to have her back, and I know they’ll take care of Flora, and she’ll never have to worry about another thing a day in her life.

That’s how I can sit here in this dark cage and not worry about what my future holds. No one’s looking for me; there won’t be any grand rescue or anyone coming to my defense. No one’s looking for the dead woman.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been in this room, but from what I’ve overheard, I go up for auction on the weekend. Maybe I’ll have stronger feelings about it on the day, while it’s happening, but right now, general apathy has taken hold.

I’d say there’s nothing left they could do to me that would bother me, but I also know that’s tempting fate. There’s always something.

Running feet draw my attention to the doorway, and then I hear loud voices arguing incoherently. A lock is thrown, and the door opens as two people are shoved inside. “Open that fucking cage,” a man’s voice says menacingly.

The room is dark, all light coming from the open doorway, so the faces of the men are cloaked in shadows as the cage door is unlocked and a hand reaches in, gesturing for me to get out. As I move closer, I see the person at the cage door is one of the men who’s been coming in and out regularly since I got here. I lean closer, noting the fear on his face, then he hisses, “Get the fuck out here. Now.”

With little choice otherwise, I crawl out of the cage, and then remain kneeling on the floor as I stretch my back and get my feet beneath me so I’m squatting, unsure of what’s going to happen next.

The man who appears to be in charge has moved behind me, so I still can’t make out any of his features. An item is tossed on the floor in front of me, and he says, “Put this over her head.”

Then I’m blind as the bag is pulled over my head and tightly secured around my neck. I’m relieved they’re not gagging me, or worse yet, drugging me and moving me while I’m incapacitated, but still, my heart pounds in my chest as my hands are pulled behind me and cold metal encircles them.

A muffled bang startles me, and my arms are being pulled as that voice says in my ear, “Can you walk?”

“Yes,” I choke out. I clear my throat, my voice coming out more clearly. “I can walk.”

The man grasps me by my arm, helping me stand, and then pushes me out of the room down what I assume is a hallway. He’s rushing now, the sounds of people rushing around behind us growing closer as I ask, “Who are you?”

He says nothing but hustles me along faster, and when I trip over my own feet, he yanks me to a stop, then his shoulder is in my gut, and he’s lifting me into the air. Hanging facedown with my hands cuffed behind my back isn’t at all pleasant, but I don’t bother wasting time complaining and instead focus on not puking in the hood over my head.

Cold air envelops me as we exit the building, and it’s a welcome change after the stifling dank of the dungeon-like basement. He picks up his pace, jostling me even more as I focus on his shoes slapping on the pavement. There’s a distinct chirping of a car alarm, then the clank of a latch opening, and the next thing I know, I’m falling with a thud.

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