Page 75 of Uncontrolled

Not anymore.

“The Doctor,” Keeley goes on. “He said the worst he’s going to do to her is a blood draw. A needle poke.” She offers me a tentative smile. “I had Nico ask because if Allie was your girlfriend maybe you would worry.”

Keeley questioned me seconds ago in the hall, and I’d assumed it was because of her crush.

“Obviously, this sucks,” Quinn says as if in apology. “But the Doctor is not a guy you screw over. He gave us a deadline. Allie’s the card we have left to play. You get that, right, Ploy?”

When I speak, my throat is tight enough that the words sound strained. “Allie’s not— We’re not—”

We’re not together. She won’t come. It’s what I should tell them, but the unease swells into the same doom I felt staring down into the open grave of Jamison’s father, a bag of lye at the side of the hole, dirt crumbling from the edges to scatter into the puddles gathered under the tarp-wrapped body.

What happens if I can’t deliver Allie to them? I’ve overheard too much, seen things, learned details. They won’t risk information getting leaked if I’m of no use to them.

They’re going to kill me.

My bravado melts away and what’s left is my standard-issue self, floundering and failing, with no escape strategy. Allie’s not rescuing me when my existence already has her neck on the chopping block. Which is fine. I want her far, far away from them.

“Yeah, I mean, sure, I can do that,” I say as I reach into my pocket for the phone. It hasn’t gone off, no return text from Allie. At least I’ll see if I hit the proper button and it sent at all.

And then Nico moves. Her fingers pinch the phone to snap it shut as it leaves my hand.

“You didn’t want to know how much?” she says.

“What?” I manage. I’ve got to get my phone back. I watch her as she withdraws behind the protection of her brother.

“We never talked figures. You’re all worried about doing more work, but you haven’t asked about your percentage, never tried to negotiate it higher.” She tilts her head, the motion sarcastically sweet. “Aren’t you curious how much money’s on the table, Ploy?”

“I…” My tongue wets my lips as I fight not to fidget. I think of the small stacks of cash they keep feeding me, payment for my silence, for my cooperation. Cruelty curls my lip. “She’s not important to me. Cash is. Her blood is worth a lot to the right buyer. You know that.” I’m playing to her vanity now. “And you’re aware of how hard the resurrectionists train. Weapons, self-defense,” I say, ticking off each on my fingers. “This won’t be simple. Allie’s not easily subdued. You obviously took the associated risk into consideration when you brought this to the table, right Nico?”

The original deal they negotiated was for CJ, but no one calls me out on that detail.

Quinn wears a confused expression. “Nico, he’s—”

She holds up my phone to cut him off before he can complete his thought. “Ploy, this thing’s ancient!” she says. The slightest chuckle escapes her, like she’s got some special fondness for the crap phone Jamison gave me so he could get ahold of me as necessary. Her hazel eyes go brutal with faux sweetness as she takes me in. “I bet there’s not even a passcode.”

She’s right.

I’m trying to remember the texts I’ve sent to Allie. Is there anything incriminating? Anything Nico could take out of context?

She flicks the phone open and hits a button, struggling to work it without a touchscreen. The speaker trills the theme song of the stupid snake game that came preinstalled. Her brow furrows. “Here,” I offer.

“I got it!” she says brightly.

East moves out of my line of sight, shifting himself closer to the door and behind me but I don’t dare take my attention off Nico as she goes through the phone. The smile melts from her lips as she holds it for me to see. “What’s this mean?”

My last message to Allie is still in the box at the bottom of the screen. The text never sent. Allie got no warning from me.

“No dandelions. Don’t go,” I read and then shrug. “Autocorrect. I didn’t get a chance to finish it. It should have said, ‘No donuts. Don’t go to the store. I’ll get them on my way home.’” My embarrassed hesitation might sell the ridiculous story. “I ate the last two. Allie thinks I’m hanging at the Boxcar Camp today.”

No one says anything. I hook my thumb over my shoulder at Keeley, who has moved to stand next to East in the doorway. “Keeley saw me writing it,” I add, and then force myself to shut the hell up before I sound guilty.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I shift my attention to Nico to see if she’s buying any of this. With the degree of intensity she has trained on me, it could go either way.

“Then why didn’t you finish the text?” Nico asks. “You never sent it.”

“Quinn told me you were pissed we were late.” I move a hand in his direction. He nods to back me up. “I figured Allie could wait.”

I hold my breath. Nico taps the phone against her palm twice and then offers it to me.

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