Page 181 of Innocent Intentions

Maybe you’re hard to find.

But he knows who took me. Knows what they are.

Could I really be this impossible to track down?

Or did he cut his losses?

No. He loves you. He’s coming. You just have to believe.

A voice I recognize breaks through my spiral. The same man who dragged me upstairs on the first day.

“Tonight, you go to the docks. The Pakhan has no more use of you, but you must be punished for the men we lost. Ashipment arrives tonight. You will join it. Be grateful he has shown mercy and spared you.”

I stare at the wall, unmoving. Unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a response.

He waits. Then huffs and storms out, slamming the door behind him.

Silence returns.

But his words linger.

The docks.

I know whatever happens there will be worse than this.

Worse than hunger.

Worse than beatings.

Worse than silence.

I’ve grown numb in this cell, learned how to endure. But where they’re sending me… I know it won’t offer that comfort.

I wonder what hell waits on the other side.

Matty will save you. Just hold on a little longer.

But even as my inner voice echoes through my mind, I don’t believe it anymore.

If he were coming, he’d be here by now.

I’ve lost hope.

Lost hope in him.

And now… it’s too late.

When I get to the docks, everything will change.

I can feel it in my bones.

The nightmare they have waiting for me, I don’t know if I’ll survive it.

Or if I’ll even want to.

***

I jolt awake. My arms give out beneath me as I try to push myself up. I groan, dazed and dizzy. I blink fast, trying to understand what woke me.

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