Page 33 of Loki
Hopefully we could get her out without any bloodshed. But no matter what happened or how bloody it got, Nikki was coming home.
“I know you probably have the money, but there’s no price limit to getting her back. If you need more, call me.”
“Will do.”
“Let me know when you have her.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
I ended the call, feeling a mix of frustration, exhaustion, and downright anger and let out an audible sigh. Shit was about to get real. I couldn’t believe Nikki was caught up in this shit.
I picked up the picture we had of the girls on the beach. I stared at how happy she looked. How carefree. And in that moment, I realized how much of a shit person I had been all these years for not keeping up with her like I promised. That shit was going to change.
A knock sounded at the door, and I wiped my hand down my face. I was so fucking tired. I couldn’t get any sleep. Couldn’t fuck to fall asleep and the one thing I knew could help me, would fuck my entire life up. I was so ready for all this shit to be over.
“Come in!” I shouted.
The door opened and in stepped, New York followed closely by Lila. Her eyes were planted on the floor and her steps timid. Yes, this was an unhealthy attachment Lila had to New York, and I knew I’d have to address it after we saved Nikki.
“Lila, I need you to look at a couple of pictures for me. Can you do that?”
The girl was as skittish as a mouse running from a predator. I didn’t blame her, but it didn’t make communicating with her easy. I tried to soften my voice as much as possible, but her body still shook whenever I tried to speak to her. That was her reaction to everyone except New York.
The only person she really responded to was New York, and it made him uneasy. He was so much older than her, he had no sisters, no old lady, and no girlfriend. He had absolutely no idea how to navigate a situation with a traumatic teenager.
Her large doe eyes flicked to New York’s, and he nodded.
“We need your help, if we’re going to get them all out,” he said.
New York’s voice was unusually calm and soft. I guess this was the only way she’d respond to anything he said.
I stuck the picture out to her, and she grabbed it. Her eyes filled with tears and fell down her cheeks. “She helped me. They have her, don’t they?”
I ran my hand through my hair. “I’m not sure, but I think so.”
She turned to New York and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his body, and sobbing into his shirt. Awkwardly he held his arms away from her and focused on me with his eyes as big as saucers. He didn’t know how to comfort anyone, especially a teenager who had been through such horrific shit. If this wasn’t such a fucked up situation, I would laugh at how fucking terrified he looked.
“Lila, do you remember this man?” I asked.
She slowly pulled away from New York and he breathed a sigh of relief. I held out the picture, and she reluctantly grabbed it, stared at it for a moment, then shook her head before handing it back to me.
“They kept me in the cage except for when we had to get ready for that party. The only men I saw where the ones who took the women and brought them back. He wasn’t one of them.”
I let out another sigh. “Okay. I need to talk to New York, can you please excuse us?”
I saw the hesitation in her gaze to leave him. “Remember what I told you, Lila,” New York said. “You’re safe here with the Sinners. Nobody will touch you.”
She let out a slow breath before she nodded then walked out the office, closing the door behind her.
New York let out a breath of relief as he plopped down in the chair in front of my desk.
“You good?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She’s clingy and I understand that she thinks I’m safe for whatever reason but it’s so fucking uncomfortable. I haven’t even been able to get my dick wet with the club whores because she’s always by my side.” He ran his hand through his hair. “But once we get everyone out of this shit, I’m sure things will calm down with her. At least I fucking hope so.”
“I’m sure it will. She just needs somebody she can trust. Why she picked you, I have no fucking clue.”
“Me either, Prez.”
