Page 98 of Iris' Lying Eyes

“Her decision to defy the rules.”

Glancing at me with an unreadable expression, he says, “I forced her.”

Lorraine tips her head back and laughs. Under normal circumstances, this would be a joyful exclamation, but with her, it only makes me frown.

Wagging her finger at B, she says, “More fool her. But we still have to chat about it. Come.”

With dread dogging my steps, I follow her from the room. A last glance back reveals B watching us go with a frown. He should be disturbed. Maybe he can’t leave, but I defied the powers that be. I’ll be lucky to escape with a whipping.

Lorraine leads me across the way, and I warily enter the next room, staring at the chair in the middle of the floor.

“Torture time?” I sneer, and she shakes her head.

“You did this, child.”

“And you’re doing this. Where is he?”

“He’s around,” she says.

“I want to speak to him.”

“Not now. When he’s ready to talk to you, you’ll know it.”

“Lorraine, you know I need to talk to him. Maybe I can explain.”

Her mouth purses as she eyes me thoughtfully. “Sit.”

“If I don’t?”

“I’ll tie you to that chair and cut off your fingers one by one. I like you, Iris. Don’t make this worse than it has to be.”

Okay. Sliding onto the chair, I raise my chin. I don’t know whether to be terrified or flattered by her words, so I settle on both.

“What now?” I ask.

“You brought them here. Why?”

“Because I was threatened.”

“You knew this was supposed to remain a secret. He’s going to be very displeased. And what about my family, Iris?”

“Jig isn’t going to say anything,” I say tiredly. “As for the rest, what if she’s fucked?”

Lorraine’s eyes sharpen, and she drops before me. “That’s not our problem.”

“What? Lorraine, you knew,” I rasp. Shaking her head, she touches my knee.

“For all your hardness, you’re remarkably naive. What did you think was going to happen, child?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper uneasily. I guess maybe I was hoping for more. Once again, I got that really fucking wrong.

The notion sets my teeth on edge, and I glance at my feet. Why didn’t I just give her money and set her free? Oh, right. I was still bargaining for my own freedom.

“Lorraine, we can make this right.”

Her head whips around, and she stands. “No, it’s too late now.”

“Why? Because of your son? Alice?” I ask softly.

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