Page 77 of His Puppet

“I need you to understand something, Victor, so listen carefully. Are you ready?”

He stares at me like he’s concerned for my sanity, but he nods.

“Ifuckinghate you. I hope, one day, someone inflicts the same pain on you as you’ve caused others. We are not friends. We are not ‘work buddies.’ I will do what I have to do, but I will not joke or talk with you anymore. I won’t even look at you if I don’t have to.”

He nods again, and now I know how the older man at the pub feels with the fake respect. “Okay, whatever you want.”

I stand straight and nod curtly. “Good.”

“You done?”

“Almost,” I say, rearing my hand back. I crack my palm against his face, whipping his head to the side. His body tenses, and his fists clench at his sides, but he doesn’t move.

I lean forward. “That’s for Ellison,” I hiss in his ear. I stand straight and raise my chin. “Now I’m done.”

I start toward the car, and Victor follows on my heels.

“Is that what this is about?” he asks, his voice low.

I don’t answer, and when we get to the car, he flips me around and pins me to it. He looks around to make sure no one is watching, and when his eyes meet mine, I feel a twinge of fear.

“Look, if you want to hate me, that’s cool. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. But if you’re acting crazy because I gave one of your friends a little beat down, you’re just making a fool out of yourself. That guy flipped on you in a second.”

I scoff while shoving at Victor’s shoulder, and he lets me push him away. “Yeah, right.”

“You don’t believe me? It took me less than two hours to track you down in a city flooded with people. How else could I do that?”

A bolder lodges in my throat, and my face falls.

No.

“It tooknothingfor him to write down every possible place you might have been. If I remember correctly, there was a homeless shelter on sixth. A bakery you used to break into and steal food from after you found the owner’s misplaced key, which, according to your friend, was how you got your start as a pickpocket. That one I remember because it was such a heartfelt little tale. And the place I found you was within the district he told me you used to squat in.”

I search my mind for some explanation of how Victor could know that without learning it from Ellison.

There is no explanation. Ellison is the only person I ever told any of that to.

My stomach bottoms out.

“Believe me now?” he asks.

“You said two hours.” I shake my head and search for some part of his statement to be a lie. Anything that could unravel what he’s telling me. “I was able to hide from you people for the rest of the day and well into the night before you found me.”

“Because after I got what I needed from your friend, I had to get Blade’s permission to go get you… And I like to hunt at night.” Victor shuffles his feet nervously. “Listen, I lied to Blade and told him I didn’t get anything from your buddy. He wouldn’t have let me be the one to look for you if he thought someone else was capable. So, this stays between us too, okay?”

“Fuck you,” I say, my voice low and incredulous. I step forward and shove him. “Fuck you, you fucking asshole!”

He puts his hands up and looks around, waving to people passing by and giving the ‘all okay’ signal.

“All right, fuck me,” he angry whispers, shooting daggers from his eyes. “But keep your voice down, you crazy bitch.”

I don’t say anything. I’m too lost in my head, too confused to care anymore about Victor. Tears leak onto my cheeks as Victor opens the car door for me and guides me inside. He walks around the car and gets behind the wheel, not moving to start the car.

“I’m sorry for what I just said.” He sighs. “Can we please—”

“Did Ellison go to the police?” I ask, thinking about what Ellison told me.

“What? No. The guy pissed himself and cried like a little bitch before I left. He’s not that brave.”

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