Page 11 of Throne of Sin

“You always were trouble. What type of mess did you get yourself into this time?”

“I’m not in trouble. It’s just that Oakleigh has very expensive medication.”

My mother cuts me off. “I can hardly feed myself and you want me to raise your child, feed her,andpay for medication?”

Frustration pricks at my nerves. I raise my hand in her face to stop her from saying anything else. “No, Mother. I will pay for all of that. For me to do that, I need to go out of town to work for a bit.” At least, I hope it’s for a little bit and not forever. I can’t even fathom never seeing Oakleigh’s beautiful face again. She’s the reason I get up in the morning.

“I have no groceries. If I’m feeding her dinner, you will need to give me a hundred right away.”

I dig into my pocket and pull out a few crumpled bills. “Here’s twenty-five. It’s all I have on me right now.” I place it into my mother’s wrinkled hand. “By tonight you’ll receive a package of money, I promise. You need to buy her medication first, then the rest is yours for food and bills.” Her eyes light up at the promise of money. I pull out a folded-up piece of paper that has my daughter’s prescription scribbled on it in that penmanship that only doctors and pharmacists can read. “If you do one thing right for me, Mom, please take care of my little girl. Place her before yourself. She’s the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. She’s smart and caring. I promise she will listen and help you around the house.” I clear my voice, trying to stay calm and unemotional.

“Fine,” she concedes. Relief floods my nerves and I wrap my mother’s fragile body in a hug.

“Thank you so much, Mom. This means the world to me.” It’s not that my mother was horrible or mean…she just never had the capacity to be there for me. I release my hold on her as she wiggles to get out of my grasp.

“What if Jameson comes by again?” she asks.

“You never saw me and hide Oakleigh.” My heart rate rockets hearing Jameson’s name and knowing I can’t be here to protect my baby girl. I silently promise that I’ll come and get Oakleigh as soon as I can.

“Oak!” I call out and she comes back with my cat in her arms. Stitches has never let anyone hold her, not even me.

“You be good for your grandma.” I turn to my mom. “Mom, this is Oakleigh.”

“Well, come on in, girl. Standing out there will make your cold worse.” Oakleigh is ushered into my old house and the door is slammed in my face without further ado.

My throat tightens and it’s hard to breathe.I have to do this. I suck in a breath but it comes in shallow, almost too little oxygen to breathe properly, and I begin to panic. The front window curtain moves and Oakleigh is standing there giving me a wave. I wave back and force myself off the steps. I don’t want her to see me freaking out.

My body feels like it weighs a hundred tons as I walk back to my car. My leg bounces on the gas as I pull out of the driveway and drive away from my daughter, making it hard to keep speed. I pull toward an alleyway, hoping to siphon some gas to make it back into the city.

I end up having to stop three times to steal gas from other cars, but I’m able to make it back to the city with the red needle on empty once again. My car stops just before the seedy alleyway.

I walk toward the underground parking, trying to remember the directions I once heard. The building looks vacant but I know better. It's ironic how Jameson’s threats of bringing me here used to scare me, and now I’m walking up willingly. The hairs on my arms stand straight the closer I get.This is my last chance to earn enough money for Oakleigh.

As I get closer to the famous red door that played a recurring role in my nightmares, I see the two guards holding machine guns. The moment I’m in their view, their barrels are aimed at me. They escort me through some underground passages and into a small room. It’s cold, humid, and I can hear the faint sound of water dripping.

“What the hell is this?” The harsh sound comes from a man entering the room. He glares at me, then his guards. Goosebumps flow over my skin, highlighting every hair follicle on my arms.

My heart jackhammers, and I clear my voice. “I’m placing myself on sale.” My spine straightens as he looks me over with a predatory gaze and I hold my breath, waiting for a response. He’s scary looking, with scar pits on his face. So this is the man Jameson had threatened to send me to multiple times over the years. He traffics black market organs and women. My dreams didn’t do him justice. He’s way more frightening in real life.

“What the hell do you think we do here?”

My voice better not let me down. “Jameson told me to come to you,” I lie. “You have an auction tonight and I want to be part of it.” Surprisingly, my voice is strong and fierce.

“You’re a little ripe for the pickings here tonight.”

I raise a brow and my heart goes into my throat. “What do you mean?”

“You’re old. The girls on sale tonight are young, beautiful, and innocent. The men in that room like virgins. But you look healthy… let me take a kidney.” He walks up and touches my stomach feeling what I’m assuming is my kidney. His hands are rough and I automatically step away from his touch. My stomach twists sharply. Looking around the room there’s no escape now.

“You’re forgetting men like experience. Put me on the stage.” His eyes cast down my body with disgust, and disinterest. He nods to his guards and one of them pokes their gun into my back.

“Please.” I fall to my knees. “I have to do this. The only thing I ask is for you to send my mother a thousand dollars every week for five months.”

“Women don’t return to their lives. This isn’t some resort you book for your family vacation.”

I’m crying, even though I’m trying like Hell not to. “I have no other choice,” I beg. “Put me on first, before they see the others.” I hold on to his legs. “All I ask is that you send my mother a thousand a week until you reach ten thousand.” That will give me two or three months to get back to my daughter.

“I’m not a bank. What the hell was Jameson thinking sending you here? You’re useless to me.”

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