Page 75 of The Players

Joy filled her at the thought that she hadn’t been dreaming back then. It was real. Marni had found her.

“You called me that before. Marni. Mar. Ni.” The way she pronounced her own name sounded as if she was trying a new language, tasting the foreign syllables on her tongue.

“Yes, that’s your name. Marni.” Carmen gestured inside. Even though she had been ready to leave, it felt odd to have this conversation on the porch. “Won’t you come in? We could talk.” There was so much she wanted to ask and tell the girl. “Your family will be so glad to hear—”

Marni’s head snapped up. “My family?”

“Yes, your parents…”

Her eyes narrowed. “Numbers don't have parents. We have sisters. Had a dozen of them. Now there’s only two left—Nine and Four. I'll set them free. Have to set them free.”

“Marni.” Carmen looked at the girl cautiously, then past her, to the car still parked in the driveway. “Where’s my driver?”

A growl entered Marni’s voice and Carmen took a step back.

“Dead.”

Then the world exploded.

Carmen woke up with the headache of all headaches. She groaned as she tried to piece together where she was and what had happened to her. She tried to move her hand to knead away the pain, but couldn’t. That’s when she noticed she was tied to a chair, her mouth taped shut. Panic ran through her body as she realized she was in a room with bars on the window.

How?

Marni…

A sudden coldness hit at her core.

The door creaked open and Keegan appeared, followed by Marni. Dread filled her stomach.

“You didn’t really think I’d forget about you, did you?” he muttered, sitting in a chair opposite where she was tied to hers. He leaned closer, a hand to his ear. “Say what now? Are you sorry that you didn’t accept my offer?”

The duct tape over her mouth prevented her from speaking, so instead, she gave him a glare.

She looked past him, to where Marni was standing in a military stance, her arms crossed behind her back, legs wide. Her face was completely devoid of emotion. Dressed up in black leathers, with knives strapped onto her thighs, she resembled a cold-blooded killer.

Keegan slapped her cheek. “Look at me, bitch!”

Her head snapped up to him.

“Such big, juicy tits,” he continued.

Her gut churned, acid building. She was breathing heavily through her nose, trying to keep calm. The man was disgusting. Even with her mouth free, she wouldn’t have wasted her breath on him.

“I would love to suck on them,” he whispered.

Her pulse spiked and she closed her eyes so his lecherous look would disappear. He chuckled at her reaction.

At least he’s reacting.

Unlike Marni, who stands like a statue, looking lobotomized.

She didn’t understand the connection between the two, nor did she care about it. Whatever had happened to that girl, she wasn’t to blame for it. Carmen could only imagine what she must have gone through. To see what had become of the spirited little girl from ten years ago was gruesome.

“You kinda fell into my lap,” he said, as he looked back at Marni. “Seven saw you at Brian’s and decided to tail you like the good dog she is. At exactly the right time. See, a birdie told me the Bloody Ones are hunting Morelli as we speak. I heard Viking blew up his house. So, he’s out. Now, all I need is to take out Romanov and anyone backing him.” He grabbed her chin, his nails digging into her skin. “I’m gonna start with you. Leave that Polack and Spaghetti eater a nice surprise.”

Sy was from Scandinavian descent, and Vince loved Mexican food more than Italian, but she didn’t think Keegan would be interested in hearing that. He was too busy telling about his grand plan of how tonight, reinforcements would show up, and he would take Kristoff out. By the end of his evil fantasy story, he was ruling the entire West Coast, like a king of old.

Didn’t he ever get tired of hearing his own voice?

---