Page 4 of Property of Fang
Eleanor stares at the ground before her, arms tightening around a wide-eyed Kid.
I take Kathy’s hand to ground her.
“Who fucking killed her!” The guy’s roar shakes the room, jolting Nandi and Mila where they sit and making Eleanor’s head snap up.
“What if nobody knows how it happened?” Eleanor asks. “What if Mary-Beth did it to herself?”
“You expect me to believe she just bashed her goddamn head against the ground until she killed herself andnoneof you knew about it?” He laughs, sinister and dark. “Try again, lady.”
“Maybe she did?” I protest. “You knew when you put us down here that she was having withdrawals.” I glance to the trackmarks on her arms as I add, “What if it made her crazy enough to do that without meaning to?” Lord knows, it made her crazy enough to think she could trade information for drugs with the monsters.
“You bitches are all full of nothin’ but bullshit stories, you know that?” He pushes off the door and stalks toward me, closing the space in two brisk steps. “You were next to her. Didn’t notice her smacking her potato against the fucking ground all night?”
I match his glare. “There are a lot of noises down here at night that I ignore.”
“Pays not to ignore them when they cost me money.”
Of course.Therein lies the truth. He’s worried about losing a sale, not about her life. “You want me to Venmo you the cash? Can I pay it off in monthly installments?”
The back of his hand cracks against my jaw, snapping my head to the left. My hand pulls from Kathy’s with the movement, and I find myself face-to-face with the side of Mary-Beth’s face, tasting blood on my tongue. She would have loved to see him do that.
“Anyone?” he asks again, growing increasingly impatient. “If none of you have any answers, then we need to give you a reason to talk.” He lunges toward Eleanor, grabbing hold of The Kid’s arm and tearing her from the woman’s clutches.
“No!” Eleanor cries, grasping for The Kid’s legs. “You leave her out of this!”
The Kid whimpers—the closest thing she’s done to talking since they shoved her in the back of the van with us.
Nandi slams her hand against the door and rises to her feet, blocking his exit. “Put The Kid down.”
“Out of the way.” He reaches for the handle.
Nandi chops her arm down over his, knocking his grasp off the round knob.
His eyes widen to match hers, equally as shocked at her audacity. His left arm bands tight around the kicking Kid’s middle. “The fuck is this? Some kind of mutiny?” He leers a chilling smile. “You showing me the same attitude that killed someone last night, darlin’?”
I jerk to my feet, but it’s too late.
Nandi balls what moisture is left in her parched mouth and spits in the older man’s face.
The asshole punches her square in the nose, Eleanor lunging for his arm to no avail.
Mila cries out as Nandi crumples to the floor, her unconscious body folding in on itself when the fucker pulls the door open against her and leaves with The Kid, Eleanor hot on his heels, begging for leniency as she chases him out of the cellar.
My stomach roils, and I drop to the ground as I fight the urge to vomit.
She’s only a child.
TWO
FANG
The cigarette burns steadilytoward the filter pinched between my fingers, my gaze stuck on the glowing ember while Jinx enters the clubhouse behind me. I meant what I said to our Vice President—I don’t want my daughter growing up in this life, thinking all of this is normal.
Because it’s not.
And it’s the fucking job that we ride out for in less than an hour, which has me standing on the fucking porch of the clubhouse, smoking when I said I’d quit, considering the consequences of my past actions.
Trafficked women.
