23. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Quinn
I meet Gabriel’s eye, and there’s a moment of silent communication as the girl on the screen creeps toward the basement. We’ve both seen this slasher movie before, but Eve has not. I ready myself for the exact moment the jump scare will happen.
As the killer leaps out with the knife, I poke Eve in the ribs. She shoots out of her seat, screaming, and Gabriel and I dissolve into laughter. She’s just so easy to scare, and even though I’ve spooked her several times today, it just keeps getting funnier.
She flops back onto the sofa with a huff, but she’s smiling.
Today has been way more fun than I expected, despite Gabriel refusing every time I suggested the movies would be better with a beer. Jacob has laid down the law, and Gabriel isn’t going to go against him.
Once he relaxed and lost his angry attitude, he started to be fun, and he loves horror movies almost as much as I do. Eve is new to them, and I’ve enjoyed scaring the panties off her with some of my favorites. Today is the first time I’ve felt anything like normal.
Eve keeps staring at my wrist cuffs, and I can tell she’s dying to ask but forcing herself not to. I know how she feels. All day, I’ve been watching how she interacts with Gabriel, and my theory about her being a great actor waiting for her moment to escape is looking less and less likely.
The physical affection, she could fake, but it’s more than that. There’s a connection between them that’s obvious from a mile away. I’m waiting for my chance to ask, and when a phone call takes Gabriel from the room, I pounce.
I elbow Eve. “Go on. Ask about the cuffs.”
Her hand flies to her mouth. “Sorry. Was I that obvious? I’m too curious for my own good. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. They’re a fucked-up thing Jacob put on me because he doesn’t want me touching myself. An alarm goes off, and they vibrate hard enough to give bruises if I keep my hand down there longer than ten seconds.”
Eve’s mouth drops. “Oh God. Don’t tell Gabriel. He’ll get a set for me.”
We both stare at each other, then burst out giggling. I’m not sure why, though it feels amazing to let go and really laugh. Maybe it’s a joint realization of how messed up this conversation is. To anyone in the outside world, it would sound insane.
Eve wipes at her eyes. “Sorry. You get used to weird things like this here.” She shakes her head. “I’ve seen some crazy sights in the refectory.”
I’m tempted to ask what they were, but Gabriel could be back any second. I glance at the door. “So, can I ask what’s the deal with you two? Are you just faking it, or do you really love him? And what’s with the collar?” I squint at it, looking at it properly. “Has it changed since the other night?”
Her eyes widen. She’s probably surprised by my bluntness—people often are, even in the real world. Here, people seem even more inclined to bullshit and talk in half truths.
She chews her lip. “It’s real. Me and Gabriel, I mean. I wasn’t sure at first if it was just a kind of Stockholm syndrome. But I wouldn’t leave him even if I could. I love him. When he first put the collar on me, I wasn’t sure about it, but now…” She touches the circle, running her finger along the edge. It shifts from silver stars to pink hearts. “I love it, too. He made it specially for me.”
Fuck. Well, that settles that. I’m tempted to ask how the color change happens, but another question pulls at me. “Don’t you miss being free, though? The outside world?”
She nods slowly. “I do. I’d love to be able to go back, even just for a few days.”
Her face falls, and a guilty lurch hits my stomach. She’s found happiness here, and I’m fucking it up by reminding her of what she’s lost. Maybe the reason Wards don’t talk about their captivity isn’t because they’re cowards. Maybe it’s because they’re too kind to keep reminding each other of it.
She brightens with what looks like an effort. “I get to do amazing things here, though, like working with Jacob. I’d never in a million years have been able to do the sort of work I’m doing here outside. To work directly with someone like him…it’s a dream come true.”
I frown. “Is he really that much of a big shot? Like that famous scientist guy, the one in the wheelchair?”
“Stephen Hawking?” I nod. “Not as famous as him, but in the biochemistry world, not far off.”
Well, shit. And he’s chosen little old me, who flunked out of chemistry in ninth grade. Why? If he wants a science buddy, he’s way off base. All that stuff puts me to sleep.
I want to ask more, but Gabriel pushes the door open. Eve frowns as soon as she sees him, seeing something on his face that I don’t. “What is it?”
Gabriel sighs. “Jacob’s had some bad news. His sister’s been in an accident and lost a leg.”
Eve gasps, and my heart lurches. Accident? After him being shot at? No. It’s too much of a coincidence. “Bullshit. Someone did it on purpose, didn’t they?”
Gabriel’s lips thin. “We’re not talking about this. Talk to Jacob when he gets back.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s gone to his grandad. He’s in his eighties and really upset, so Jacob is going to stay the night.”
Am I disappointed? Every logical bone in my body says I shouldn’t be. A quiet night free of any sort of sexual torture or punishment? Yay!
Except the heavy feeling in my gut says otherwise. Some stupid part of me had been looking forward to him getting home. To needling him and trying to get a reaction. Do I have a death wish? Maybe.
Sleeping without him is going to be weird, though. His big, solid presence has come to mean safety, even though he’s anything but.
"What will happen to me?" I blurt out. "Do I… Did he tell you to…" I can't even get the words out. I try not to, but I glance toward the bedroom where the cage awaits. Surely he wouldn't want me in there for the night. Not after what happened, especially if he wasn't nearby to help me. But I haven't exactly proven myself trustworthy either.
“He’s giving you another chance. You’d better not mess it up.” Gabriel’s face is set in hard lines, stern again. “He’ll call you later.”
The heavy silence is uncomfortable, the relaxed mood of the day shattered. Eve puts the movie back on, but the scares don’t seem so funny anymore. If someone is hunting Jacob and people he cares about, we could all be in danger.
After a takeout burger and fries that taste better than ninety percent of the food I’ve ever eaten, Gabriel and Eve wish me a good night and leave me alone. It’s too quiet without them, so I turn on Spotify on the TV and laugh at Jacob’s playlists. He’s into dad-rock, boring old bands from the seventies and eighties. Why am I not surprised?
I need to drag his taste in music, and home decor, into this decade. Maybe I’ll start with…
My thoughts screech to a halt. What am I doing? I’m making long-term plans, that’s what I’m fucking doing. Planning how to furnish my cage so it’s more comfortable instead of looking for the door. No. I can’t let myself fall into that trap. As long as I stay on my game, there’s hope.
I try the front door. Locked, of course. The windows next, though we’re on the third floor. Locked too. I force myself to keep looking, to search every inch of the place for a maintenance hatch or an air vent. The sort of thing people always seem to find in movies. Nothing.
Being here by myself, I feel like a true captive, the locked door staring me right in the face. I never used to mind my own company, but since the accident, I’ve tried to fill every moment of my time. If I’m busy, I can’t think. I can’t relive the night of the crash.
When my phone rings, it’s a relief. Jacob’s face pops up on the screen, and he looks exhausted. All I can see behind him is a picture of a man and a boy, the boy holding up a fish with a big grin on his face. I look closer and smile. “You were a cute kid. What happened to the ears, though? Did you have them pinned back?”
He frowns, then spins his head back to look at the picture. “Shit. Forgot that was there. And nope, never got them pinned back. Just grew into them, I guess.”
He stifles a yawn. I ask the question I should probably have asked first. “How’s your sister?”
His face darkens. “She’s alive, but she’s lucky. Managed to catch herself as she fell. Only her leg copped it. I’m having her flown over here to get fitted with a prosthetic.”
“What, here? Like here here. The Compound?”
“No. There’s a medical facility in the closest town, totally private, funded by the Brotherhood. It lets us give our families the benefit of our medicine without bringing them inside. Some of what we have isn’t approved for general use yet.”
Superior experimental medicine. Exactly the sort of thing that might save Marlowe. The idea is a shot of lightning straight in my veins. Would it be possible, or are Wards just not that important? How much do the Brotherhood care about their sex slaves?
The question feels heavy as it leaves my lips. “What about families of Wards?”
I shouldn’t have blurted it out yet. He’s in shock from his sister and looks about to collapse. Why didn’t I wait for a better time?
He pulls the phone closer, eyes fully focused on me. “Yes. Families of Wards, too. What do you need?”
Hope. It’s a flutter deep in my heart. I’ve tried my best to stamp it out, obliterating it with booze and drugs, because the disappointment every time I visited Marlowe was slowly killing me. But now it springs back to life, and it all comes out in a flood.
“My sister. Foster sister if it matters, but we were together most of my life. She’s in a coma. We were in a car crash six months ago and I—”
I almost spill it out, the filthy secret that’s been poisoning me. But I hit a brick wall, as always, and say, “I walked away. She didn’t.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, love.” Jacob’s voice is softer than usual. “I’ll make the arrangements tomorrow. We’ll have her transferred in the next couple of days. If there’s anything to be done, we’ll do it.”
It's that easy. In one sentence, Marlowe's future goes from a hopeless case in an underfunded hospital to being worked on by top doctors with access to ultra-modern medicine. My ears hear the words, but it takes a while for them to sink in, and I sit there, silent and staring.
“Quinn? You okay?”
I blink fast to try to stave off tears, but they come anyway. I sniff and swipe at my eyes. My voice cracks as I say, “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Least we can do, really, given the circumstances.”
I laugh, though my throat is still tight. Trust Jacob to be that blunt. “Since you put it that way, I’ll take a Rolex too.”
“Sure. I don’t know watches, but we can ask Seb. He’ll find one to suit you.”
“What? No, I don’t actually want one. They’re tacky. I just meant…” His smirk tips me off. “Oh. Very funny. You Brits really are hilarious.” I try to match his deadpan delivery, but it just doesn’t work without the accent.
“Glad you think so. I’ll be back tomorrow morning—didn’t want to leave Grandad by himself. He’s had a few whiskeys and is really upset.”
“I’m sure he is. Do you have any idea who’s doing this?” I bite my lip before asking, “And is the Compound safe? Eve and everyone else?”
It hits me as I say the words. I’ve actually started to care about these people. Eve for sure, but even the other Wards. And though I want to stab myself in the eyeball for it, I wouldn’t wish harm on Gabriel or Sebastian either. I should. Why don’t I?
Could I shoot either of them if it meant getting my freedom? Could I shoot Jacob? One day, I might have to make that choice.
Is this what Stockholm syndrome feels like?
“The Compound is the safest place on the planet. Unless this bloke has nuclear missiles in his back pocket, you’re safe there, love. Don’t worry.”
I don’t know if that’s reassuring or terrifying. Jacob yawns again, and it passes to me. He rubs a hand across his chin. He’s showing stubble there for the first time. Even on the phone screen, I like it. It makes him look even more dangerous. Hopefully he won’t shave it before he comes back.
What the fuck am I thinking? I really must be tired.
“Right, I’m beat. You should go to sleep too.” His voice drops as if he doesn’t want to be overheard. Probably because his grandad isn’t far away. “No touching yourself before sleep, remember. I’m sure you must be dying to by now, but you know what’ll happen.”
Shit. I hadn’t been thinking about it, but now he’s put the idea in my head, and he’s right. It’s been too long already. “Thanks for the reminder.”
He smiles. “No problem. Happy to help. And just so you know, tomorrow, I’m fucking that tight little pussy of yours, whatever happens. Sleep well.”