Chapter 44 The Proposal
The Proposal
RIPLEY
Iwake up to the sound of metal creaking, a massive silhouette filling the open door to our cell.
It takes me a couple moments to get my bearings, blinking through the blurriness of sleep before I push myself back up against the wall, bracing for yet another assault.
My mind starts to drift to the ranch again, to Preacher and endless sunsets, and watching the dogs play in the yard.
Anywhere but here.
“Relax, I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Adonis’s gravelly voice fills the room as he slips toward me like a snake.
“Funny how I’m struggling to believe that,” I snarl.
I hear the flick of a lighter, my eyes going through that final little bit of adjustment as I watch the soft orange glow illuminate his face. After a puff or two, he crouches down in front of me and holds it out.
“What is this, a goddamn peace offering?” I hiss. “Get the fuck away from me.”
I can’t tell what’s worse, the stench of menthol wafting from his cigarette, or his horrific breath it hasn’t managed to cover up. He smells like he eats shit for breakfast, so I guess it’s no wonder he has to buy women.
“You got a lotta nerve talkin’ to me like that, angel.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me… so what do you want?”
“I wanna show you something. Upstairs.”
My eyes flick to my sister, still asleep in the other corner.
“Are you gonna at least give me the chance to say goodbye to her?”
“What for?” Adonis snorts. “You ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
He glances behind him.
“Her, though? Got quite a few men who would love to take a run at her.”
I take the moment of distraction and go with it, spitting right in his face when he turns back around, knowing full well what the consequences might be.
It lands on his cheek, and I wait for the strike or the screaming as it slides slowly down his face, but Adonis only stares at me, never breaking eye contact.
He finishes his smoke, tossing it to the ground, and I watch with coiled muscles while he fishes into his pocket for a tiny silver key. I could headbutt him, take it and free us, but of course I don’t know how many men he has outside, or how much firepower he has.
He hauls me to my feet, wordlessly slapping a pair of cuffs on my wrists before dragging me toward the door. I could be watching the last grains of sand slip through my own personal hourglass, and just like so many times before, I have no control.
But all I can think is that I’m leaving Wren again.
Alone.
Scared.
In the dark.
A lump forms in my throat as the door clicks shut and Adonis locks it tight. Looks like two of his men were standing outside the whole time, permanent frown lines etched into their foreheads. They’re big— maybe around Preacher’s height, so it seems I made the right call on the no-headbutt plan.
Adonis leads me up the stairs, dragging me by the cuffs just quick enough to make me stumble a couple times in the low-light.
When we reach yet another metal door, he knocks on it a couple times before a slat near the top slides open.
There’s some goon or other waiting outside, revealing the rest of the small jailhouse when he swings the door open, and confirming for about the hundredth time that even if I killed him in our cell, there was no way we were making it out of here.
This place looks like it hasn’t been touched in years, but I can see the faintest echoes of what was once a busy jailhouse.
A couple old uniforms and jackets still sit on the coat hangers, dusty phones where officers once took calls, a drunk tank off in the corner, and a few interrogation rooms with some less than savory sounds coming from behind closed doors.
“Some of the boys like to swing by for a couple of beers and a private room,” Adonis chuckles, speaking for the first time since we came upstairs. “We keep the good girls up here, by the way. You know, the ones who don’t cause any trouble.”
I wonder how many don’t make it.
How many bodies they’ve buried.
Adonis is sick, pathetic, and depraved. He’s everything I loathe, but with escape out of the picture, maybe there’s another option. If I get close enough, and I can get him to trust me, then…
Well, if Preacher can’t save us, I have to find a way to do it myself.
My bare feet slap against the floor, sore and swollen as Adonis leads me down a long hall, his men close in tow.
The lights are low, and even off completely in the spots with windows, probably on the off-chance someone swings by and alerts the cops…
if anyone even comes out this way. No doubt Adonis has them in his fucking pocket already anyway if McKinney was any indication.
“This here is where the magic happens.”
He pauses for dramatic effect, like he expects it to be some sort of grand revelation, but…
I mean it’s a fucking prison cafeteria. It even still has the yellow lines on the floor to tell prisoners where to file in to get their daily slop.
He’s turned the serving station into a bar, with bottles of half-empty whiskey lining the shelves, but it’s not like that’s made it any less depressing.
The whole place reeks like unwashed bodies, cigarette smoke, and cheap liquor.
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask. “To taunt me?”
“I could have done that down in your cage. I’m showing you where you’ll be working tomorrow night.” He grins, flashing me a mouthful of rotting teeth. “If you accept my proposal, that is.”
“Proposal?”
He reaches behind him, and my heart leaps into my throat when he whips out his pistol, aiming it directly at my forehead. That is, until I see the look in his eyes.
No commitment.
Just like Gabriel.
“You framed me,” he snarls, but his face quickly relaxes back into his cocky smirk. “The head and tongue were a nice touch, I have to admit, and I was extremely impressed with your own little sacrifice.”
He takes a step toward me, grabbing me by the jaw and forcing the pistol between my lips. The barrel tastes like sweat, and the blend of that with his own signature stench is enough to nearly make me vomit.
“You’re resourceful, and you’re vicious.” He tilts his head. “But you also need to be controlled. Disciplined. So, you’ll get to work for me for a while, and if you’re a very, very good girl… I’ll even let you recruit the new meat.”
My stomach churns at the thought of being his lackey, a fuck-toy that he’ll inevitably grow bored and discard. He will kill me, sooner or later. That much is clear.
Unless I kill him first.
He slowly slides the gun out of my mouth and I swallow hard.
“This place could use more of a feminine touch, don’t you think?”
“Sure, whatever you say, boss, but what do I get out of it?”
“Your life…”
Adonis flashes me those rotting teeth again. He really loves that fucking move.
“And hey, maybe your sister’s if someone doesn’t snap her up tomorrow night.” He shrugs. “Just depends on how generous I feel.”
“Alright, it’s a deal.”
He narrows his eyes, and I can see his suspicion already start growing; not to mention how much work I’m going to have to do to get him to trust me. I’ll need to get close to him, do everything he asks, and then once he’s let his guard down, he’s a dead man.
“You rolled over pretty easy.”
“Look, I’m not going anywhere, and you’ve seen for yourself I’ll do anything to survive.”
He frowns, like his tiny little brain’s working on overdrive just to grasp the concept, and I take the opportunity to start working my magic.
“You know, the man I was staying with?” I ask. “He taught me how to hunt.”
“Hunt?”
“People, Adonis.” I smile. “You’ve seen what I did to Gabriel— well, you saw the aftermath.”
“Yeah, I fuckin’ saw it,” he growls. “You’re a sick little puppy sometimes, Christine.”
It’s funny hearing that name now, knowing that he still sees me as that meek, terrified woman who took hit after hit and hid her bruises behind long sleeves and makeup. But he hasn’t seen the woman I’ve blossomed into.
Not really.
Not yet.
“All I’m saying is you seem like a guy who likes to hold on to power. I can help with that, get rid of your enemies… and so can Wren.”
“It’s awful nice of you to advocate for your sister, but I’m only interested in you.”
He needs to know that neither of us is a threat to him, and even though there’s nothing but fury running through my veins, I’ll be whoever I need to be to get that point across.
“Who’ve you got running that bar?”
“Dagger,” he replies flatly, nodding towards a short man in the corner with a patchy beard. “But all he does is crack open beers. He’s useless when it comes to anything else.”
I do my best to move on, and not to emotionally eviscerate a grown man with such a stupid nickname.
“You said this place needed a feminine touch,” I purr. “How about you let me and Wren handle the drinks. Your boys would probably like something stronger than beer, and I know your guests definitely will.”
He raises a brow, his eyes brimming with suspicion again.
“I don’t have a choice, Adonis. I either work for you, or you kill me, so consider this me acquiescing.”
“The fuck’s that mean?” He growls.
Everything I’ve learned from pretending to be a normal human goes into the smile: Demure, soft, and submissive, just the way he likes his girls. I know Adonis better than he thinks, and far better than he knows me.
“It means I’m surrendering. You won, Adonis. Enjoy it.”