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“Good job, girl,” Kim practically sings through the barrier between us. “I’m proud of you. I hope he dies a painful death. In the least, he can never hurt anyone else again. I’m just so glad to hear your voice. I’m so thankful you’re alive.”
I don’t say anything in response. A part of me wants to ask questions about this new level of hell I’ve found myself in. But judging by the circumstances, it can’t be much better than the hell I left.
“There’s someone else here,” Kim calls out. “Her name is Angel. She’s been keeping me company. We’re not in the same cell, but we can hear each other. She’s on the other side of me. She says hello.”
“Hello,” I say back. “Why is she in here?”
“She doesn’t know. She said someone might have thought she was being disloyal. She says she can’t figure it out. But the SL, the supreme leader, he comes in with his red hood. He’s taken us both.”
So that’s what waits for me.
I run my tongue over my front teeth and they give a wobble. They just have to hold on for a little bit longer.
There might be one more man I need to bite into pieces.
20
Special Agent Fallon Baxter
With little to no effort I shore up the invite for coffee with Sloan.
It’s late morning and I just trekked over to Denver, to the Pour a Cuppa Coffee Shop that sits nestled against the Front Range. Inside, the thick scent of coffee acts like an aphrodisiac and a hypnotic all rolled into one. A series of picture windows highlight the sheer mountainsides outside and manage to usher in all of their rugged glory.
The place is packed. There’s lots of reclaimed wood on the walls and floors, and the soft hum of conversation is just a notch louder than the jazz music playing overhead. I place my order and spot a thin brunette with a bright pink T-shirt waving at me with slight hesitancy from the back. She’s dressed just as she said she would be, her hair swept up with a large silver clip. I collect my latte and head that way.
“Sloan?” I say, trying out my best happy-to-see-you tone, twinged with just enough naiveté. The last thing I want to do is be myself. I’m far too cut and dry, far too jaded to ever be invited into a cult of any kind.
“That’s me,” she says, bouncing out of her seat and offering me a spontaneous hug, far too tight, far too needy. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that. And for that reason alone, I’m glad I didn’t bring my gun. A part of me wonders if that was a technique to see if I had one. That right there was more action than I’ve seen in months.
Jack comes to mind and I frown out the windows just ahead of us. Both he and Nikki insisted on having lunch across the street in the event something goes awry. I appreciate the safety net, but I’m pretty sure I can handle this one.
Sloan looks about my age, maybe pushing forty at best, with a thin frame, wide smile, and heavily drawn-in eyes. Judging by the many direct messages we exchanged over the past week, I suspected she might be bubbly, but with her bouncing and giggling and nonstop praise of my hair, she’s far more effervescent than I gave her credit for.
“I can’t believe we’re finally meeting in person. Tell me everything about yourself, Chastity,” she says as we land in our seats.
“I grew up in Reno. My father died a few years back and my mother lives in Florida with her sister. We don’t have much to do with one another. I have a sister in Canada and that’s about it.” I try to match her glee as I give a little giggle but sound more like an injured walrus.
“Okay.” She sobers up as she nods. “So you don’t have much family. How about friends? You know, to network with.”
“I just moved here from Reno, so tag you’re it,” I sing and her eyes widen as if she’s just caught a live one. Little does she know, it’s the other way around.
I figured I’d whittle down the work she’d have to do to lure me to her lair. Or at least, her leader’s lair. The man who wears the red hood has me more than a little intrigued. I have a feeling he holds more than one key in this blood-soaked mystery.
I need to get myself to Paradise, as an insider. And I’m about to employ a few tricks and tips I inadvertently gleaned from my new buddy Sloan to cinch the deal.
“Well, we are friends,” she says, clasping her hands over mine. Her fingers are icy, and I’m restraining the urge to shudder from her touch. It’s not that I don’t like to be touched, it’s just that I don’t want to be touched by her. Especially since there are nefarious intentions at play here.
“Thank you,” I say, threading our fingers together in an effort to remove any barrier of doubt. “I can’t believe I met someone so nice the second I arrived. And like I said, I’m desperate for work. Right now, I’m doing surge hours at a local fast food place near the hostel I’m staying in. They’re paying me under the table. It’s not exactly where I envisioned my life would be at this point. But I still have my mom’s credit card. I can afford a few classes.”
“A youth hostel?” She inches back. “Oh, Chastity.” She shakes her head with a genuine look of horror. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you stay there. Okay, first things first. How serious are you about dedicating your time and effort to being the best you possible?”
“I have no other choice,” I say. “It’s do or die. And right about now, I’d do just about anything to change my circumstances. I mean, don’t they say when you’re at the bottom, there’s only one way to go and that’s up? That’s me in a nutshell.”
“You seem smart.” She cocks her head to the side and examines me once again as if her suspicions were aroused.
“I have an AA degree in marketing,” I say quickly. Do those exist? “I mean, I’m a couple of units shy of getting it. I went back to finish, but it was too much.”
“Oh hon.” She clucks her tongue as a look of pity takes over her bloated features. “I’m going to take care of this for you. You’ve got a great personality. You’re pretty. So right out the gate, you have everything going for you. Okay, I’m going to tell you right now, I’m taking you on as a part of my team.” She pinches her lips with her fingers. “Do you think you’d be willing to help pull more people into the Quantum universe? You know, sell the key course and maybe engage in some upsells as well?”
