“He really thinks he can buy us that easily,” Hunt commented.
“Like I said earlier,” Fanny said, “Magnum gets his way regardless. It behooves you to make it easy on yourselves.”
“And you feel good about working for a man like that?” I asked.
Fanny’s smile dropped. “Magnum is many things, not all obvious to those who don’t know him well.”
“And you know him well?”
“Very.”
“So you approve of him killing us to get us here?” Layla pressed.
“Everyone does questionable things. That doesn’t inform the entire picture of what they’re about, who they are, why they do the things they do.”
Layla opened her mouth, no doubt to question that remarkably dubious standard of hers, but Fanny beat her to it.
“Now that you’ve seen the garage, I’ll show you the rest of the house.” Her tone was flat. Like,How dare we criticize the perfect little murderer?
“No thanks,” Brady said, some of his former awe remaining despite the fresh reminder of why we were standing in this truly outstanding garage. “I’m gonna live right here with Bonnie. I won’t even ask how he got her here; I’m just happy to see her.”
A hint of her previous amusement danced across Fanny’s face. “Then perhaps I’ll leave you here to make your own way upstairs.”
Half of us still taking in the cars, we nodded.
“The fridge is fully stocked. When you go to your classes, training, or checkups, staff will come in to clean and tidy up, and a chef will prepare your meals. If you have any specific requests, send them to me, and I’ll make sure Magnum gets them.”
“Oh-kay,” I said. This was all so over the top, I was finding fewer words than usual.
Fanny’s gaze alighted on me. “Do any of you need a nurse to come check you out?”
“Not at the moment.”
“If that changes, day or night, you let me know. You’ll find clothes to match your personal styling in each of your wardrobes, along with everything else we could think of. Joss, when you’re ready for your dog—”
“I’ll let you know.” No way was I bringing Bobo here till I was convinced he was safer here than with the traitors. So far, it was a close call. At least here he’d be with me. But he’d also be in the den of a killer who did nothing to hide his glaring lack of qualms.
“What about our phones?” Layla asked. “How are we supposed to get in touch with you?”
“You may have your phones tomorrow. But your communications will be limited to messaging only, and your texts will be assessed before they’re allowed out. In the meantime, you can reach me by pressing the ‘information’ button on any of the keypads, and I’ll be here tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. I imagine you’ll need some extra rest to recover from your ordeal.”
Layla growled, her nostrils flaring. “That’s some fucking bullshit.”
“It’s for your safety as much as ours.”
“I highly doubt that,” Griffin said on an incredulous snort. “What does everyone think about us disappearing like this? When they were all loaded up into the ambulances”—he glanced at the four of us—“no one saw us, but surely they noticed something went down.”
All business now, Fanny smiled sharply before letting it drop. “Everything’s been taken care of. The gymnasium of Ridgemore High burned to the ground, but Magnum is generously building an even better facility to replace it.”
“Super fucking generous of him, yeah,” I said.
Fanny’s eyes flashed with irritation. “You’ll find that Magnum has a good reason for everything he does, and he doesn’t leave messes behind. Everywhere he goes, he leaves things better than he found them.”
“Sure,” Hunt said dismissively. “What about our friends? Where do they think we are?”
Or the sheriff, whom I told about our ability to come back to life in order to get him to defibrillate Griffin? Or the EMTs who were there to witness Griff and Brady’s resurrections? Or the surgeons and hospital staff who wouldn’t stop blathering about the “miracle kids”?
“They think you’re being treated for smoke inhalation and currently unable to receive visitors,” Fanny said. “After that, you’ll be transferring to an elite private school abroad that is much better suited to educate geniuses with your abilities. When Magnum discovered five students with your test scores were at the same school as his nephew, he took interest. He’s offered to fund your education for your final year, to give you the best opportunities in life by placing you in the best ‘gifted’ program in the world.”
