I turned around, meeting his dark eyes. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was good inside of him. He had asked for my name, for my sister’s name, and though the voice scolded menotto say the words,notto give in, screamed at me until I couldn’t bear to fight it anymore, the urge inside of me had found her name. And my name. Myrealname. And I knew it had to do with him. All he did was ask. He hadn’t required that I did anything for him first.
At least at that moment.
Now, on the other hand, I could tell he wanted something from me.
“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Wil said.
My heart fluttered, instantly thinking of my sister, but based on the closed-off nature of his posture, I could tell it wasn’t her. Wil might have had a heart, somewhere inside of him, but he wasn’t the type to give in to a desire freely. Wil made you work for it, and he would makemework for it. I had to follow his lead.
Don’t ever let him own you, the voice said,Or you’ll lose yourself.
I wouldn’t let him own me, I argued with the voice, annoyed at whoever, or whatever it was, even if it was just my conscience. But I had to move forward with purpose, and that meant, at the very least, pretending to be his. I couldn’t rely on impulse in a situation like this.
An edge of smoke drifted off of his shoulders as I followed him through the penthouse. To my surprise, two men were seated around the dining table, men I recognized from the picture in his office: his brothers.
“This is Derek,” he said, pointing to the slightly older looking brother, with lines around his eyes and mouth. Derek nodded at me. “And Axe,” Wil continued, nodding towards the other brother, who had the same almost-black eyes as the other two, but he kept them narrowed, scrutinizing me. There was a dip on his bottom lip, a scar. “My brothers,” Wil said.
And between them was a woman with hunched shoulders, wrapped in a blanket.
As she turned, keeping her head bowed, the blanket moved off of her shoulders, revealing scratches in sharp red lines. She lifted her pale face to me, her eyes brick red and blank. Her hair was cut short, all the way to her scalp on the sides, an inch or two longer on the top. Her dry fingers curled around the edges of the blanket, pulling it tighter around her body, to shield herself. She needed protection.
My mouth fell open.
She’s just like you, the voice said. I held a hand to my chest. For the first time in a while, I didn’t question the voice at all. I agreed completely.
“I’ll—” I paused, unsure of what to say. “I’ll get you some clothes.”
I tripped over my own feet walking to my room, but once I was there, I rummaged through the clothes Maddie had given me. Some were hand-me-downs, stuff she didn’t wear anymore, and others were outfits Wil had made her buy for me. The woman in the blanket seemed about my size, so I found a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
All four of them looked at me when I returned. I motioned to the woman.
“Come with me,” I said.
She didn’t move at first, but after a moment, Axe cleared his throat, and that startled her out of her trance. We went to the bedroom for privacy, but I knew better than to close the door.
I handed her the clothes. She looked at them, studying the outfit for a second.
She’s just like you, the voice said.Join together. You’re stronger together.
I didn’t doubt that.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“I—” she stuttered, her lip trembling. “I—”
“Did they find you in the woods too?” Her focus fluttered, as if she could never make eye contact. She nodded, barely enough to give an answer.
“Who are you?” she managed to say.
This will prepare you two for what’s coming, the voice said, stronger than usual, almost as if the man who owned it was standing right next to me, speaking into my ear.You can trust her. She’s just like you.
“My name is Ellie,” I said. “Elena Jordan. But I didn’t remember that when they first found me.”
Amnesia usually didn’t work like this, so whatever had stolen my memories was something else.
“You didn’t?”
I shook my head. “But eventually it came back.”
