I stiffen, and my eyes go wide. Hypnos chuckles. “Oh, little warrior. Death doesn’t scare you but going to a whorehouse does?” They all laugh. I close my eyes and hope for death.Just kill me now.
Hypnos unhooks the O-ring from my mouth and throws it down to the ground. “Who do you belong to, Charlotte?”
“You,” I whisper, trying to move my stiff mouth. Ayres brings his hand down on my butt and I cry out.
Kronos is staring at me, waiting for me to say something. I don’t know what they want from me. “Say it again,” he demands.
“You.” Ayres slaps my butt again and I cry out.
“Louder.” Hypnos growls at me.
“You!” I scream as loud as I possibly can.
“Damn right you do,” Kronos says as they look at me.
I am slumped onto the table, my strength gone. The handcuffs keep me there, but I had just enough gumption to try and yank away. Not anymore. I’m too tired. I lay there bawling.
“Ayres, go do a round of patrol,” Kronos says as he stands up. “Hypnos, clean her back.”
I watch as Kronos leaves, but I hear him in a room nearby. It must be the kitchen because I hear pots being banged. The door to the cabin opens and then closes. I’m alone with Hypnos. The man that confuses me the most. With Kronos, I know he’s in charge. I know he will shoot me, and it will be over with.
It’s almost the same with Ayres. If he isn’t calling me Kitten, I know something is wrong. I know he will beat the ever-loving-shit out of me with his baseball bat. But Hypnos? I don’t understand, and I’ve never been worried that he would slit my throat. Maybe I should be.
Hypnos grabs my hair and urges my head upward. “Little warrior, we wouldn’t do this if we didn’t think you were worth it.”
Charlotteand I stand outside the fifth house she’s been placed in since her mother passed away. It kills me to see those soft lips of hers in a pout. Another day, another ache rippling through my heart. Her raven-colored hair bellows in the wind as we walk up the cracked steps.
“Do I have to stay with these people, Haydes?” Her small hand clasps mine hard. I ponder how she has such a firm grip for someone so tiny.
“Yes.” I knock on the door. The paint is chipped, and the peephole looks to have been taken out. I get an odd feeling about this place.
“But…” Charlotte’s words are cut off when a large man with a beer in his hand opens the door.
“Mr. Danvers?” I ask, already knowing this is the man. I really shouldn’t leave Charlotte here. She hides behind my right side, and I take a deep breath. My sweet little bird is scared, and my hands are tied to the point I can't do anything. But I will protect her. Even if it costs me my job.
“Yeah, that’s me. Come on in with the brat.” Charlotte bristles as the man calls her a brat. I back away from the door.
“I think we should come back at a better time.” Like, never. Charlotte has tears in her eyes, and I don’t blame her. It kills me that I can’t adopt her myself. But the state won’t allow me to do so. Maybe if they paid me more for my services, I could afford to have her in my home.
We walk quickly back to my vehicle, and Charlotte climbs into the front seat. It’s against the rules for her to be in the passenger seat. She’s supposed to be in the back until she is thirteen. I can’t tell her no though.
As we drive back to the group home, I feel like I’ve failed her. She isn’t safe with anyone but me.
“I’m sorry, Haydes,” she mumbles as she looks down at her hands sitting in her lap.
“Hey, this isn’t your fault, little bird. Chin up, we’ll find a good home for you.”
God, I hope so. I’ve never been one to think of kidnapping but fuck, I’m the only one that can love Charlotte right. She trusts me, and I must keep her safe.
So then why do I also feel like a predator?
* * *
I gaspas I come out of my dream. My eyes are blurred until I rub the sleep from them. A quick look around my cave and I see that I need to clean. I have been on the computer non-stop trying to complete Operation Lion. It’s the one thing I know I must get fixed before I can claim Charlotte as mine. The first steps were to blow the Powers brothers’ whorehouse. After that was completed, I rerouted all their funds into an account that is for Charlotte. Those bastards will pay for all the suffering she has been through. Step three was to screw with their dock, and the latest step was dismantling their home.
The only reason I keep working on this whole operation is to take down my half-brother, Hypnos. Those sly bastards have eluded me, again. They didn’t go back to their computerized home, which leaves me in the dark. I’ve heard nothing from my sources about where they could be. The boys haven’t been to their day jobs, and that’s unacceptable. The search for them is hard to narrow down, but I will find them. They have to come out of hiding some time.
One problem with that is I’m not a patient man. I’m going to make them reveal themselves. I’ve put a smoke bomb in four places that will hit them where their operations are. Each bomb has a statement attached to it. A deadly one.
