Page 49 of Wasted Lust

“Hmmm,” she says. Not quite calling me out. So maybe she doesn’t know about Sydney, Merc’s girlfriend. She was a Company girl. And she was a sleeper assassin too. As dangerous a girl as they come. Maybe even more dangerous than me under normal circumstances. But her mind was fucked so hard, she might never be normal.

No, I’m the one who kept her head. I’m the one who made it out intact.

“At any rate, you’re angry at me for not saving you. But now that I’m offering you a chance to save other girls, other Company girls, you want to run away from the offer.”

“You never offered me shit.”

“I’m offering now, Sasha. Help me reach them. Help me undo the years of training and abuse. Help me steal them back, if necessary.”

“You want me to steal baby girls.” This bitch is nuts.

“And retrain the older ones.”

I really might throw up. Just what the hell is she asking? “You can’t just steal children.”

“Why not? The Company does. They stole you. They stole your mother.”

“And yet you managed to escape.”

“Your grandfather—my father—went to extreme lengths to save me.”

“But not my mother?”

“She was a full-blood Company girl. He had no chance. But tomorrow there will be a very important meeting here. A meeting that will change the tide for these girls. And I need you to be there. I need your support. Because my associates have it in their heads that you are the only one capable of this job and I have it in my head that I am the only one with enough knowledge to see it through. I need your help to secure that position.”

“That makes no sense. Who would follow you? Not me!” I laugh. “And I’m just a grad student in anthropology. I have not seen action in a decade.”

“But Julian’s attack proved that you still have skills.”

“So that was planned. You people are sick. And I think I’ve heard enough.” I get up from my chair and turn away, walking briskly to the door.

“You can leave, Sasha. I can’t force you to cooperate. It would never work unless you’re a believer. But those girls, they’re counting on you. Their fate rests in your hands.”

I stop for a moment, but I don’t turn to face her. “I’m not the savior of Company girls, Madeline. I’m just a recovering Company girl myself.”

“You were never a Company girl, Sasha. You were a Company assassin. There’s a big difference. You had it better than most. You and Harper both had it better than all the others. You have no idea the torture they endure. You were a very sheltered child in that respect. And now you’re a very sheltered adult. But I know you’ve met Sydney Channing. Now that is what a Company girl looks like. And Nick is out there now, killing them as fast as I can save them, Sasha. Did you know he’s been killing Company kids for years? Hmmm? You’re on the wrong side.”

Nick? What? I try my best not to react and spit out my words. “You’re a liar and my answer is still no.” And with that I grab the handle of the door and pull it open.

“The fourth door on the left is a washroom, Sasha Cherlin. You should wipe that blood off your face before you leave. Makes you look like a fighter. Best to keep up your high-society appearances.”

“Fuck you.”

I exit, slamming the door behind me on my way out. But I touch my bleeding lip as I walk towards the door she was referring to, and open it up.

Julian is standing in front of the mirror. He looks my reflection in the eye as he messes with a tie around his neck.

But when he turns I realize it’s not a tie. It’s a white collar. I have to let off a laugh. “A priest? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re like twenty years old. There are no twenty-year-old priests.”

“Twenty-four, Sasha. Just like you. And celibacy was my only option after Nick took what was mine.”

“That’s enough, Julian,” Jax says from behind me. “The car is ready, Sasha. Let’s go.”

“She’ll find out eventually, Jax.”

“Go home, Julian. You’ve done enough damage tonight.” And then Jax takes me by the arm and guides me with his other hand on the small of my back.

“What’s that mean?” I ask, as we shrug our coats back on. “What the fuck? He’s a priest because Nick took… what? His promise? Did Nick kill some girl he was promised to?”