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“How do I know you can even make that happen?”
“I’ll give you a message to get to my old man. If he knows you helped me, he’ll do as you ask.”
“If I try to leave, my life is as worthless as yours.”
He’s only a little bit wrong. Everyone’s life is worth more than mine in this organization right now. But if he crosses King, he’ll definitely be on the list.
“Well,” I say, “it was worth a shot.”
He’s not ready. He’s not ready to give up his own life. That’s where he and I are different. I’m willing to give up my own life for Katelyn’s. If he were ready, he’d have jumped at my offer.
He turns to leave, but then he looks over his shoulder. “How much money are we talking?”
“Enough that your family will never have to worry about earning a dime, and neither will any of their progeny.”
He turns, stares at the door, and then looks back at me again. “Tell me what I have to do.”
46
KATELYN
Buck hands me a plate of food. It’s chicken breast and broccoli. Hash browns or something that looks kind of like hash browns. A roll with butter. And a glass of water.
“How do we know it’s not poisoned?”
“Because that’s not this guy’s style. They’re not going to hurt you until they have to.”
I wince again at those words.
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like to hear me talk like that. I know you’ve been through hell in your short life. I wish I could make this easier on you.”
“Do you? Do you really? If you really wanted to make it easier on me, you’d lie to me. Tell me what I want to hear.”
“That wouldn’t make it easier on you, sweetheart. Sorry…I mean Katelyn.” He picks up a roll and bites into it harshly, as if he’s ripping the head off a chicken or something.
He’s angry. Even in his eating, he’s angry. Why shouldn’t he be? He’s being held here just as I am. Against his will.
The only difference is he began this quest to find Luke. He has a reason for being here.
I’m here as an innocent bystander.
I pick up my steak knife—yes, they gave us steak knives—and slice off a piece of the chicken. Then I hold up my knife. “Can’t you do something with this?”
“First of all, they’re not going to let us keep these utensils. They’ll be back to collect them as soon as they think they’ve given us enough time to eat, so eat quickly.”
“But still—”
“Katelyn, these people we’re dealing with are not stupid. And they know we’re not stupid. They know I won’t try anything with a steak knife. And even if I did, they’d be well prepared.”
I nod. “So we’re really on our own?”
“We are. I’ll get us out of here, but you need to let me do it on my time. I’ll figure a way out. I always do.”
I nod. I cut another piece of the chicken, the serrated blade of the steak knife grinding against the ceramic of the plate.
I remember again… The plate I hid under my mattress.
And what I paid for it.
Diamond hesitantly leads me through the dorm and outside.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I’m so sorry, Moonstone.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re going on a hunt,” she says.
“In daylight?” It’s not unheard of, but most of the hunts take place at night. It’s more of a challenge that way. The guys who come here live for the challenge. In their warped minds, hunting defenseless women at night is a challenge. “Who requested me?”
“No one requested you. This is a special occasion.”
“What kind of special occasion?”
“You’ll be hunted. Hunted by…all of the men here on the island.”
“What?” Have I heard her correctly?
Normally only one person is allowed to hunt one of us at a time. And normally I don’t get hunted that often. It’s only happened a few times before.
More often I get taken by someone who wants to talk to me, sometimes beat me, sometimes rape me.
Then there’s Ice Man.
All he does is pee on me. It’s humiliating and awful and I hate it, but…at least I live through it.
It’s a sunny day on the island. Sometimes it rains, but not today. How can I hide anywhere on the hunting ground when the sky is blue and there’s nothing to camouflage me?
“Get in,” Diamond says.
“Diamond, please…”
She cups my cheeks. “I wish I could change this for you. I wish I could take the punishment instead of you.”
She seems sincere. But is she? I never know. She keeps doing what she does, all the while saying how terrible it is. But still…she does it.
She opens the passenger door side of the Jeep.
I don’t move.
“Get in,” she says again. “If you don’t, I have to give you this.” She pulls a syringe out of her pocket. “Please don’t make me do that, Moonstone. If I do, you’ll be drugged. You won’t be able to run as quickly. Believe me. You don’t want me to have to do this.”
