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She turns around and looks back, tears running down her face. “Please, just get her out,” she says. Theo, Neo and I all follow her outside but she’s already disappeared amongst the crowded sidewalk. I snatch the paper from Neo’s hand and read the address twice, memorizing it. I’m going to get her back. I start walking towards the Range Rover on the curb; two of Neo’s most-trusted men are waiting inside.
“Angel, wait. We need a plan. We need to be smart about this. We can’t just go in—guns blazing—and risk Izzy getting caught in the crossfire. Let’s plan this out.” Neo jumps into the car behind me.
“I’m going to get her back. I need to go and get her,” I tell him.
“Weneed to go and get her. And we will. We just have to gather intel first. We don’t know how many men are there. We don’t know what kind of security they have.”
“Lola managed to get out, which means there’s also a way in.”
“Lola,” Theo says in a daze. “Let’s get them both out of there. Wherever Izzy is, Lola’s there too. We can get them both out.”
“You two can do whatever you want. I’m going to get my daughter.”
“Right after we gather intel and devise a fucking foolproof plan, where nothing happens to either you or Izzy.”
* * *
For what’s probably the first time in my life, I don’t go off and just do what I want. I follow along with Neo’s plan to get information before storming into that house and taking my daughter back. It’s fucking hard. Every cell in my body wants to force my way in and start firing. Instead, I’m back at Neo’s place, looking over floor plans and possible access points.
What if they’ve already moved her? What if we’re too late?
The image of Lola’s face haunts me. Her tattered clothing, her tiny frame, her sunken eyes. I can’t imagine what kind of life that girl has endured. To think that the same people who took her also have Izzy… has my skin crawling. I don’t recall a time I’ve ever wanted to maim someone so brutally before. I want to drain their bodies of every ounce of blood, peel their skin from the muscle and bone, inch by inch. I want to keep them awake, make them feel every bit of pain I’m going to inflict on them.
“We’ll go in here. Four men through this door, and five through this one. Angelica, you’ll be positioned up here.” He points to a nearby rooftop. “You need to take out the men patrolling the perimeter while Neo cuts the power lines.”
I look at the papers on the table. They’ve got images of the property, images of the men assigned to guarding the exterior. There are six that we can see. Easy. There’s a building with a good vantage point. I’ll be able to take all of these greasy assholes out within seconds. I’ll enjoy watching them fall one by one.
Would I rather be the one barging into the house? Of course! But I know my sniper skills surpass anyone else’s. And I have to trust that Neo and Theo will make it inside quickly, and moments later they’ll be walking out with Izzy.
“Ready to do this?” Neo asks me.
“More than ready. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Iget back to the house before anyone notices I was gone. I can’t believe I spoke to him. I spoke to my brother. For the first time in years, I heard my real name uttered aloud.
“Where were you?” The little girl, Izzy—or as the men here call her #513—says. Each of us gets a new number. That’s how many there have been over the years. Though I don’t know what happens to any of them once they leave this place.
I’d like to think they get to go home. But I know that’s wishful thinking. I’ve seen more than enough of them die here, within these walls, before they even get the chance to move on to wherever it is they all go.
“Shh.” I hold my finger over my lips. “Did anyone come down while I was gone?” I whisper.
She shakes her head. She’s a strong little girl. I haven’t seen her cry once. All of them cry; they beg for their freedom. But not Izzy. Whenever the men come down, she threatens them. Tells them what her parents are going to do to them.
They respond by making her watch as they do what they please to me. When they’re finished, they always say that it’ll be her turn next. They’ve done this for five hours now. With ten different men. Used me and told her she’d be next. No child should have to see that. She didn’t break though. Didn’t make a sound.
I’ve learned to block it out. I let my mind go to other places while they use my body. It’s not really mine though; it’s theirs. I’m their property. I deserve everything they do to me.
“You need to keep being strong, just a little while longer. No matter what you see, okay,” I tell her. I can’t believe this is Neo’s daughter. My niece. How did I not know he had a daughter? The few times I’ve seen him on the street, he’s never had a child with him.
“I know. My mama and papa will come for me. They will, and I’ll take you with me. I’ll save you, #36.”
She asked me what my proper name was when she was thrown down into the cell with me. I gave her my number. That’s the name they call me. That’s the name I know.
I haven’t been Lola for a long time. I’ll never be Lola again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
