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Malice shrugs. “Not like there’s anywhere else to go, really. And it’s getting late.”
They start talking about where they want to go next, what happens from here, and I remember, sort of distantly, that their warehouse was burned down. They’re homeless now. And I guess I am too. It’s not like I can go back to the apartment Olivia was paying for.
The brothers talk and plan lightly as they work, but I don’t have anything to add to the conversation. I didn’t have any plans beyond escaping from Troy, and it still hasn’t really sunk in that I’ve done that. That I’m free.
A hand on my shoulder startles me out of my thoughts, and I jump, turning to see Ransom standing there. He still has that concerned look on his face, and his voice is soft.
“Sorry. Are you—” He cuts himself off, like he thinks better of asking. “We’re ready to get out of here. We’ve gotta go so we can torch the place.”
“Right,” I mumble. “Okay.”
I let them lead me out, following Ransom and Malice as they head out of the house and through a wooded area toward where the car has been stashed.
Vic is the last one out, and judging from the smoke already starting to billow through the windows, he’s started little fires already to help the place go up easier.
We stop before we reach the car, pausing to make sure the flames catch like they’re supposed to. It’s late in the evening, and I stand shivering in the night air. Heat starts to pour off the house as it burns, but that doesn’t help warm me up.
I feel a familiar panicky, fight-or-flight response start to crawl up in me from the flames, and I remember with a shudder all the times I’ve come up against fire in a bad way. With the Voronin brothers, I’m starting to associate it more with them coming to my rescue, but that trauma is still there, making me want to turn away. But I force myself to stand still and watch it, not wanting to leave until the whole house is burning, fully blazing in a fire that would be impossible to put out.
It doesn’t take long, and I stare at the inferno until my eyes are burning from the smoke.
Finally, the guys usher me away from the burning cabin, leading me to their car. I get buckled into the back, and it could almost be like any other time I’ve ridden with them, if weren’t for… everything else.
Malice starts the car and we drive away, leaving the burning house behind.
It’s dark, and there aren’t any streetlights to illuminate the path as we weave through a densely forested area. I close my eyes, leaning my head back against the seat, trying to steady my breathing and slow the beat of my heart.
When I feel a little more calm, I open my eyes and swallow hard. “How… how did you find me?” I ask.
“It wasn’t fucking easy,” Malice says. “That slimy fucker covered his tracks better than we thought he would.”
“We searched everywhere we thought he might have taken you, but he wasn’t popping up anywhere on the cameras I could check,” Vic explains. “Not near where his parents live, not near his own properties, not near his offices. Then I found out about this place that he recently purchased, and that connected the dots.”
I remember what Troy said to me about how he told his family that he would be unavailable for a while. That he was taking an extended ‘honeymoon,’ so he could ‘train’ his wife. So he could take the time to break me. I’m not sure how much he told them about what he actually planned to do to me, but I’m sure they had no illusions that I would be treated well. And I’m also sure that none of them voiced any objections. They raised him, after all. They brought him into this world of wealth and power and violence, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re as awful as he is.
I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to push Troy’s voice out of my mind. I have to remind myself that he’s dead now. His corpse is probably becoming a pile of ashes at this moment, and he can never hurt me again.
We’re still driving down a single lane road, surrounded on either side by trees. I don’t recognize the area, but it hits me how far outside of Detroit we must be. I can’t even see a glow of lights on the horizon from the city itself. Troy had me out in the middle of nowhere, in an area so remote that no one would come looking if they didn’t have a reason to.
Even if Ihadmanaged to get away from him, it would have been ages before I made it to anyone who could help me. He had me isolated, truly trapped with him.
The thought makes me want to throw up.
It takes the better part of an hour to get back to the city, and we pull up to a hotel that looks like it’s seen all kinds of sketchy shit go down. This must be where they’ve been staying since they got back from Mexico.
It’s another harsh reminder that their own home is gone, and I swallow hard, hating my grandmother more than ever for everything she’s done.
Once we get out of the car, the three of them basically form a human barricade around me to keep anyone from seeing me the way I look now, hustling me inside the lobby and then up the stairs.
As soon as we get to the room and the door locks behind us, the three of them immediately start tripping over themselves to do what they can to make me comfortable.
Ransom rummages in his suitcase and comes up with clothes for me to change into.
“When’s the last time you ate?” Malice asks, his voice full of gruff concern. “You should probably eat something. I can run out, or we can order in. Whatever you want.”
“I’ll go down the hall to the ice machine and get some water,” Vic offers. “Are you thirsty? Do you want a soda or something else?”
“Maybe a shower first,” Ransom throws in. “And a change of clothes. You’ll probably be more comfortable.”
