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I never realized Red and Peter were so close. If they were, then why had I never seen Red at the lake house? Or did Peter kidnap me in secret? Surely I’d have memory of—
“…think I gave her too much. No, her lips aren’t blue. Yeah, she’s breathing, but barely. Do I need to use the Narcan? I am calm. Iamcalm. Fuck. Okay. Yeah. I’m fine, Red, I’m fine. I just…I just need to know how much I’m supposed to give her.”
The memory of Peter’s hushed phone conversation hits me like a freight train. I barely remember anything else, but I think that happened on the first day I woke up in the Toy Box. The first, maybe second time he dosed me.
This is all very important. If my body wasn’t ablaze, I might even have been able to figure out what the hell to do with this sudden influx of information.
But all I know is that we pissed off Red beyond measure when Fyre killed Peter. We’re the thorn in his side, not toys for him to play with. So the idea that he’d rather play with us than get rid of us is wearing thin.
Is it true then? Did he really shoot—and kill—Fyre? It’s almost impossible to coax my mind into the past, but I force myself to recall every last detail from our meeting with Brent. He’d choked me out moments after he told me it was just him and Red in the area, but I do remember hearing something…a gunshot?
That doesn’t mean Red was the one who fired the shot. Fyre had a gun on him. But Red doesn’t appear to be injured, and would Gideon really have missed at close range?
Red crouches at my side, taking a last swig from his wine glass before reaching past me and setting it down on the nearby glass coffee table. The fire is still flickering merrily behind me, but my body feels cold now.
Shock? Or did one of Red’s violent kicks cause internal damage?
“I think I overestimated your value, dolly,” Red says in a quiet voice that’s somehow more disturbing than his earlier shriek. “I’ve got plenty of warm pussies to go around.” He grabs my chin, wrenching my head back. “But I have a special guest who’s been waiting a while for a pretty young thing like you. Do you know what he likes to do to the girls I give him?”
“Fuck them with his tiny dick and pretend they’re into it?”
That earns me a backhand that leaves me seeing stars. But then Red is stroking my hair again, making a cooing sound that sends a cold shiver through my body.
“He uses a baseball bat,” Red says. “And he doesn’t pretend they’re into it. In fact, he told me once that the best sound on Earth was a girl’s scream.”
I stare blankly up at Red. Thank God the heroin is still doing its job. I should be terrified right now, but instead, I’m just considering the facts.
Fact one. Fyre might be dead. For real.
Fact two. Red is done with me. My own death is imminent. It will be painful and drawn out.
Fact three. I’m in no shape to try to escape. It hurts when I breathe. My right arm is useless. I’m weak as a newborn foal.
I’m tempted to ask Red to bury me next to Fyre when he’s done, but Gideon’s body is probably dissolving in a vat of acid somewhere. Maybe there’s enough space for me in that same barrel.
Red’s mouth cocks into a smile as I start laughing, and when I don’t stop, he gives me another backhand. I’m getting to him, but that means nothing. I could send him into a fit of rage, and it wouldn’t accomplish anything.
I groan as I roll onto my back, expecting him to grab me and force me to face him again.
He doesn’t.
I guess he well and truly is done with me.
There’s a heavy sigh behind me, and then Red is heading for the door. I don’t even wait for him to get to it before I haul myself to my knees and start crawling. After a monumental amount of effort, I reach the coffee table.
As the door closes behind Red, I smash his wine glass against the side of the table, shattering it. My eyes are blurry when I scan the shards littering the carpet, and that’s when I realize I’m crying.
But it’s okay, because those tears belong to someone else now. They’re Dolly’s tears, not Charlotte’s.
Charlotte is strong.
Charlotte is wise.
And Charlotte doesn’t want to live in this world anymore if she doesn’t have Fyre by her side.
23
FYRE
