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“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Bending, I grab Winnie and steer Paigelynn to the main door, looking out the narrow windows on either side. “Here’s the deal. We need to get to the van.”
A phone on one of the men starts buzzing. Taking a chance, I release her arm, shove Winnie into her hands, and search Jason, finding the phone. Pocketing it, I hope it comes in handy later.
Then I realize they can track location with it. Fuck.
The preview on the locked screen says: Twenty-three minutes ETA…
Jason’s hand is close, and a fingerprint lock is on the screen. I shove the phone down to his unbloodied hand and use it to unlock.
Someone named Josepha.
Twenty-three minutes ETA. Do not engage. Repeat: he’s a special case. Do not engage.
Too late, motherfuckers.
If I take the phone with me, they can use it to find us. The only workaround is to cut Jason’s finger off and bring it with us to unlock the device, but then I remember you need an electrical circuit for it to work. I got lucky — Jason’s freshly dead, so there’s still enough electricity in him.
But it’s too risky to bring the phone with us.
Scrolling, I look through his messages to see what else I might glean. Nothing’s in here that I can’t hack my way into with the right equipment. Going minimalist is key because I need to hide Paigelynn far away from prying eyes. This rescue went sideways, but I can redeem it.
Redeem myself.
I will save her.
I will save her if it’s the last thing I do.
I toss the phone over the bodies and let it skitter into the wall.
This entire time, she’s stood there, watching me, transfixed. My worry that she’s a flight risk, or worse – a trained operative – diminishes with every second. In fact, a particular kind of rage begins to rise in me.
The rage of a man watching a completely helpless creature be unable to defend herself because others chose to keep her helpless.
My God.
They could have trained her to be so much more. Smart, blessed with a strong body, and sharp in her own way, Paigelynn has so much potential. Instead, they turned her into a handmaid, exactly the way they wanted her. Nothing but a piece of meat.
Pretty meat, for sure. Supple and divine, she is as gorgeous as a breath of fresh air, with a body that makes me long to do unspeakable things with her, to make her cry out with joy and hunger, to conquer and share.
But that was so… little.
The powers that be do not impress me. Disappointed, I find myself yet again shaking my head at their incompetence. Such small thinkers. So limited in their understanding of how complex people can be. How they treat Paigelynn is a reflection of their small minds.
Why choose to have so little when they could have extracted so much more value from this creature?
I won’t make that mistake.
“Nineteen minutes,” I mutter, walking to her. “Here’s what we’re doing next,” I add as I reach for her arm. She’s trembling, eyes focused on me, her earlier shock washed away. Now the woman staring at me is looking for orders. Direction. Purpose.
To know what is coming.
“We’re leaving,” I say. “In the van.”
“But the dead— ”
“I know. Basher and the dog trainer are in there. Can’t help it. We’ll ditch the van as soon as possible.”
“I— ”
