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“Who took you?” I grit the words out. Each letter tastes like acid on my tongue. I want to vomit thinking of a miniature Ivy living her midwestern, normal life and it being flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. “Is it the same person that put those bruises all over your face?”
She flinches before her eyes swing to mine and narrow into slits. “Youknowwho took me.”
“So, tell me.” I shrug, downplaying the fucking burning in my insides.
She bolts up, the chair flying back and hitting the wall behind her, “Listen, I’m not going to sit here and have story time replaying terrible memories. I’m sure you have the outline. I can’t, and won’t, go down memory lane. Not for me, and certainly not for any of you. Now if you don’t mind, I’m grabbing my daughter and we’re leaving.”
My eyes widen when I hear the click of a bullet lodging into the chamber.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I shout at Jex, who has the gun pointed directly at Ivy’s face.
“Sit down, girl. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the enemy until proven otherwise. You’re not going to speak? I’ll put a bullet in your brain like I would any one of Santiago’s men. You answer our questions? Maybe we’ll let you live.” He growls the words, the scar lining trailing down his cheek accentuated with the severe frown on his face.
She reaches behind her for the chair. Once her fingers brush the worn leather, she sits back down with a pale face and whispers, “What do you want to know?”
Jex looks over at me, and I shake my head in fury. “Fucking bastard.” I mouth to him.
He lifts an eyebrow, ignoring me as he turns back towards Ivy.
“Tell me, kid. Santiago Fernandez isthebiggest sex trafficker I have ever known. We have taken down seven locations of his now, with the one in Tijuana being the biggest. In all six other locations, I have never once seen a girl not being held hostage. Unless, of course, she was working with him. Now tell me,Ivy, are you working with Santiago?” My dad questions. His voice is commanding, that of a President. He’s not playing games, and I realize if he, in any way, thinks she’s working with Santiago, he’ll put a bullet in her head.
She’s shaking her head before he finishes his sentence. “N-No. It’s not like that. I don’t… he kidnapped me.” She looks to me with watery eyes. “I promise I wasn’t working with him.”
“Then why were you dressed in regular clothes, not locked up?” My dad butts in, taking her gaze away from me and back to him.
“I… he… I don’t know!” She yells.
“Tell me, Ivy. Just tell me the truth. Are you working with him? What are you getting out of it? He says he’ll keep you and your kid safe if you do stuff for him?” I ask her. I so badly want her to give me something, anything to make sense of all this.
“No!” She’s crying freely now, tears running down her face and clogging her throat. “I hate him!”
I can feel the truth to her words. They slam into my chest with their force. But her story is still missing pieces.
“So, what is it then? What are you to him?” I bark at her
She looks down at her lap, sobbing into herself.
“Tell me, Ivy!” I slam my palm onto the table.
“I’m his!” She looks up at me, fire in her words and hate in her voice. “I’m his.He bought me.” The moment the word come out of her mouth, she slides out of the chair and falls to her knees. Her arms go behind her back in the weird formation they did earlier. She stares at the wall in front of her. The chair makes aclankas it rolls back and hits the wall. Then, it’s only silence.
Silence.
So much silence fills the room it’s stifling. Her words sucked the air from the room like a vortex, and for the life of me I can’t seem to catch a breath.
“Shit, she’s his old lady.” Cassius whispers.
“Holy shit.” West grunts.
I swallow down the bile and push my chair back. My face falls to my palms and my elbows fall to my knees. “Get out.” I take a breath. “Everyoneget the fuck out!” I roar, looking up and glaring at everyone. When I see Ivy stand up, I point at her. “Exceptyou.”
My dad turns towards me. “I did not say church was—”
I turn to him. “I do not give ashitabout church right now. Everyone just get the fuck out of here!” I roar
He stares at me a long minute before standing up and barking, “All right, everyone. Let’s clear out. Looks like Z’s got business to take care of.” He laughs on his way out, and that just infuriates me even more.
Cassius is the last to leave the room, looking back at me with a curious look on his face before closing the door behind him.
