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Part of me would like to stay right here, with him, for the rest of eternity. But I know that once I’ve served my purpose, I’ll be out on my ass and all alone.
He gives my hand a squeeze. “Why not?”
“I’ve been around clubs long enough to know how this works. Once I’m no longer useful, I’m gone.”
“You can stay here as long as you want, and you don’t have to do anything for anyone. You’re here so we can keep you safe. Not because you have some sort of purpose.”
I stare down at our entwined hand. “What if that changes?”
“It won’t. The club has been working around the fucking clock to secure this place. Until this shit with the Screwballs is settled, we’re working to protect everyone, and that includes you. You’re not going back there or anywhere else you don’t want to be. I’ll make damn sure of it.”
The fierceness in his tone surprises me, and I look up to meet his gaze. “You barely know me. Hell, I don’t even know myself. I don’t even know my last name. I’ve always been just Boo. I had an uncle once, but he sold me off to the Screwballs when I was just a kid. That’s it. My entire life’s story in a nutshell.”
Priest’s demeanor changes. “What if I told you that’s not the end of your story?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he types in his password, not bothering to hide it, and clicks on an icon, lighting up the screen with an image.
“Do you recognize any of these faces?” He hands me his phone. On the screen is an image of a family. I study their faces. The mother and father stand proudly in the center, with two kids flanking either side. A boy, about five, with light red hair, and a girl, who couldn’t be older than three, with copper hair, all smiling at the camera.
“No,” I say after a moment, handing the phone back to him. “Who are they?”
“They’re your family, Boo.”
I lean back, blinking in surprise. “I don’t have any family besides my uncle.”
Priest squeezes my hand and scoots closer. “I don’t think that man was your uncle, Angel. We have reason to believe he’s the one who took you from your family.”
My gut twists and I reel back, shaking my head vigorously. No, that’s not possible. I’d remember that, wouldn’t I? I mean, my memory of my time with the Screwballs is fuzzy, but having an actual family—a mother and a father and a brother? I’d remember that.
Priest shifts, his face filled with compassion. “One of the guys, Hashtag, is this computer genius. He can find out anything if given the time. When they brought us in, Doc took a blood sample and your fingerprints. We still don’t know for sure about the blood because someone Hash knows is still working on that, but your prints hit in a missing kids database. Your name isn’t Boo, it’s Bria. Bria Collins.”
Bria Collins.The name carries a hint of familiarity that wraps around my heart. A family. A real one. I have a family. I have a name. After all this time… I’m not alone.
My heart races as I attempt to tamp down the excitement growing there. “Do you know where they are?”
“That’s where it’s a bit complicated. We think that when your “uncle” took you, your family was killed. Your grandfather was a mob boss, and there was hit. We’re not sure by who, but the whole thing made national news. Their deaths, along with your picture, listed as a missing child.”
Dead parents. Kidnapping. Mob boss. I shake my head. This story grows more ridiculous the more he reveals. It’s like the plot for an action thriller movie. Stuff like this doesn’t happen in real life.
The excitement that’d been building snuffs out like an unwelcome flame. “It’s not true.”
“I wouldn’t believe it either if the roles were reversed, but we have every reason to believe it’s true. Think about it. Why did the Screwballs keep you for so long? There had to be a reason.”
He’s right about that. The Screwballs rotated their women in and out like clockwork. Most only spent a few days before being shipped off to new owners. So, why had I been there for thirteen years? And why did Big Dick insist on keeping me alive?
“My uncle owed them money,” I blurt out.
“I don’t think that’s true.”
Blood rushes through my veins, pounding in my head as I consider this. Could this be why Big Dick kept me around?
Priest squeezes my hand again, snapping me back to reality. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Angel.”
“Big Dick,” I whisper. “He told me he was about to get a big payday for me the night we got rescued.”
Priest nods. “Your brother has been tearing the world apart looking for you. Hashtag reached out through his channels. He’s coming here.”
