“That’s a good girl.” I stood up. “Viktor. Bag her.”
“Wait, please.” She stared at me, panicking again. “Don’t do that. Please don’t do that.”
I waved my hand at her and walked away. Viktor flicked his cigarette onto the ground, stubbed it out, then walked over and pulled the bar over her head. She fought a little but it was no use.
Delicious. Fucking delicious. And my little diamond came through for me.
I stood and savored the sweet moment. I closed my eyes and pictured her face as she gave in.
My little Leigh. Beautiful.
I wandered down between the crates toward where Rolan stood under a single overhead light drinking from his bottle of vodka and looking at his phone. He looked up as I approached.
“You done?” he asked.
“All done.”
“And she’s working for you now?”
“Yes she is.”
He shook his head. “You really do like to fuck with people, don’t you?”
I laughed and leaned up against a crate. Inside was thousands of dollars worth of pills that needed to get sold, pills that had been sitting in this warehouse for weeks, waiting for my plan to come to fruition.
And finally, it looked like it would all work out.
“You know it’s not fucking with her. I’m testing her strength, her resolve. I’m putting her in a situation where she can find out what’s important to her and what kind of person she actually is.”
Rolan rolled his eyes. “Right, yeah, I know. You did that shit to me, too.”
“Ah, come on. You know how I operate.” I spread my hands, palms up. “If you want to challenge me to single combat for control of our little crew, you’re more than welcome.”
He grunted. “Might take you up on that one day.”
“Please do. But you know the rules. No weapons. Just pure strength.”
I saw a flicker of fear pass across his face. I was willing to bet he remembered the last guy that challenged me.
His name was Marco.
He was a big man. Had an inch on me, maybe twenty pounds. He was a fighter, loved to get into shit. Seemed to enjoy pain, like nothing could really hurt him.
I smashed his face into a curb over and over until his skull cracked under my palm.
“Maybe another time.”
“Okay then. For now, go help Viktor get the girl in the car. We’re bringing her to my place.”
He frowned. “Your place? Why not the cat house?”
“Fuck the cat house. This one’s for me.”
“Your call, boss.” He took another sip then capped the vodka and slipped it into his back pocket. He walked past me and back toward where Viktor stood with Leigh.
I ran my hand over the wooden crate and smiled.
I hadn’t been completely honest with Leigh back there. Yes, I was an optimist, and I believed there was strength in everyone.
But that wasn’t why I gave her brother money and drugs.
I had a plan. A long term plan. And she was a part of that plan, whether she knew it or not.
So far, things were going exactly as I expected.
My little Leigh.
She was going to sell every single one of these pills, and we were going to get very, very rich together.
She just didn’t know it yet.
I turned away and walked back toward them with a big smile on my face.
2
Leigh
They kept the bag over my head until we reached some building. I couldn’t tell where we were. All I could see were flashes of light through the black cloth.
I stumbled but Owain held my elbow.
“Don’t worry. Almost there.” His voice was so close to my ear that I flinched away.
That only made him laugh.
He marched me up a flight of steps and in through a door. I heard the skinny guy Viktor light another cigarette but he didn’t come inside.
“More steps,” Owain said. He steered me toward them and together we climbed to the second floor of a house. I smelled fresh flowers and wood dust. I thought I could hear a television on somewhere playing a football game.
We reached the top and he took me down a hall. The floors creaked beneath my feet. A door opened, he took me inside, and the door shut again.
He whipped the bag off my head.
I stood inside a bedroom. My eyes took a second to adjust to the light.
“Here it is,” Owain said. “Your new office.” He grinned huge.
He was a big man, tall and muscular. He had light brown hair cut short, a square jaw, small nose, light eyes, high cheekbones. Tattoos covered his skin and disappeared beneath his long sleeve shirt. He was handsome and radiated a strange, almost seductive charm and power. I had the sudden and stupid urge to touch his chest just to see if it really was as muscular as it appeared.
And then I remembered that I was essentially his whore and wanted to throw up.
“Don’t look so down,” he said. “You’ll get used to it.”
I took a step away from him and sat at the end of a large queen bed. The comforter was dark blue with a flower motif stitched along it. Multiple throw pillows covered the top. The walls were light blue and the bureau had fresh flower in a vase.
“Who lives here?” I didn’t know why I asked. The room just didn’t feel like it could belong to this man. It was feminine, almost soft.
“This is my house,” he said. “I prepared this just for you. Do you like it?”
“I don’t know.”
“I understand.” He pointed toward a door at the end of the room. “Bathroom, all yours. The door locks from the outside I’m afraid, and there are bars on the windows, so please don’t make a racket. I’ll let you get settled for a little while.” He turned to leave.
“Wait.” I didn’t know what I wanted from him, but being left alone scared me.
Almost as if it made this all real.
“Yes?” He tilted his head.
“Can I have… I don’t know… my phone?”
He laughed. “Of course not.”
“Then
