Traes took the other arjath while Waev walked alongside us, his powerful weapon tucked away in his shoulder bag. But he kept the blaster pistol in one hand in case we came across more trouble.
“Are there any more kidnappers?” Traes had asked me when he pulled back from hugging me and Cleb.
I shook my head.
“No, just him,” said. “Just one man.”
Just one man.
And he’d managed to tear this family apart.
When I came across him with Cleb in his room, his grip so tight I feared he might accidentally harm Cleb, I did everything he asked.
I shut the door, crossed the room, and put my hands behind my back so he could attach the restraints. He did the same with Cleb, who had tears running down his face.
“There’s no need to be afraid,” Asshole said. “As long as you behave yourself, nothing will happen to you.”
Just like when you chained me to the wall in your shack. Had I done anything to deserve that punishment?
To Cleb, this was all part of the story I’d told him. Asshole was a bad guy like one of his toys. They would be taken back to his lair and locked up, beaten, maybe tortured.
The reality wasn’t much better.
Asshole put a gag in Cleb’s mouth. Then he put one in mine.
“We don’t want you making any noise now, do we?” Asshole said.
Maybe we couldn’t make any noise, I thought, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t communicate.
Asshole lifted Cleb and placed him on the windowsill. I hastily bent down and snatched a handful of Cleb’s spy figurines. They were the closest things to hand and small enough to use hide inside my clenched fists. I felt at them, counting them out. I had around six, maybe seven. If I could leave a trail, someone might find it.
Asshole was strong—even for a Titan—and hefted me in a fireman’s lift. He added Cleb on his other shoulder. He climbed out the window and scaled down the trellis. He placed us, feet down, on the grass.
Warm yellow light spilled across the grass and stretched along the ground. I considered running into it to get someone’s attention, but there was no room for failure. He would punish me, or worse, Cleb, if no one spotted us.
Asshole was very careful when he took us through the forest. He paused often, listening for noises in case someone was creeping up behind us. Every so often, I dropped one of the spy figurines, letting it tumble from my grip when Asshole wasn’t looking.
How did Asshole think he was going to get away with this? Did he honestly think Traes wouldn’t track him down? He’d entered Cleb’s room and left behind hair, fingerprints, DNA. He was from this world. Surely, he must have known. But then, logic was never the providence of madmen.
Asshole didn’t look concerned. In fact, he looked quite calm.
I watched as he peeled semi-solid sticky goo from his fingertips and dropped them on the forest floor. He did the same with a mask he was wearing on his face. The moment it made contact with the damp leaves, it curled up on itself, fading to nothing.
Asshole caught me staring.
“It’s useful when you don’t want to leave evidence behind,” he said. “This is not my first rodeo.”
This is not my first rodeo.
What was he saying? That he’d done this before? That he had kidnapped innocent people?
That didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was the foresight. He wasn’t as stupid as I thought he was. It meant he wasn’t incompetent and might get away with this.
He might succeed at taking me and Cleb so far away they might never find us again.
And that terrified me, but not for my sake.
If he captured and took me away, that would be bad enough. It’d been my problem from the get-go. But now I’d brought it down on Cleb too. He didn’t deserve any part of this.
If anything happened to him, it would be because of me.
I muffled around the gag in my mouth. I wanted to tell Asshole that it wasn’t too late. If he let Cleb go, I wouldn’t fight or struggle. I would go with him and do as he asked. This had nothing to do with Cleb. He didn’t need to be part of this.
In response, he waved his hand in my face.
“It’s no use pleading, girly,” he said. “The boy is worth too much to let go. I can get a good price for him from the rich Titan. More than I’d ever get for you. You’re more of what you might call a long-term investment. I’m going to whore you out to every guy that comes calling. After I get my taste, of course.”
He ran a disgusting finger along my jawline.
I turned away from him.
“There’s no use in fighting, girly,” he said. “But go ahead and try. It makes it more interesting for me.”
I wished I could have spoken to Cleb, could have told him to turn back and run. I would run into Asshole and kick him in the shins. I could distract him while he made his break for it.
But it was wishful thinking. I couldn’t speak to Cleb, and even if I could, Asshole would lay me out with a single blow to the head. Cleb was small and a full-grown Titan would catch up to him easily.
And maybe even hurt him.
Above all, I couldn’t let that happen.
Cleb might have to live roughly for a few days but Asshole would get his ransom. Then Cleb would be free.
Then it would be just me and the disgusting Asshole. I’d escaped from him once. I could do it again.
I dropped another figurine and covered the noise it made with a timed footstep.
“Maybe you can help me out with something,” Asshole said.
Help yourself, asshole.
“I can’t decide if you’re the best or worst thing that’s happened to me,” he said. “Get this. It’ll really make you laugh. You were never
