by Lucy Smoke
"They would never have kept that promise," Haze murmurs from across the room.
Kida glances at him. "I know." She looks back to me. "But..." The way she looks at me with her teeth biting down hard on her bottom lip, I know she's hiding something. "The Tanks have a new leader, he's promised to keep you alive if I cooperate."
"They won't keep that promise either," Haze says.
"They will," Kida says. "They're planning to sell her, maybe in the District, maybe Basra."
My head recoils as if I've been struck. "You'd let them do that?" I scoot even further away, shocked that she would even consider this. The sharp pain of betrayal lances through me. Kida, almost more than anyone, should understand that I would rather die than be sold like a whore.
Kida's golden eyes, dulled to a syrupy brown, close as her lips pinch and a distinct expression of pain crosses her features.
"They are going to kill me, Cassie. I know too much. I'm too important. I've been feeding them information as slowly as I possibly can. At first, I gave them so much shit. That's why—combined with my escape attempts—I'm not exactly in the position to get up and walk out of here like it's nothing. My side aches. My ribs are more than likely fractured. I've been knocked out too many times that sometimes I get dizzy just from standing up. There's too much wrong with me. I had to think of something else. You're smart, Cassie. So fucking smart, baby."
Her hand returns to my face as she tries her best to wipe away the remaining tears. "I knew you wouldn't just stay put like I asked you to. I knew you'd come looking for me eventually. And everything I had hoped for happened. Vincent found you." Her short laugh echoes in the nearly empty room.
"He threatened to have me arrested if I didn't cooperate," I say honestly.
Her lips twitch in amusement, eyes lighting up. "That sounds like him. Bastard."
"He wouldn't have really done it," Haze says.
"Yes, he would have," Kida says dismissively as if it's obvious. I guess to her, it is. "He's ruthless."
"He didn't know, then?" Haze asks. "About..." he nods between us.
Kida shakes her head. "No one did."
"You were ashamed of her?" The question makes me bristle with irritation.
Kida isn't afraid of our relationship. Neither am I, for that matter. It's just no one else's business but our own. The only thing keeping me from voicing that sentiment is the genuine curiosity in his tone. Kida glares at him anyway, small eyes narrowing into the tiniest of slits. Her eyelids are so smooth when she does that, her bow shaped mouth turned down at the corners. I memorize every detail of her face like I haven't done it millions of times before. No matter how many times I do it, I always find something new. Like the tiny freckle so close to her eye that it's almost obscured by her lashes.
"I'm not ashamed of anything I do," Kida snaps at Haze, "least of all Cassie."
"You're ready to let her be sold, though, after your death?" Again, an oddly insulting question asked with such honesty. I close my eyes and remain thankful that Kida isn't at full strength, otherwise she might just strangle him. And he's asked a good question, one I'm curious to know the answer to as well. I open my eyes.
Kida remains glaring at Haze with her narrowed gaze for several quiet moments before sagging back against the wall. Her eyes slide closed before her brows draw down. Her words are so quiet I have to lean forward to hear them. "You'd be alive, Cassie girl," she whispers. "You can always do something if you're alive. You just have to survive long enough."
I don't agree, but I know what she's saying. I can't stand the idea of her leaving this world. Even if it means she became a prostitute, I think I'd want her to live anyway. I'd want her to live to fight another day.
"None of this is going to happen," I say. I repeat once more in my head, for myself. "Vincent is outside. He has his teams and even a female commander," I tell her. Surely, she'll feel better knowing if there is a woman that is strong and smart enough to be a commander in Enforcement then that means she's likely hardcore good at these kinds of things.
"I only met her briefly," I admit. "But with connections like that, we're bound to be rescued."
Kida blinks at me. "Tilde's here?"
"You know her?" I ask.
She nods. "Tilde and I have known each other for years."
I frown. "You never told me about that."
Before she can reply, the bolts on the door snap again as the handle yanks down and the door swings in, revealing a dark figure against the bright light of the hallway. I flinch and shield my eyes, not realizing how dark the interior of the cell is until now.
"Bring them," a gruff voice orders.
Strong hands grab me and yank me to my feet as several Tanks enter the room, cramming in as they move. One punches Haze in the stomach before binding his hands behind his back. The same happens to both Kida and I as we're hauled out of the room and down a hallway.
Haze tries to catch my eyes as the Tanks hauling Kida and I shove us forward so that he is the one mostly surrounded. I can't understand what he's trying to express, but his eyes stare at me as if zooming into a lasered focus and I know one thing, at least: if he doesn't have a plan, then he must know something else because he doesn't seem even the tiniest bit worried as we're marched through the hallways encased in a train of massive, hulking men.
When we reach what must be the main room for the pod complex, a makeshift throne room has been erected. I stare around in shock. I had thought throne rooms only existed in books and movies. Kings and queens had only existed on Earth's surface over a hundred years ago. It seems as if the new leader Kida had mentioned might fancy himself a new era king of his kind.
A man stands from the antique, wing-backed chair set up on a dais across the tiled room. Two Tanks in blue, military garb, stand on either side of him as he steps off the dais to stand between them. A hard jab to the back of my legs sends me tumbling before him, my knees slamming into the floor, hard enough to make me flinch. The same happens to Haze, who grunts upon landing, and Kida, who grits her teeth and stares down at the floor.
Seeing her so submissive has me rattled. I glance from her to the Tanks in the room—there are dozens of them. Finally, I manage to drag my gaze away, and I look up at the man that has promised to keep me alive and sell me as a whore.
Familiar eyes greet me, and my mouth opens in shock.
"Hello, Cassandra."
Twelve
A Familiar Face
I stare in horror as blue eyes, the same shade of my own, assess me. Oren grins.
"What the fuck?" It isn't until Oren laughs that I realize I've spoken out loud.
"I haven't seen you in years, little sister, and yet, I'm not surprised those are the first words out of your mouth," he says.
"Little sister?" Haze looks between us, likely seeing the similarities. The same eyes, the same skin tone, and the same multicolored hair. That, at least, is where those similarities end. While my face is smaller and rounder, his is long and sharp as though someone stretched canvas over a too large frame. His nose is a long snout of a thing while mine is, again, much smaller, dainty—even for a woman.
Oren smiles revealing sharp canines and flat teeth. It's such a vicious smile that a shiver rushes down my spine. Kida doesn't speak. She doesn't gasp at the knowledge that this man is, in fact, my brother.
She knew.
"Well," Oren says, clapping his hands. "Now that we're all here, we're going to go over some things, shall we?"
Oren leans down and grabs my upper arm, yanking me to my feet and standing me in front of them. "Our lovely guest—Kida darling—has been giving us information on Vincent Diamond's campaigns as Governor of Tartarus."
There is a resounding and thunderous boom of boos that echo around the room at the mention of Vincent's name. Oren quiets and nods his head knowingly. When they fall silent once more, he continues, his hand squeezing my arm tightly.
"Kida darling, has given us everything we need to take control!"
Another echoing roar of excited war cries erupts from the room.
"And this, men," Oren shoves me forward. "Will be the first of many rewards. Women. Money. Power. That is the Tank way. Tanks are power, and they are control."
"Power! Control! Power! Control!"
Staring, wide-eyed at the room full of men—all of them massive, stacked with muscle, and many of them tattooed— fear edges its way into my mind. Their chants rise higher and higher in volume. I've lost control, I realize. I turn my face to Kida and Haze. Kida's eyes remain downcast. Haze's are watching me with unrestrained fury and an edge of darkness that feels as familiar as my own.
"We have been offered this opportunity by our Benefactor and we will not fail him!" Oren cries out, silencing the crowd.
Benefactor? I think as Oren stalks forward. Sliding around me, he grabs Kida by her hair and drags her behind him as he moves. She cries out in pain as her bad arm slams into the ground when he drops her in the middle of the room.
Horror washes over my face as Oren stares down at her, his eyes devoid of any emotion. Even when we were children, he had carried this face with him. The darkness of his expression is not at all unknown to me. It was there when I was thirteen and he had explained my role in the family; bringing in money. Then he had introduced me to several of his "friends" and explained that anything they wanted, they could have. I had left that very night to avoid this.
"Kida darling," he says. Her grimacing face looks up at him, bruised, bloody, and in pain. "It's time."
"You'll keep your promise?" she demands.
"The man dies, but little sister will live," he agrees. His eyes find mine over her head. "And she'll be where she was always meant to be."
"Kida!" I scream, shock, horror, outrage, and fear a collection overflowing in my voice. She can't just let this happen. Vincent is right outside. Why aren't they here yet?!
"I'm sorry, Cassie. I'm so sorry. But you'll be alive. You'll be alive. You'll be alive." She repeats the last words over and over again, and I can see that it gives Oren a sick sense of satisfaction to see her like this. I'm shattered to know how broken she is.
I turn my glare to Oren and try to discreetly adjust my hands behind my back. The cuffs—similar to the ones that Thayer, Levi, and Haze used on me the first time—click against my scanner. Keeping my gaze trained straight ahead, back ramrod straight, eyes staring at the man who shares my blood, but isn't my family. No, my family kneels on the ground at his feet, doing her fucking best to try and keep me alive and it infuriates me.
Oren grins at me, blue eyes like chips of ice, assessing me. "You're next, little sister."
I grit my teeth as a shocking animalistic snarl rises from the depths of my throat. I work to flip my scanner over by rubbing the bracelet against my back. "You are going to regret this, Oren."
"Why?" he asks with a laugh, gesturing around to the men at his disposal that follow him like a twisted cult gathering around an equally twisted leader. "This is the way the human race was meant to be, little sister. Women are inferior, weak in mind and body."
"You're wrong!" I snap.
Oren frowns and Kida looks up in surprise as he moves around her, heading straight for me. My hands freeze as he circles me, gripping my wrists and jerking my arms up. I yelp and suck in a pained gasp, bending as he examines the scanner.
"Oh, no, no. This won't do," he tsks. "If you wanted to get out, why didn't you ask, Cassie?"
There's a beep and a pop as the cuffs release and my arms fall forward. I turn, suspicious, rubbing my wrists. Oren tosses the cuffs to a nearby Tank and advances towards me. I take a hesitant step back.
"I can't have you using this," Oren snaps, grabbing the wrist with my scanner still on it. "It's not fair for what I have planned for you now." Oren drags me across the room, past Kida who tries to shakily get to her feet. "No, no," he says as we pass by. "Don't get up on our account." His booted foot makes contact with the back of her knee as he strides by and she falls to her side, face slamming into the hard, tiled flooring. Even Haze flinches as he watches on from behind us. His teeth clench and his eyes promise retribution, though Oren isn't looking.
Stopping in front of his dais, Oren raises my wrist high and with a small smile, he brings it crashing down before I realize his intention and slams my wrist into the dais. I choke out a broken scream. The face of the scanner cracks and Oren smiles as he keeps me from yanking my wounded wrist out of his grasp. He gently pries open the clasp and lets the shattered scanner fall to the floor.
"There now," he grins. "All better."
I suck in air through my teeth trying not to whimper as he takes my wounded wrist and uses it to steer me back towards the middle of the room. The men shift on their feet, eyes hungry—for what, I don't want to even imagine.
My pulse throbs in my injured wrist. I force myself to flex the fingers of my hand anyway and nearly cry in relief when my fingers tingle and move without more pain shooting through my joints. It's not broken at least. The bone might be fractured, but at least it's not fully broken. I don't know what Oren is planning, but given the pleased smile on his face, I know it can't be anything good, and I will likely need to be able to use that wrist.
"Bricker!" Oren calls with a deep authoritative voice.
A young Tank, as equally muscled as the others, jolts and steps forward. Looking at him, my lips curl in distaste. He has a tattoo on his bare arm, a mirror image of the tattoos that many other Tanks have. They all stand around, their arms crossed, their eyes watching and bloodthirsty. Bricker leers at me as he stops beside Oren.
"Sir?!" he answers without drawing his gaze away from me.
Oren releases me to clap him on the shoulder. "Bricker, you like women, don't you?" he asks.
My whole body begins to shake. Fuck. Fuck. No. He wouldn't...
Bricker looks at me and grins. "I do, sir."
"You won't like me," I promise with venom.
"What do you like to do to women, Bricker?" Oren asks, turning to look at me with his hand still on the man's shoulder.
Bricker cracks his knuckles, understanding Oren's suggestion. "I like to teach women their place in life, sir."
"And what is their place in life, men?!" Oren calls.
"On their knees!" the men in the room bellow.
"Maybe you should teach my sister something about her place, eh?" Oren slaps his back and steps away while Bricker begins to circle me.
"NO!" Kida yells. Her voice is rich with some of that furious spark in her that has been absent.
Haze's reverberating growl rises as my heart rate leaps into my throat. I back away as Bricker comes closer, narrowing my gaze and dropping my hands—attempting to ignore the tingling pain in my wrist. I hear Oren say something to the men, though I can't make out the words, and their responding laughter. My chest pumps up and down, my breath comes faster.
"He's backing you into a corner, Cass!" Haze’s words of warning are followed by a grunt as another Tank kicks him in the stomach. My ankles hit the dais and Bricker leaps forward, a meaty fist aiming straight for my face. Twisting, I trip and land on my back behind the Tank. Bricker turns and frowns at me in disappointment.
"Women are good on their back," he says.
My elbows and feet scramble to flatten to the floor and I scoot back as he advances on me. "But as Oren says, you are going to be so much better on your knees."
I roll just as he dives again. As his fist connects with the floor I jump to my feet. "You want to see my knees?" I ask, grabbing the back of his head with both hands, bruises already forming across one arm, and bring his face down as I jerk my leg up. My knee connects with his face and the cartilage of his nose cracks under the force. He chokes as blood comes pouring down into his mouth. "Enjoy, motherfucker."
Bricker growls, one wide palm covering his mouth and nose. When he moves to rise, as one of his knees hits the floor and the other foot slaps the tile, I bring my leg back again and kick him squarely in the balls. He howls and
hunches over protectively. I back away whirling to face Oren. I freeze. Oren presses the barrel of a gun—one that looks well kept, obviously military grade rather than a poor man's antique carried over from the first of our ancestors that had boarded the cities—against Kida's temple.
Her face is drained of color, but she stares at me with hard golden eyes. Bloodlust and anger seep out of her broken expression.
"I had hoped to teach you a lesson, Cassie," Oren says regretfully. "I had hoped Bricker could make you understand. But the young ones are a bit too merciful, aren't they?"
He looks at someone behind me before nodding his head. I spin, but the Tank that moves forward doesn't touch me. Instead, he grabs Bricker, one hand on the back of the man's head, the other just under his chin. The younger Tank's eyes widen, and he reaches up to his comrade's arms, trying to pry them away.
"No–" I gasp as the older Tank twists, snapping Bricker's neck without a second thought and the younger man's body falls lifeless to the floor.
“Now, here’s what I want,” Oren states as if a man hasn’t just been killed and his body isn’t lying on the floor less than half a room from him. “I want Vincent to come in here, where we have the upper hand and you, Cassie, are going to do that for me.”
I’m still very much aware of the quickly cooling body behind me that was living only seconds before. Haze’s face, as he kneels between Oren, Kida, and me, is impassive. He doesn’t even flick a glance towards Bricker’s body. It’s as if his indifferent and unsympathetic expression is there specifically to tell me that I shouldn’t care. Bricker would have beaten me bloody just to impress Oren. He probably would have killed me to gain my brother’s favor.
Just as Oren opens his mouth to explain how I am to execute his plan, the building goes dark, alarms trigger and crash through the room. I don't hesitate a second before ducking down and sprinting towards my brother. I plow into him in the dark, sending the both of us sprawling across the floor and I hear his gun hit the ground and skid across the tiles.