Ashes (Web of Desire #3) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,91
your experiences, but for me, I’m not unhappy where I am and now with you also here, it’s perfect.”
“What were you going to tell me?”
I let out another breath. “Reid found Kristine and Pastor Roberto.”
My eyes widened. “Is that where you went? What happened?”
I laid my head back again. “They weren’t expecting our visit.”
“Our?”
“Mason went with me.”
“Oh.”
I scoffed. “Oh, don’t oh Mason. He has some unique experience that up until today, I’d yet to see firsthand. Let’s just say he’s very persuasive and imaginative.”
“I’m not sure I want to hear the details.”
“I’ll spare you those. I want you to know they’re dead, both of them. I realize it won’t make you sleep better, but it will give you the reassurance that two other people from your past will never bother you. You see, that’s what they did: they blackmailed both others on the sales chain like the Millers and also victims.” The thought brought the small hairs on my arms and legs to life. When they found a victim who’d made it to the other side, they blackmailed them, threatening to expose their past.
“They won’t be found,” I said. “And with time will be officially classified as missing like you and so many others were by their doing. It’s appropriate to let them disappear. They don’t deserve a clean break.”
“Why won’t their bodies be found?”
“The means by which they died is classified. If their bodies would ever be discovered and the wrong people found out what agent was used, it could have repercussions. There aren’t many people who know that chemical agent exists.”
“Could you or Mason be caught?”
I shook my head. “No. The Ortizes lived near the Gulf of Mexico. Now they’re dead within its depths.”
“Did you talk to them first?”
I nodded, remembering the scene. With each Ortiz tied to a kitchen chair, Mason and I had their undivided attention. I let out a feigned laugh. “They didn’t remember me.”
Maddie’s eyes grew. “How could they not remember? I thought of her…more times than I care to recall.”
“Nope.” My head shook. “That simple fact alone made killing them easier. Once she realized the error of her lack of recollection, Kristine pretended she remembered. She had the facts and time of year wrong. You see, the two of them sold so many women and babies, they couldn’t separate one from the other.” I turned to my wife, lifting her hand again and peppering her knuckles with kisses. “You were and are the most important person in my life, and to them you were another sale, another transaction.”
“Another commodity,” she said, her tone dripping with sadness.
I lifted Maddie’s chin, bringing her gaze to mine. “People like them are monsters in the true sense of the word. Yes, I killed them. I listened as they cried out, writhing in pain. I watched as their bodies began to fail them and the realization hit that they wouldn’t live to see another day. I listened as they begged for the antidote. I wanted to give it them just to watch it all again.”
Her eyes fluttered shut before opening. “I think there’s something wrong with me. What you’re saying isn’t upsetting me. I feel almost vindicated.”
“Good. You and others like you. And me and others like me. They sold you, and in doing so, changed the course of my life too. Each individual was a pebble tossed into a pond, and they didn’t give a shit where the waves landed.
“Don’t you see, Maddie? I’m a monster in my own way, and I’m not apologizing for it. It’s all about power. The Ortizes used their power and lies to suck in young people as we’d been and gain their trust, only to turn around and sell them to other monsters, such as the Millers, who in turn sold them again. Some might see you and me as monsters for not feeling remorse in their deaths, but in reality, the world is full of monsters. To a mouse, a cat is a monster.”
“I’m one too,” she said.
“How many women did Andros make you prepare?”
Madeline looked down. “Twenty-seven.”
“The pastor and Kristine weren’t able to give me a number. Pregnancies were their thing. That’s why they came after us. A young couple with no money doesn’t pay for birth control. They targeted us from the get-go so they could sell the mother and baby. Creating the mission was the perfect front to lure kids that no one else wanted. Who would miss them?”