around Todd, noting that he, too, has pissed his pants in fear. Isn’t that ironic, how some monsters get so scared when their time finally comes to play victim? I have a feeling that the Havoc Boys wouldn’t cower like this, pee themselves and whimper like kicked dogs.
Not a chance in hell.
“That’s up to you,” Vic tells me, watching as I complete my circle and pause next to Oscar. It’s not like I’ve forgotten what his boss told me. “If they get the chance, each and every one of them will try to take you from me … Even. Oscar.” Hmm.
He moves away from me, which in reality, gives me all the information I need.
I look at Oscar, and his glasses flash as he pushes them up his nose, flipping me off at the same time. If he didn’t care about me at all, he wouldn’t move away like that. It’s an emotional response that makes me wonder what I could do, if I pushed him hard enough.
My mind flashes to that moment in the hallway where I persisted on touching his tie, until he finally let me.
“We could tell Eric we’ve kidnapped his father,” Callum suggests, shrugging his shoulders as he slips his hands into the pockets of his black cargo shorts. “But we’re of the opinion that he doesn’t care whether his dad lives or dies. So, a better choice would be to use Todd to convince Eric to come here.”
I can only imagine the tortures they have in store for the Kushners.
I don’t have to explain what happened to me there; they know. I told them all, when I was thirteen. I told them everything.
“We thought you could help with the phone call, act like you’re a girl that Todd’s rounded up for Eric,” Aaron adds, and I cringe slightly. I wonder if I’m suffering from my PTSD shit again. I’ve never been diagnosed, but again, kooks and quacks aren’t really in the budget of someone whose little sister doesn’t have shoes without holes in them.
I should probably dig up some of that money and buy her some. That was old Bernadette who buried that money, a Bernadette who was a lot more afraid than she realized. Things are different now.
“So, we use my voice to lure the pervert to a haunted mansion on the edge of Oak Park?” I ask, shaking my head. “If he chooses to resist his perversions, he escapes free and clear. If he doesn’t, he suffers, something like that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Hael says, snickering at me. “If he resists, we’ll just get him later. That’s pretty much it.”
I pause in front of Todd, and then reach out to remove his earbuds. I tuck them in my pocket and then slip the soggy wet gag down his chin, curling my lip and then wiping my hands on the front of the hideous white frock I’m wearing. It looks like something from Abercrombie and Fitch. I don’t quite feel like me without my regular clothes.
“Listen to me,” Todd starts, stuttering slightly as he moves his head around, like he can actually see anything through the black blindfold he’s wearing. “You need to repent. It isn’t too late. Jesus can always heal a sinner.”
Callum grabs Todd by the hair, yanking his head and pressing the edge of his knife—the same one I stabbed Kali with—against the front of his throat. Cal doesn’t even seem unhappy doing it. Actually, he smiles.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Todd pleads, but it’s clear from his tone of voice that he hasn’t fully grasped the sincerity of his peril. “If you bow to God, you will find salvation. If you bow to the devil, you will burn.”
A strange laugh escapes Victor as he comes around to stand beside me.
“I wouldn't bow to Satan anymore than I'd bow to God,” Vic says, slipping a fresh cigarette between his lips. I stare at him, and he lets his dark gaze slide to mine. We’re caught up in each other all of a sudden, and my head spins. He sounded way too hot when he said that, I think, tearing my gaze away to look at Todd. “Try a little harder than that, pervert. You think God wants a child-fucker in his kingdom anymore than he wants assholes like us?”
Victor approaches the chair where Todd’s sitting, Callum’s knife still pressed to his throat, and he leans down in front of him. Lucky for Todd, he can’t see the way Vic looks at