him, like he’s so much trash that needs taking out.
“Listen to me, Todd. We don’t want to hurt you.” Lie. The feeling of it coats my skin like ash, and I shiver. I won’t survive it if Vic lies to me ever again, by omission or otherwise. I’ll have to tell him that. “But, what we do want is money.” I almost laugh at that, biting my lip to keep the sound back. Callum grins at me, adjusting the knife just enough that a small drop of blood slides down the front of Todd’s pale throat.
“Money?” he asks, sounding hopeful. “I have money. In cash, too.” Callum pulls the knife back and then hits Todd upside the head with the handle, making his head flop forward with a groan.
“Shut your fucking face,” he whispers, and the sound makes me go cold inside. Holy crap.
Vic just stays right where he is, waiting patiently. Aaron and I exchange a look, and I can see in his expression that he wants to spirit me away from here, take me somewhere—anywhere—else. He doesn’t want me to see this and, since this is my request, I can walk away at any time.
I make zero moves to do so.
Todd filmed me in a bikini; he bought me for his son.
That, and I don’t know what he did to Penelope when I wasn’t around.
“Coraleigh Vincent,” Victor continues, standing up straight. Hael takes a seat on an ancient chair, its frame skeletal. All that’s left in the seat are rusted metal springs. “We know she brings you girls. That’s what we’re interested in. We don’t want a onetime payout; our game is longevity.”
Victor Channing is such a talented actor that I almost believe what he’s saying. I’d be shocked if Todd didn’t. After all, when has a vigilante gang ever come after a pedophile purely for the sake of justice?
No, it’s much more believable—and much more likely—that we’d be in it for money, as willing to trade girls into sex slavery as Coraleigh. If a woman who works for the department of human services can be that twisted, that cruel, then why not us?
“Yeah, yeah, I know Leigh,” Todd says, shaking so badly that he rattles a bit on the chair. “I can get you in touch with her for sure.” Victor and Hael exchange a look, and the former nods. Hael stands up from the chair and grabs a black latex glove from a box on the table, snapping it onto his left hand and then doing the same for his right. He picks up a cell phone from a rickety side table and holds it up to show that the screen is locked.
“What’s your pin code for your phone, Todd?” Vic asks as Oscar watches the scenario unfold with disinterest. Aaron is the only one who looks actively uncomfortable, but when his eyes glance Todd’s direction, they shimmer with the sort of darkness that nightmares are made out of. He hates Todd as much as the other Havoc Boys, he just doesn’t revel in the chase like they do. Maybe that’s the difference between monsters who are made … and monsters who are born? Vic is a born beast, for sure.
Todd hands out his code and Hael opens his phone up, searching the contacts for Coraleigh’s name. She comes right up, and Vic smiles.
“Perfect. Now, here’s what we’re going to do.”
I accept the phone as Victor explains his plan to Todd, scrolling past Coraleigh’s number to find Eric’s. If I analyze my feelings too deeply, I’ll chicken out here. Calling Eric, letting Todd tease him with the idea of me, and then using my voice to warm him up to the idea of coming here. It grosses me out.
It also excites me.
Who knew vengeance could be such a turn-on?
The trees in the front yard of the property are magnificent, old and untouched by the greediness of human hands. Most of them are evergreens, so they’re still pretty, even though it’s verging on the edge of winter. Here and there, a barren oak tree sits, a reminder that this property was once a part of the Springfield elite; they always marked their land with oaks as a status symbol.
Victor and me, we’re both old money turned dirt poor.
“Do you like this place?” Callum asks, pausing nearby, hunched over in his hoodie with his hands in his front pocket. His hood is down, which is surprising. It’s one of his shields, and he uses it well. “I mean,