couldn’t be left to their own devices without a girl getting hurt.
It’s not real, that voice says into my ear.
It’s very real. I think Savannah might have at least one broken bone—one of her ankles. That’s not fake.
All the men line up in front of Demeter’s chair like it’s time for collection at church. Cash comes out of their pockets, one by one, and they stuff it into the box. If I wasn’t so near to being sick in a wastebasket I’d roll my eyes. Such useless theater. James takes one step closer to me. I don’t see why until the men clear out and the next part of Demeter’s entertainment begins.
She beckons Cal forward and says something, and right in front of me, her face transforms into the very image of my father’s. Her eyes are lit with cruelty. Even her smile—fuck, her smile.
Cal shakes his head.
Demeter cocks hers to the side.
I can’t look away, but I fucking want to. I had to watch my father do his worst to my brothers without flinching, without reacting. It’s harder now. Demeter gives a signal to someone off to the side, and one of the girls gets pushed out into the center of the room. Xavier steps up next to her and spins her in a slow circle. She’s a million miles away. I hope the emptiness in her expression is from a drug that will let her forget. Two other cops hover near Cal, who is still refusing.
The thing about Cal is that he’s not a fighter. Not like James. So when the beating starts, he doesn’t so much as raise his hands to cover his face.
I put a hand on James’ shoulder. He’s not moving, hardly breathing, but he won’t close his eyes. Bearing witness is its own special hell.
It continues.
Cal is the beginning of the chain. His refusal of the girl in the middle of the floor means she suffers, too. Xavier unzips her dress and forces her out of it. She stumbles to the side and I can see that Demeter is saying something to her. Alicia—her name is Alicia. She shakes her head, the movement slow and uncoordinated. The result is that Alicia goes to a group of cops.
And Xavier gets Savannah.
Demeter unwraps the leash from her hand, slowly, slowly, and then she hands it off to Xavier. Savannah has lost all composure now and she tries to stop it from happening. Yes, it’s her ankle that’s broken or badly injured at the very least. This does not stop Xavier from dragging her back out into the center of the room.
Alicia is hidden behind a wall of blue. One of them moves aside to reveal that she’s tied to a chair now. The rest of the girls are pretending not to notice.
Xavier circles Savannah, then pulls her roughly to her hands and knees. Demeter claps like she’s at the fucking ballet, full of glee.
I turn away from the window like a coward and James shoves a metal wastebasket into my hands with only seconds to spare. I see Demeter’s full plan now, see it backlit on her little stage. She has Cal to signal that she knows my people. She’s putting on this nightly scene as an appetizer. Soon, they’ll be dying one by one by the window. It’s a trap, meant for me, and it’s a good one. A tried-and-true hostage situation.
She knows I can’t leave them there.
She knows I can’t leave Brigit to save them.
I spit into the wastebasket and wipe my mouth. Look back through the window. Demeter has lifted her eyes from the scene in front of her.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was looking at me. Accusing me.
“What are you going to do?” James asks, voice wooden.
“Exactly what she expects me to do,” I say with a huff of breath. “I’m going to walk into her trap. I fought it for so long. Years, really.”
James looks at me like I’m crazy, but it’s not only about the women and men being held captive by her. This is a long game. A family affair. It started with dead birds and pasta shells. It started from the moment we were born broken gods.
“We’ll mount an attack,” I say, my voice hoarse.
Relief washes over James, but that’s only because he doesn’t understand. He believes we’ll win. He’s never seen what Demeter can do. Through that window? It’s an appetizer. The battle we’re heading toward is the main course. Demeter. My little sister.