What she’s saying makes no sense. A group that pays to torture people? It’s the kind of thing that only happens in the dark recesses of the internet. Not here. Not in a small fishing community like Tempest Cove.
“People come to them to be hurt? You went to them for this? And worse yet, you suggested I go to them for this?”
“Remember how desperate you were? Imagine thousands of dollars paid to you. Money you don’t have to pay back. All your debts and problems? Gone.”
“Desperate, or not, I was trying to avoid being tortured and killed.”
“Because you didn’t know the terms, or the limits.” She turns toward me, her eyes imploring. “But imagine if that drug dealer had outlined exactly what he would do to you, and afterward, your debts were clear. You never had to see him again.”
Maybe. Maybe I was desperate in the moment. Who knows? I was certainly willing, at the time, to proposition the Devil of Bonesalt.
“Lucian does this? He pays to hurt people?”
“I don’t think he participates. I think he’s just one who provides the funding.”
“Why? What could he possibly get in return for that?”
“I don’t know, okay? I shouldn’t even be telling you.”
“How did you even learn about this group?”
“I heard through someone else about them. On the streets, they’re like … gods.” There’s a sparkle in her eyes when she says it, as if she believes it herself. “To be chosen is a lifesaver, for some.”
“They tortured you?”
“My circumstances were such that … they weren’t interested. I was a single mother with a child. For what I was willing to do, they weren’t willing to take both of us in. I’ll admit, it was stupid. But we were starving, and you don’t realize the depths you’ll sink to when you have a hungry child. Had Rand not approached me, I’d be walking the streets of Boston looking for Johns. I’m not proud of that, but I’ll do anything for my little girl. Anything.”
“So you made a deal with Lucian …” I was aware from the start that he was fucking her, but to hear the reasons behind it somehow doesn’t sit well with me.
“Yes. But that was before you came along. He hasn’t touched me since.”
“And has he ever physically hurt you?”
“Never.” The unyielding tone of her voice dissolves when she adds, “He has asked me for things, though.”
“What kinds of things?”
“To cut him.”
“Cut him? As in, he’s the one who bleeds?”
“Yes. I hated it. Every minute. It’s sick and disgusting. But I did it, whatever he asked of me. For Jackie.”
I knew Lucian had a penchant for knives, and admitted that a blade to his throat got him off. The scars on his skin, separate from the injuries, confirm that he has hurt himself, too. It’s just strange to hear that he’d request that from her. “Why would you tell any of this to Nell? Why would you risk it?”
“They know where Jackie goes to school. A police officer has apparently visited her, called her down to the office to ask questions about Lucian and me.”
“About the group? I’m not following.” Frowning, I shake my head, trying to make sense of what she’s saying. “What makes you think they know where she goes to school?”
“The ring. Jackie said he was wearing a ring with a moth. The same one Lucian wears. The same one they all wear. He’s one of them.”
“So, why didn’t you have her removed? Why didn’t you pick her up, the moment you heard about this?”
“Because I’m certain, if I run, they’ll find me.” She raises a trembling hand to her face and wipes at a tear that streaks down her cheek. “If something happens to me, I need someone to know. To protect my daughter. That’s why I told Nell.”
“And you don’t trust Lucian to protect her.”
“I want to. But how can you trust the man who funds these people?”
Funds them. My mind scrambles to wrap itself around what she’s telling me. Lucian funds a secret group who pay to torture people. Pay to torture. No matter how many times I repeat it in my head, it still comes out wrong. “Who are these people?”
“You met some of them at the masquerade. They’re powerful and wealthy. And they have connections to other powerful and wealthy people.”
“How could you not know this would happen? That they would be watching you after? That they’d question your relationship with Lucian?”