“What’s this, Baba?” Tobias asks.
I glance down at the instrument in my fingers, the cylindrical device resembling something akin to an EpiPen.
“Be very careful.” Luther kneels in front of his son. “What you have in your hands is a device that can put someone to sleep.”
Someone? Or me?
My thoughts rage into a tailspin.
I fight and claw not to show panic but I know Luther too well. I’m certain he’s concocted an elaborate Hunger Game-type scenario where I’m pitted against a child I would never harm and a sister I adore.
Luther turns his focus to me. “Both of you need to do something really important. And there’s no room for error.”
“You want us to put someone to sleep?” I straighten my shoulders. “Who?”
“My son’s associate.” He pushes to his feet as I clench my fingers around the device, attempting to stop the shake of my hand. “I assume you’ll enjoy the task seeing as though you felt inclined to attack him earlier.”
Shock overwhelms me.
Shock and a whole lot of confusion.
“What about me, Baba?” Tobias’s voice trembles. “What do I do?”
Luther pats the boy’s head. “Your task is your brother.”
My stomach bottoms out as Tobias gasps, his jaw slacking.
“Why?” I swallow over the drought taking over my throat. “And how do you expect a woman and a child to overpower two full-grown men?”
“You don’t need to overpower them. You only need to get close enough to stab that device.”
“But Baba…” Tobias pleas. “I don’t want—”
“You’re not going to hurt your brother, son. You’re only going to put him to sleep so we can bring him here.” He crouches in front of the child again and places a hand on his knee. “His friends haven’t been very nice to him. They’re teaching Cole bad things about us. But once you put him to sleep, we will bring him back here and talk some sense into him.”
It’s a kidnapping. Of his own adult son. Facilitated by a fucking child.
“And what happens to Luca?” I stare at my tormentor, searching for answers.
He glares. “That’s none of your concern. If I were you I’d take this opportunity as a godsend. You’re not my most-favored possession at the moment.”
Despite the fear coursing through my veins, I return his pointed look. I curl my lip and hope to remind him why I’ve always been his favorite.
I’m strong.
I’m a fighter.
The tactic works. His eyes soften. His tight lips twitch into a sly grin.
I raise my chin. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”
I know this task won’t buy my forgiveness. The only way I can earn back my coveted position in this house is in the bedroom, under his body and beneath his fists. But I may be able to forego a far bigger penalty.
He smirks. “Good.”
Tobias leans forward, peering around Chloe to look at me. To really look at me. He’s scared. Panicked. He needs me to fight for him. To tell Luther this plan is destined to fail. And God, how I want to battle his demons for him even after he ripped my heart out.
But I can’t.
Those sweet, innocent eyes tear me apart one slow blink at a time and all I can do is ignore him. I can’t be his champion when my neck is on the chopping block.
I have to stay on the straight and narrow for a while. To obey with complete obedience. To lead my women by example and remind them that additional punishments are only handed out to those who don’t play by the rules.
Even though it kills me, I can’t win this battle for Tobias.
“What about me?” Chloe remains stock still at my side. “What will I do?”
Luther’s lips incline lightly. Chris’s do, too.
A skitter of foreboding descends along my spine, the discomfort prickling my skin.
“You, sweet Chloe,” Luther purrs, “will be our guinea pig.”
4
Penny
The gentle kiss of sea spray brushes my cheeks as the boat bounds across the water’s surface.
I hold Tobias at my side, helping him remain upright as we speed through the darkness before sunrise, our vessel quickly approaching an island in the distance.
I’m calm.
Focused.
I’ve been through a lot worse than stabbing a man with a sedative-filled syringe. And if I succeed, I’m sure I’ll live through much more.
I listened with intent as Luther instructed Tobias on how to use the device. He’d told the boy how to hide the cylinder in his long shirtsleeve until the time was right. Then how to jam the tube against a body part, clothing-covered or not, and plunge the leaver with force.
I then watched as Tobias practiced on Chloe as she sobbed and begged him to stop.
Nobody acknowledged her pleas.
Not even me.
All I could do was hold her hand as Tobias jabbed the device against her thigh, then glanced at his father for praise.
I’d been shocked at the drug’s quick effect. Panicked, too. The sudden crumple of Chloe’s body made me question if something far more sinister had been injected into her system.
Something lethal.
But her pulse remained strong. Her breathing even.
Now, all I have to do is mimic the process, only on a man far bigger and stronger than I am.
There’s no room for reluctance. I need to snatch the tube strategically placed in the waistband of my cream pants and strike without hesitation.
That is, if I can get close enough to my target.
“Penny?” Tobias glances up at me, his arms clinging around my hips. His hold tightens whenever we hit a bump in the water, yet the emotion peering up at me has nothing to do with the rough ride.
He’s petrified.
Underneath the force calm, I am, too.
The new scenery should be a welcomed distraction from my regular confinement but I don’t like being out here. Exposure coats my skin. I lose hold of even more of my strength in this great unknown.
As sickening as it is to admit to myself, I feel more at ease in my gilded cage. I know what to expect in my torture chamber. I’m entirely susceptible here.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re going to be fine.” I fake a smile even though it sickens me to lie to him. “It’s all for the best, remember? Your dad is helping Cole. He’s taking him away from the bad people.”
Tobias’s lips move in an indecipherable response. I can’t hear him over the rush of ocean and the whirl of wind through my hair.
“It’s okay.” I crouch to his level and look him in the eye as Luther and Chris stand at the steering wheel a few yards away.
“No. That man was nice to you.”
“That man?” I frown. “Your brother?”
“No, the other man. The one you were angry with. He’s nice. He’s Cole’s friend. He’s not bad… is he?”
Everything inside me clenches—stomach, throat, lungs.
There’s still so much goodness left in this vulnerable child. I’m proud of him for being able to see past his father’s lies to think for himself.
“He’s not a nice man, Toby.” I grab his hand and entwine our fingers. “He only acts that way.”