He struts in like a king, looking immaculate in his fresh-pressed, stiff uniform. His knee-high boots shine with a new coat of polish. He scans the room, resting his callous eyes on me.
I blink away the smell of his heavy cologne and stand. “Wilson, what a pleasure.”
“Don’t patronize me, girl. I have news for you. Bad news,” he says. He narrows his eyes and places his hand on the hilt of his gun. “It must be genetic, you know. The fact that you can complicate things when already complicated.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” My mouth turns down in a puzzled expression. I feel so vulnerable without Cole here.
“You’ve been accused—again,” he says. “Tell me something—do you honestly find pleasure being a whore?” Wilson whips out his gun and presses it to my forehead in one quick motion. “Are you trying to make me look like a fool in front of my men—in front of everyone? If you think for one minute I won’t pull this trigger because you think I need you, you’re wrong. I’m quite capable of finding another way to get to Keegan.” As he holds the gun to my head, he scans the room, taking in the drawings and finally resting on my ring.
I want to scream and beg but can barely breathe with the cold metal digging into my brow. How is it possible to be accused, not once, but twice? I’ve been so careful not to flaunt my love for Cole. I just don’t understand.
He lowers his pistol and then suddenly hits me across the face with it.
I crumple to the floor, holding my cheek and crying. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’ve done nothing wrong!” I’m lying. But there’s no way he could possibly know about us—right?
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re a slut!” Wilson screams into my face.
Bruno walks in the door after hearing the commotion, his face a mask of confusion and horror. But he can do nothing but stand by and watch.
Blood trickles down my face from a cut in my cheekbone. I can already feel it swelling through my agony. My hands shake. My body tremors with fear.
“Any other sinner would be executed for what you’ve done!” Wilson pulls me up by my hair and pushes me against the wall. “But I can’t do that. The commander ordered me to give you one more chance. He seems to believe you’re the only one who can bring us Keegan.” His hot breath and heavy cologne coupled with my injury make my head pound with a ferocious headache. His eyes search mine with an evil glint and a wicked smile. Then his opposite hand puts away his gun and touches me. He kisses my neck and slobbers on my collarbone. He moans with delight as he runs his hands over my shirt and I close my eyes. My insides crawl with disgust and humiliation.
“If you fail, you’re all mine… and trust me—I will take it slow. Really slow.” His eyes undress me. Then he pulls back sharply and lets go. “Oh, and don’t forget. If you die, Cole dies. If it happens again, you’ll both die. Together—on stage!”
I slide down the wall, shock overtaking me. My heart thunders with adrenaline, and my brain feels like it’s bleeding from the inside. I put my hands on my face, feeling the swelling where the gun connected with my skull. Worst of all, he knows about Cole… but how? And I just want to disappear into a tiny million pieces. My worst fear, of all fears, has come to fruition.
“Okay.” As I reply, my eyes meet Bruno’s. He stands still as a statue in the doorway. He just witnessed the deal being made and my humiliation with it. I bow my head into my arms in defeat.
“See, Bruno, that’s how you get things done.” Wilson turns on his heel and smacks Bruno on the back, pulling him into Cole’s room.
I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to protect Keegan and warn Cole that Wilson knows. I’ve got to make Bruno promise he won’t tell a soul about what just happened. My brain feels overloaded and I sit, pressed against the wall, for what feels like hours. All I want is for Cole to wrap his arms around me and tell me it’s going to be okay. This is so confusing. My head swirls, feeling foggy from the impact of his gun.
Bruno storms into my room, practically sending me into cardiac arrest. “He’s gone. You’re coming with me.”
“Wh…what?” I blink, feeling the pain shoot across my jaw from where Wilson pistol-whipped me. My hand runs over my cheek, feeling the swelling get worse by the minute.
“Screw the lockdown. We’re going to Sutton—now!” Bruno starts throwing his stuff into his bag and pulling on his boots.
“No! He could kill you.” I stand up, teetering against the wall.
“Lexi, stand up and start walking—now!” He opens my door to the dark hallway and gestures me to follow him.
“What about the checkpoint?” I ask.
“Shh.” He whispers, “We’re not going out that way. Try to keep up.”
I stumble along behind him as he leads me in another direction, past an empty guard station, and down a pitch-black staircase. At the bottom, he checks both ways before leading me along the back of the building.
I never noticed the shantytown behind it before. Thousands of tarps hang in a subdued array of colors, along with hundreds of tin shacks, forming a poverty-ridden community. It’s no wonder the car bombings have been staged out of here. It’s too hard to pinpoint from whom or where they came when surveying the possible hiding places.
Bruno whistles, low and slow, to get my attention. My head snaps forward, creeping behind him through some of the flimsy houses with corrugated metal roofs. It brings back memories of learning about third-world countries in school, except even they had it good compared to the desecration in the Hole.
The thick smell of fetid garbage and hollow, angry glares greet me as we pass through four to five huts. I can’t breathe. Their skeletal appearances shock me into silence and I put my right hand on Bruno for support.
After we pass through, we make our way back into the streets. My head injury begins to weigh on me, making me feel dizzy in the blistering heat. The sun beats down overhead and the slight breeze kicks dirt into our eyes.
Bruno slows for a moment and glances back at me. “You never saw those people before, have you?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“That’s where sinners go when they don’t have a job. All of them are starving to death.”
“I…I thought everyone had a job.”
“Nope. Once you outlive your usefulness, they find another body to take your place,” he whispers over his shoulder, keeping an eye out for danger.
The image of their emaciated bodies repulses me. How can anyone be so cruel? It just becomes one more thing to fuel my anger. With each step, I feel more and more determined to survive and maybe even conquer. The reminder of Wilson’s hands, his words, his cocky behavior… I won’t let him get the best of me. Then I stumble and fall to my hands and knees.
Bruno gently picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. He jogs to the hospital, doing his best to stay out of sight. When we arrive, he takes me in a side entrance, forcing me to walk on my own two heavy feet. No one even bothers looking at me because of how insanely busy it is.
He takes out a key and opens a window along the base of the building. He picks me up by my waist and I climb inside, dropping to the floor and almost crashing into an old rickety chair below. Bruno climbs in right after me. When my eyes adjust, I realize where I am. The basement.
I can’t move. “Bruno… I—can’t.”
“It’s the only way we can get in without being noticed. Don’t worry. I’ll be with you the whole time. I won’t leave your side.”
With resignation and fear, I step into the darkness. And then I freeze in panic.