And there’s my reason.
I take several quick steps toward Marlow’s turned back, my lips curling up over my teeth in disgust. I’m almost to him, Vin shooting me a horrified look over his shoulder. I’m reaching out to take hold of him with one hand and unsheathe my knife with another. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to end this for everyone.
I’m swung off the ground and spun around in a circle. Shouting in anger, I thrash and claw at the arm around me. I know it’s Ryan but my frustration is so deep I dig into his skin, drawing blood and snarling like an animal. The room spins in front of my eyes in a blur, and just before my feet are put back on solid ground I catch a familiar face in Marlow’s guard.
Andy.
“Slow down,” Ryan whispers brusquely in my ear, his arm still around my waist as he holds my back against his front. “Not yet.”
“Tie her up,” Marlow commands, sounding oddly disinterested. “Be careful not to mark her skin, but keep her contained. I’ll take her with me when I leave. Now, Vincent, show me the rest of the building. I want to see what I’m buying.”
Marlow and Vin leave without a look back, followed by four of each of their guards. Ryan and I are left alone with the remaining crew: two of Vin’s men, four of Marlow’s. I’m both relieved and annoyed when Andy steps toward me with a length of rope.
“Put her down by the door,” Andy tells Ryan sternly.
He does as he’s told, leading me to a vacant chair by the door and gently pushing me down until I’m glaring up at Andy.
“Tie it loosely,” Ryan warns under his breath.
Andy shifts his eyes to the other men in the room. They’re all watching us.
“So I don’t mark her skin. Yeah, I heard him.”
“So I can get loose and snap your neck,” I tell him, leaning forward to get in his face as he leans down to tie my ankles. “I’ve missed you, Andy. Did you miss me?”
“Shut your stupid mouth,” he whispers bitterly. “If they hear you—”
“They’ll know all about you. That’s the point.”
He tugs harshly on the rope wrapping around my ankles. I fight the urge to wince as the rough fibers scrape across my skin.
“Go ahead, tell them. They’ll kill me right here and you’ll be next.”
“You heard Marlow. I’m expensive. You guys aren’t allowed to touch me.”
“Not you. Him.”
I sit back hard in the chair, my eyes going to Ryan. He’s watching Andy’s hands as they secure knots, each movement making me more and more Marlow’s prisoner.
Andy cuts the rope with a small knife before sitting up on his knees to tie my wrists.
“If they hurt Ryan—” I begin, my teeth clenched tight.
Andy looks at me sharply. “They won’t. Not if you keep it together. You’re too emotional. Sit back, shut up, and let me do my job.”
I lean my head back until it rests against the chair, my eyes open and vacant.
Emotional.
Not as bad a word as hope, but definitely not good. It’s deadly. More deadly than Risen, zombie, Colonist, or gang. I’ve run from it for years—hidden in the dark, scurrying like an animal—and now here it is, the thing that will get me killed: I’ve gotten emotional and it’s made me stupid.
“Fine,” I spit out. “I’ll be quiet.”
“Good. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. Be patient. Be smart. Wait for the right moment.”
I lower my eyes to his face, ready to ask him what he’s talking about, when I feel the cold steel of a blade sliding against my wrist. He’s finished tying my hands down, but he’s done it loosely. There’s just enough play for me to lift them slightly. Just enough room between my skin and the wood for the thin blade of his knife to hide.
Chapter Twelve
Ryan goes to stand with the other men in the room, siding with the two guys from Vin’s Guard. I think he’s a little relieved. I’m still here, where he doesn’t want me to be, but I’m contained. Me being tied to a chair doesn’t exactly bother him because he has no intention of Marlow leaving with me. He has no intention of Marlow leaving at all.
That worries me.
In my gut I know Ryan shouldn’t do this. For one, Vin wants it. He pushed him toward it, practically putting the idea in his head. Vin’s joy is a huge red flag for me. Secondly, it’s an emotional decision, something I can say from experience is a bad idea. I’m regretting a lot right now as my butt goes numb in this uncomfortable chair and my fingers cramp from slowly working Andy’s knife back and forth over the ropes holding me down. I don’t know if he meant for me to cut myself loose with it or hold onto it to defend myself when things get ugly, but I’m not interested in being caged so I’m putting it to use immediately. SOB could have sharpened it for me, though.
The third most obvious reason to me why Ryan shouldn’t kill Marlow is that Ryan isn’t a killer. It’s not in him. Zombies are one thing; a man is another. Ryan’s a diplomat, not a mercenary. He’s done it before and I know it’s still with him. I don’t want more blood on his hands that he’ll never be able to wash off.
“That’s it.”
Vin’s voice drifts down from the rafters where he and Marlow are walking around the upper level. They make their way slowly down the large open staircase toward the main floor where we all wait patiently. Or anxiously. Or murderously.
“It’s not as big as the aquarium,” Marlow says critically. “But the grounds are bigger. There’s more space for gardening. Farming. Could be worth it. It could definitely be worth it.”
“It being me,” I shout before remembering I’m supposed to shut up.
My hand on the knife freezes as all eyes shift to me.
Marlow chuckles as he and Vin clear the stairs and cross the room. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’ll definitely grease the wheels, but you won’t cover the entire cost. We’ll have to check the other inventory we get from this place. Where are they, by the way?”
“Where are who?” Vin asks innocently.
“The other people. The hundreds of people you claimed you have hidden away here. Did we not see the entire property? Where are they?”
“Basement.”
“We saw the basement.”
“Sub-basement.”
“Vincent.”
“They’re around, don’t worry, Marlow,” Vin sings easily. He slowly paces around the room, subtly putting distance between himself and Marlow. “I said they were being kept safe. I didn’t say they were being kept safe here.”
“Don’t double speak with me,” Marlow warns.
“It was a misunderstanding.”
Marlow watches Vin closely, his eyes narrowing to sharp slits. “Maybe we need to be more clear with each other. Bring me the girl!”
Two of Marlow’s men take hold of my chair and drag me backwards to the center of the room. Vin’s eyes follow me with interest, but he never stops moving. Never stops circling Marlow so very slowly.
I’m parked beside Marlow, the chair slammed forward so hard I worry for a second it will tip over and my face will meet the beaten hardwood floors. I also worry I’ll lose hold of my knife. I grip it so hard it turns slightly, the blade digging into my skin.
“Take it easy, Marlow,” Vin warns casually. “Westbrook won’t want her with a broken face.”
“What good is she as payment for an empty building?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I want the people, Vincent. This place is useless to me without the people to run it.”
“Bodies,” Vin says thoughtfully, still turning. Still pacing. He drags every eye in the room with him, Marlow’s men tensing as he steps behind them, between them, swoops in slowly near Marlow before gliding away again. “Hands, legs, feet, arms, backs to break. This world is worthless without people, isn’t it? No one to work the fields. No one to cook and clean. No one to create the law, to break the law, enforce the law. No one for the zombies to eat. No one to watch over you while you sleep. No one to warm your bed.”
“Get to it,” Marlow snaps.
Vin suddenly stops moving and I’m almost dizzy because of it. It feels like the entire room jolts. He’s standing to Marlow’s left, the same side I’m sitting on. Ryan, I notice, is standing to Marlow’s right, just outside his peripheral.