“Hey Boss.” He hated calling Tom that, but he didn’t have a choice, not if he wanted in The Crew.
“Yeah?” Tom asked.
“What the hell are we doing?”
“We’re waiting.”
“For what?” Declan asked.
“For your initiation.” No shit, mused Declan, but he didn’t say that out loud, just sighed.
No one had spoken the entire time they stood there, their expressions guarded, sinister tight lines instead of mouths marring everyone’s features.
“There,” Tom pointed to a girl pushing her way through a door, music following her out until she stood alone in the dark alley by herself. The pit of Declan’s stomach dropped. Shadows covered her face and the too tight dress she wore said she was older, but even from here, he could tell she was just a kid. And you’re not? he asked himself. That was different, though. He had aged years when Lucas died.
“She’s just a kid. What do you want me to do? Try to scare her or something?” Declan asked, trying to keep the panic at bay.
“Something like that,” Tom mused as someone pushed a gun into his hand.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?” Declan asked.
“Kill her.”
“What?” he gritted through his teeth, still not completely understanding what he was told to do.
“You heard me; you want in, you’re going to kill her.”
“Why her?”
“She was the first one we saw.”
“She’s just a fucking kid.”
“You wanted to join us.”
“I’m not fucking killing anyone.”
“Then we’ll kill you,” someone growled from behind him. Good, he thought, kill me. That was what he had wanted deep down, even though he knew it would kill his parents, but he couldn’t help the agony he felt each time he thought about Lucas and how the wrong brother was taken from this life.
“Nah, that’s too easy,” Tom mused. “Listen, Dec, joining us isn’t really a choice, you get that? You know too much about us, so it’s either join or die. But death is what you want, isn’t it?” Declan didn’t bother replying, just stood there, the gun in his hand, the cold metal pressing into his sweating palm. “So, here’s how it’s going to go. The girl’s already been targeted,” he continued. “That means we’re going to kill her regardless; you might as well do it and get something out of it.”
“I’m not fucking killing her and neither are you,” he screamed, but the echo of his words was lost on the noise surrounding them. He tried to lunge at Tom, the gun still in his hand. He didn’t even raise it, point it at Tom; he just couldn’t. His body wouldn’t let him. Hands held him back as Tom laughed, but the tone was humorless.
“You really think we won’t kill her? I’ll shoot her and won’t hesitate. That’s not all. You want to defy us, we’ll kill your family too. It’s a shame, really. You’ll have lost your brother and your parents, and you’ll be left alone to suffer, knowing all their deaths were your fault.”
“You motherfucker!” Declan screamed and tried to push, but the gun from his hands was snatched away, and the hands around his arms tightened.
“You think I don’t know it was your fault your brother died? I know everything about you, Declan. You really want your parents’ death to be on your conscience too?”
“Hmm,” Tom pondered. “I would have liked owning you, but hey, maybe I’ll have a go at her before I kill her,” he added, staring at the girl across the way.
“I’ll rape her,” Declan stated, the words coming from somewhere he couldn’t comprehend. He hadn’t meant to say them, hadn’t even meant them, but Tom’s words had registered. He had given him an idea, and a way to save them all.
“What?” Tom asked.
“You want to own me, right? You say I know too much, that’s why you want me, right? If I rape her, you’ll still own me. That’s still a crime.”
“Logistics,” Tom stated.
“You really think I’d willingly do it?” Declan asked. “You really think that’s not worse than killing her? Think about it. I’ll have to live knowing there is a girl out there in the world suffering every day because of me. And for her, sure, she’ll be alive, but the life she’ll have might be worse than death.” Even as he said the words, he prayed they weren’t true. He wasn’t sure he could handle living with that knowledge all his life, but he would take it as long as she lived, as long as his family lived. As for her, he hoped he wouldn’t hurt her too badly and with proper care, she’d be all right.