“Why did they keep you?”
I shrugged. “I tried to come up with a reason. The only thing I could think of is because they could. They liked beating me, they liked raping her. It made them feel powerful.”
“How did you end up in the community?”
“We heard them arguing about supplies and wanting to join the main house in Texas. They contacted Tom, their leader. He told them to sit tight. That’s when they went nuts. That’s when they took a hammer to my leg. Kept crushing it until I couldn’t use it anymore. We relocated shortly after. Felicia threw me out of a moving truck.”
“They’re hungry,” Jamie said. “He’s recruiting an army with no way to feed them. Where is the bunker?”
“I believe in New Mexico.”
Jamie scrubbed his face, a growl in his throat. “We have to get Felicia back.”
“If she’s still alive,” Vice said.
“She’s alive,” I said. “What with the food shortage and all, they fed us anyway.”
“What did they feed you?”
“People who wouldn’t join their cause. At first, we refused to eat. Later, they killed them and dumped them for us.”
Jamie sighed. “Disturbing.”
“Yup.” I tried to find a more comfortable position on the bed. My ass was going numb.
“Stay in place,” Lers said.
“I’m not one hundred percent on what I’m about to say. I wasn’t clearheaded, and Felicia didn’t confirm what I’d overheard.”
“Noted. Tell me,” Jamie said.
“After Tom refused them entry into their safe house, I swear I heard them planning a route back to Beast City.”
Jamie bared his teeth. “My city. They’re coming back to my city.”
“I can’t be sure, because it sounds insane. Why would they come?”
“Maybe thought we’d agree on a prisoner exchange. I’d pay for you,” Jamie said. “They need money, and I need my people back.”
“Makes sense,” Vice said, “Speaking of payments, we need to talk about Sienna.”
“I know.”
“Tell me what happened that day.”
I told him the truth. Vice put his hands on his hips, and I prepared to get chewed up. Vice said, “I remember when you came in with a wound. I asked you what happened. And I remember your answer. You said you browsed the community and got shot. That you’d return and get even with the asshole who shot you. I remember asking you if you needed backup. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Vice.”
“Address me!”
“Yes, Tineya’s Second.”
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
I shook my head. “I was…ashamed of my actions. Thought I could fix it on my own.”
“But you fucked it up all on your own.”
“Yup.”
Vice sighed. “Sienna was seventeen. Did you know that?”
“Not at the time.”
“You couldn’t have registered her for pairing anyway. So now what do I do with you, hm?”
“Oh, I can think of things to do with him,” Jamie said and bared his teeth. “I ought to put you away for a decade. Let’s pack it, Vice. Gotta go next door, kiss Big Daddy’s ass. Fuck me.”
In spite of Lers’s protest, I tried sitting up. “Wait. Let me see her, first.”
Jamie paused at the door. “I need the human. I need him to go back inside, Torrent. You can’t see her.”
“He’ll want my head,” I said.
“Because he gives a shit,” Vice said. “I think he really gives a shit. And not just about his kid, about humans as a race. Even if he didn’t, we need him to go back inside.”
“He’s a unicorn,” Jamie said. “And you fucked with my unicorn’s kid.”
Vice nodded. “You crossed the line with your mate. I can’t let it fly, or the Pairing Program will be placed in jeopardy. Her father will either take the money we offer or your life.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sienna
A pair of male beast nurses cleaned us up, then moved us into a room with two beds, a table, and a view of the Beast City only a handful of humans could say they’d enjoyed. At the wide window, Daddy stood next to me and nudged my elbow with his. “You should get some rest,” he said.
“Have you been up here before?”
“Nah, Mayhem caught me stealing from his house. We made a deal, and I worked a job with a truck supply.”
“The doctor seems to know you.”
“Alpha Beast wanted me to have implants. He worries about my well-being.” Daddy snorted. “I met up with their doc while undercover, and he put shit in my body. Now I’m a cyborg.”