Craving(53)
He smiled. “I am.”
I stood. “Then I’d be happy to accept. Thank you very much…Larry.”
He stood, walked around the table to me, and held out his hand. “Then welcome aboard, Jade. I’m very happy to have you join us here. Let me give you a tour around our office. You can meet the rest of the staff, and then I’ll give you your first case.”
“That’s great. Just let me go tell my friend that that I’ll be tied up for a little while, and I’ll be right back.”
“Not a problem. Come on back in when you’re ready.”
I quickly told Marj that I got the job and that she could go ahead and go. Then I headed back to the office. Larry handed me a legal-size manila folder.
“Here’s your first case, counselor,” he said. “You can take it home tonight and then come back first thing in the morning to start work. We begin at nine around here.”
“Sounds great to me.” I placed the file in my small briefcase.
Larry showed me to a small office, but at least it had a window. It was sparsely decorated with a metal desk, computer table, desktop computer, and a couple filing cabinets and bookshelves.
“It’s not much,” he said, “but works.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll be very comfortable here,” I said.
He introduced me to Michelle, our secretary, and David, a file clerk. “We have a pretty small staff here. It’s a small town, after all.”
“I’m sure everything will work out just fine. It looks great to me.”
“Excellent. We will see you bright and early tomorrow at nine o’clock.”
“I look forward to it.” As I began to walk toward the door, I pulled the file out of my briefcase to take a quick look.
And my heart plummeted to my stomach.
People versus Talon Steel.
Chapter Twenty
Talon
The rag stuffed in his mouth made the boy gag. It tasted like mushrooms and dirt and vomit. His eyes were covered and his wrists bound with tight rope behind his back. Only his legs were free, but his exhaustion kept him from kicking his captors. He’d already kicked them and kicked them and kicked them some more…and still he’d ended up here.
“Get on in there, boy,” a voice said.
Strong hands forced him down a long flight of stairs, and he nearly stumbled.
“Welcome home, you little bitch,” another voice said. “You’ll like it here. We’ll make sure you’re very comfortable.” He laughed eerily.
Evil. Like a black snake slithering in the darkness, red eyes gleaming. That’s what the voice sounded like. Pure evil.
The boy shivered. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the men pushed him into a corner.
“You ready, boy?” the first voice said. “You ready?”
Still gagged, the boy couldn’t answer. Ready for what?
He soon found out.
* * *
“Please, Steve. I can’t stand the handcuffs.” I sweated in the back of the police car, my hands bound behind me. I tried to draw in a deep breath, and then again. Couldn’t get enough air.
“Sorry, Tal. Gotta do it by the book. You know that,” Officer Steve Dugan said. “Why’d you beat that kid up, anyway?”
I didn’t answer. I knew better than to talk. Besides, the guy was twenty-five years old, at least. He wasn’t a kid.
A half hour later, we arrived at the Snow Creek Police Department and Courthouse, next to the City Administration Building. Steve got out of the car and opened the door for me.
“Come on, Tal.”
I stayed seated, paralyzed. White noise echoed in my head.
“Commmme…onnnn…Tallll…” Steve’s voice was deep and drawn out, like it was in a time warp.
A meaty hand grabbed my arm.
I jerked it away. “No!” I screamed. “I’m not going!”
“Christ, Talon, what’s wrong with you?”
Snippets of images formed in my mind. Getting back from Grand Junction…alone in the house…doorbell…Steve…under arrest…handcuffs…
I hadn’t resisted until now. Why hadn’t I resisted? It was all a blur. A black evil blur. A blur with a phoenix tattoo…
I stood, got out of the car, and landed a roundhouse kick to Steve’s chest. Steve went down, and I turned and ran. I ran and I ran and I ran…like I should have run all those years ago—
Until I straightened like a board. My body hit the concrete with a thud, my muscles spasming. Had to piss, had to shit. Couldn’t fucking move.
“Help me! For the love of God, help me!”
No one came.
No one ever came.
Dying. I was obviously dying, and no one cared. Minute by minute by minute…