of our men made a mistake. That didn't mean I was going to be taken advantage of.
“The terms?” I said.
“Excuse me?” They all seemed to ask at the same time. What an odd gang.
“What are the terms for us to conduct business again? We’re very fond of your product. I ain't going to mess around and lie about that. When can we resume our previous dealings?
“I’m speaking to you in English because it is my understanding that you don’t understand the Latin tongue. This is a shame. Translations turn into mud. We do not discuss terms here. This is a simple meeting. You’ll have to meet with us again if you’d like to know more.” the man in the middle said.
“A second meeting? God dammit…” It was hard not to sock them in the face right then and there. But, as a leader should, I remained calm and collected.
“You seem to forget that we lost many of our men. Their souls were lost at the hands of your self-proclaimed ‘crew.’ We are constantly sacrificing for our product and extreme business ventures. We expect you to give sacrifice as well, Avery.”
“I ain’t here just to eat. Let’s do business. I’m ready to sacrifice. Whatever it takes.” I said, standing up. I started to feel slightly dizzy, as if my blood pressure jumped up too high, too fast. I looked at Hope and her face started to stretch before my very eyes. “What’s happening?” I asked. But before I could even answer, I found myself falling towards the floor. Next thing I knew, I was unconscious.
12
Hope
“ W ake up .” I heard a familiar voice say. I opened my eyes, squinting against the pale light of my surroundings.
“What the hell happened?” I asked. “Where am I?” I looked around myself. Avery was next to me, doing the same. I quickly realized we were in an unknown facility, an empty room to be exact. A mirror on the wall stared back at us.
“They drugged us.” Avery said. “The fucking drugged us!” He kicked the wall, falling over. He held his foot as the pain welled up. He looked like a total idiot.
I was so mad I could choke him to death. Instead, I gave him the best treatment a woman could offer: silence. This, of course, hurt worse than any blow imaginable.
“Well, aren’t you gonna say something? You just gonna sit there all night or are you gonna help me?” He said. I tried not to laugh in his face.
“I can’t believe I trusted you.” I finally said after a few minutes of painful silence. Then it was time to question his authority and leadership. At this point, I figured he essentially had none. After all, his bargaining skills got us here, locked up in some cell in the middle of nowhere. “You really think you can lead your MC? Please. You’ll lead them right into their graves.” I spat out.
He shook his head with maddening rage. “Get me the hell out of here!” he screamed at the mirror in front of us. “I know you’re looking at us, god dammit! ANSWER ME!” Finally, a voice came on an intercom from above.
“You said you were willing to sacrifice, Avery.” It said. I looked at the giant two-way mirror on the wall, attempting to see past it at the faceless viewers. It was no use, of course. We were stuck in a prison of our own mind.
“I didn’t mean…Ah, shit! Just get us out of here so we can talk!” He punched at the mirror. But instead of shattering the glass, it simply took the blow. Avery fell to the ground in extreme agony.
“Calm down…” I whispered. “Let them speak. We need to hear what they want from us.” I said. Avery was smart enough at the street level, but he severely needed a woman to keep him level headed. I’ll handle this, I decided.
“Go ahead, freckles.” He said to me, giving up the fight. It was the first time he pointed out my freckles and I couldn’t help but blush and look away. “Don’t get all weird now. They’re cute, is all. Doesn’t mean your special.” I laughed. They had always been a sore spot for me and my image. My agents
LV Lewis
Hester Kaplan
Elizabeth Lane
Claire Donally
Fran Louise
Montana Ash
Mallery Malone
Mia Loveless
Sean O'Kane
Ella Quinn