Page 3 of H E R

“Boss?” The fright in his voice is unexpected, and I hold on to the firearm with much more confidence, although my hands are practically sputtering in front of me.

“She’s got a tec9.” Johnny stutters while pointing at me. Vork lets go of the girl in his arms and gives me his undivided attention.

“Well, hell, seems like I’ve underestimated you, kid.”

Sirens ring out in the distance. It surprises up, but I cock an eyebrow and smile at Vork. “Seems about right,” I say, my grin stretching.

Vork signals for his men to stand down and retreat. They follow his orders instantly, rubbing their noses angrily while jogging toward their getaway car.

Vork lingers and points at me from his short distance. “You and I got unfinished business,Butterknife.” He walks backward toward his car.

“Schedule a time with my secretary,” I call out to him. I hear him laugh, then they speed away.

I stand there frozen for a minute until one of the girls moves. The sirens are closer now, and the realization that we have to get the hell out of here hits me. “Hey, are you alright?”

The redhead who’d been in a chokehold grunts and moves to stand. She looks to be in her twenties, super slender–she’s pure skin and bones.

“Are you out of your mind, kid? What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea who that was?”

“A quick thanks would suffice.” I ignore her calling me a kid. I’m used to it.

No one in town knows my age, and they all think my brother is older, which has led me to think I appear to be around his age instead of my own.

The redhead shakes her head while trying to cradle her friend who’d been beaten so badly she can barely stand, let alone walk.

I reach for the other side of her and straddled a limp arm around my shoulder. “Where to?”

“Who are you?” she hisses.

“I’m the one who just saved your fucking lives. Now, where to? We got seconds before the cops get here.”

We drag her friend to the inside of the butcher’s joint. The smell makes me want to gag, but I’m glad to be out of sight, away from the cops who are now outside scoping the area. The blue and red lights dance on the walls around us and the siren wails uncontrollably. It’s been forever since I last heard one and my eardrums seemed to panic at the deafening vibrations.

“To the back,” she whispers.

We lower her friend gently to a cot lying on the ground. Her short blue dress is torn, and she’s missing a shoe. Her dirty blonde hair is splattered all over her face, and when the redhead soothingly pushes it back, I gasp under my breath.

“We don’t need your judgment,” the redhead sneers.

I shake my head and my hood falls back, making the dark strands of my braid fall to my face and over my brown eyes. “She’s so young.”

The redhead looks back at her friend. “Yea, she’s just fifteen.”

I quickly retrieve a thick wool blanket from nearby and cover her. Then I collapse against the wall, twirling my fingers around anxiously.

“I’m Piper, this is my sister Macy.”

“She’s yoursister?” My voice comes out harsh and accusing.

Piper leans back, her eyes huge. “What’s your problem?”

Myproblemis that my brother Jule is just months shy of that age. I can’t bear the thought of him beaten and unconscious, let alone allowing him to be used this way. I shake my head at Piper, who’s still waiting for an explanation for my outburst. “I… er… have a brother.”

“Yea? Welcome to the club.”

Piper hugs her knees to her chest, giving me an unwanted glimpse up her torn dress. She isn’t wearing any shoes and she must be freezing, yet she sits near her sister’s head without showing any sign that she would want to share the small blanket and therefore offer her sister Macy less warmth.

I notice no other blankets are around. “You live here?”

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