Page 131 of Full Throttle

“You like ‘em enough to pay?” my friend asked, yanking me away. It was dark enough for me to get away with sneaking a peak at the man who touched me. He was covered in dirt, and when he smiled, I got to see his missing teeth. I dropped my head again when Leon pulled out his gun, pressing it against the man’s forehead as he backed into the damp wall of the tunnel. “Don’t touch my fucking products.”

I looked up again in time for my eyes to collide with Leon’s cold gaze. His head was twisted back, looking over his shoulder at me.

In the faint light, I saw his jaw tick and the pain swirling in his eyes. “Better yet, fucker. Why don’t you do me a favor and spread the word?” he growled, looking back to the dirty man.

Leon pulled his trigger, causing Mina and me to jump. Mina looked at me and then to Leon.

All three of us watched at the man slid down the wall onto his ass with a bullet hole in his chest, blood oozing from the wound onto his dirty shirt. “Don’t touch my fucking products unless you got the cash I’m looking for,” Lee clipped.

The man inhaled a ragged breath, his eyes darting up to Lee.

Leon Torrance ticked his head to the side, letting go of Mina before he crouched down on his haunches in front of the man. “You’re fucking waste of breath,” he sneered, shoving the end of his gun into the man’s mouth.

Mina’s hand snatched mine, squeezing it hard as I looked up and down the tunnel. There was no one else around now, everyone having darted back into the darkness. Cain told us that most of the people you’d see lingering in the tunnels were lost to the world either from trauma, drugs, or both. They were like zombies—trapped down here because the real world would no longer accept them.

I jumped at the sound of a second gunshot, and I didn’t have to look to know that stranger’s brain was now splattered all over the wall. Lee turned back around and crowded the both of us back into a wall, his chest heaving.

“You’re about to see a side of me I never wanted either of you to see,” he hissed under his breath. I looked to Mina and then tilted my head to look at him. Leon’s face morphed with anger, pure rage swirling in his eyes.

My eyes dropped to the teardrop tattoo as I whispered, “You do what you have to do, Lee.”

He looked at me for a moment before turning to his sister. “Good?”

Mina nodded and then we were off again, his hands clamped on both of our arms.

Minutes passed and the further we got, the darker it became.

“Eyes ahead,” Lee said, his voice hard. “Keep moving.”

I didn’t see anyone around us, but I could feel eyes on me. I could feel death on me. I could smell it all around me, and I wanted to vomit. In the distance—somewhere—I heard someone whimpering in pain, followed by screams.

I heard grunts and other noises that made bile rise in my throat.

Mina let out a noise.

“Hands off,” Lee growled from behind me. I was yanked to the side, still in Lee’s grip as I heard him shift and grunt. Then, I heard a thud and a cry of pain. “Gotta fucking kick these animals to keep them off,” he muttered, righting me.

I felt a soft hand grab mine and I knew it was Mina’s. She gave me a squeeze and I returned it.

Lee muttered something under his breath, and then a light shined in front of us. I looked back to him, finding a flashlight in his hand, and I felt slightly better. That changed when I turned back around to see people. They were dirty—filthy—and malnourished. Some were chained the wall with men standing beside them hold money bags.

I gasped, the realization slamming into me.

The chained people were for sale….

Quickly, I scanned the area around us and noted that some of the “sellers” were clean and healthy looking. There were also people roaming around, or sitting, staring into darkness. There was a small pile of four or so people in the corner, sleeping on top of one another. I looked back to the person chained up closest to me. They turned around, and I realized it was female. I couldn’t tell before because she was just skin and bone. She was covered in dirt, bruises, and blood.

“Teal,” I said out loud. It was a code word given to us by James, only to be used when we saw flesh trade.

Lee put his hand on the back of my hair, forcing me to bend my neck. “Head down,” he roared, shoving us forward. He kept his hand on my head, and I felt his thumb swipe back and forth through the hood of my jacket. It was his apology.

“Keep your bitches quiet, yeah?” a voice said. It was deep and had an accent—Irish?

“Mind your own, yeah?” Lee shot back, maneuvering us forward.

“Roger that,” James’ voice said in my ear.

Relief flooded me then. They were still with us. In the back of my mind, I thought we were going to lose signal the deeper we went into this place.

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