Page 86 of Skin Trade

Payton felt as if she was going to burst right out of her skin. She was trapt, trapt amongst all of them with this thing. “Seth …”

“I promise you. I am telling you the truth. I did not do this.”

Aamon took her father to a grate in the wall. He threaded the end of the lead to it, tied it back on himself and then wound another around her father’s middle, making it that he was tied and secure to the wall. He could get out, but he’d have to pull his own head off to do so.

“Why?” Payton said to neither of them. “Why would you do this?”

“Why?” Alexander answered, his voice rising. “Why indeed. Payment, Payton. That is why. Seth here was supposed to buy you from the auctions for me. Isn’t that right, Seth? He was supposed to purchase you and bring you back to me. Not buy you for himself, mark you and take you back to his place. That isn’t how it works.”

Seth made a move. Alexander’s men moved too. “Stop it,” Seth said.

But he didn’t. “Greed. That’s why if you want real answers, this” he pointed at her father, “is what happens when people get greedy. You see Seth wanted you all to himself, so I gave him an option, a simple trade. He gave me you, and I let Mayor Mathews go. Simple as that.”

“A trade for me?”

“Yes. I am not a vindictive man, Payton, but I will collect when someone has crossed me. Do you know what your Seth said to me? Told me to burn the bastard.” Alexander waved his hands like he was dismissing someone. He walked around Payton like he was holding court. Alexander nodded. “Those exact words. Burn the bastard. I don’t care.”

“Don’t listen to him, Payton. He’s lying to you.”

“Am I? Aren’t those your words? Isn’t that what you said? After all, you hate this man with every fibre of your being, isn’t that true?”

Seth lunged, two men got in front of him and he had to push against them. “Stop it,” he ground out. “You twist words and speak untruths.”

“Do I?” Alexander walked backwards into the laboratory. Putting himself between machines, looking for something as he went. Aamon now stood near to Payton, arms folded over his chest. That had been the argument she’d heard. About her not being ready. It had been about here. “Come over here,” Alexander said. “I want to show you something.”

“Alex.” A vampire got in Seth’s way; this time Seth didn’t back down. He lunged out, rammed his fist into the vampire’s face, made the vampire reel back.

Alexander grabbed Payton. “Easy there.”

The man Seth had hit rose, rubbing at his jaw.

“You touch her and I’ll--”

“What? You couldn’t last time, what makes you think you can beat me this time?”

“You’re feeding her lies. Making her think things that aren’t true.” He was itching to fight his way out of there. His muscles tensed; his jaw tight. “It’s not what you think.” Seth said to Payton.

“What isn’t?

“This.” Alexander pulled her backwards, grabbed a frame and waved it at her. It was like the ones downstairs lining the bookcases. Except even from the angle she was at, she could see this wasn’t filled with a fake place holder. She took it from Alexander, and as soon as she had, she wished she could put it back … put it back and never see it again.

“Oh, God.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “I don’t … w-what’s going on?” She raised a watery gaze to Seth. Every touch, every word, all of them feeling like they crashed around her. She clutched stuffed monkey to her, tried not to look at the other pictures around the desk.

Lip quivering, heart lost somewhere in her throat, she pulled the monkey down. “You,” she said to Seth, her heart a lump in her throat. “You gave him to me?”

The picture on the desk, the one of her holding stuffed monkey in his better days, when his fur was clean, when his body wasn’t torn. When he wore a science coat and two little yellow boots. In the picture she was five, sitting on a man’s knee, wearing her own science glasses and clutching her monkey.

“This,” she said raising the picture to show him. “This is me and you.” She paused, lowering her voice. “I remember you.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

Payton clutched the picture to her chest along with what was left of her monkey. The world seemed to stand still, like she was frozen, no, they were all frozen. She could hardly breathe as she raised her gaze to meet Seth’s and found him watching her.

Nothing but protective love in those bright blue eyes.

“You left me,” she said softly to Seth. “You left me here after you promised.” Her voice cracked when she said it the second time.

Holding the monkey in her arms, seeing that picture, it was like it made all the walls crash down in her head and she could see the truth behind them.

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