Page 74 of Lacey's Fight

Sooner or later he would.

Arrogance would see to that.

If there was one thing she knew about The Master it was that he had an ego the size of the ocean. Eventually, it would be his downfall, she just hoped that was sooner rather than later.

A slight click was the only indication she got before bright light suddenly flooded the room. Of course, her eyes protested after being trapped in the dark for so long and reflexively scrunched closed.

Doing as she’d been taught, she cracked them a little to filter just a bit of light in and by the time she could open them without feeling like her brain had been set on fire, she saw she was no longer alone.

The Master stood there along with two little girls. One was about nine, and in her arms, she held a baby who looked to be a little over a year old. The simple white cotton dresses the girls wore were replicas of the ones she and her sisters had worn when they were growing up.

Both girls shared the same shade of strawberry blond locks, with the same smattering of freckles across their noses, they looked like biological sisters. From the expression on the older child’s face, it didn’t look like they had been here all that long.

Certainly not long enough for acceptance to sink in.

Since he was the one who held all the cards right now and she had nothing constructive to add, Lacey just waited.

Didn’t take long for the egomaniac to fill the silence.

“I’ve made a decision,” The Master announced.

Instead of asking what that was, she merely arched a brow at him. Silently asking why she should care.

“These are the beginnings of my new army.”

Right. She got that. Didn’t explain what he was all giddy about. “Took you a long time to build a new one after you lost us.” One of many questions they’d never gotten answers to about The Master. Why had it taken six years for him to start acquiring a new army of girls after she and her sisters had been rescued? And what did he want with his own personal army anyway?

Scowling at her, he took a step toward the bed, leaving the girls cowering by the door. “I had another army. Tried taking older girls, teenagers, thought it would make things easier, but it didn’t. They killed themselves rather than do what I told them to do.”

Pain lanced her heart.

How awful.

Those poor girls. Lacey could only imagine what it had been like for them. At least she and her sisters had been taken as babies or toddlers, too young to remember anything about their lives before The Master. But those girls would have had families, and friends, school and extracurricular activities. They had lives they’d been snatched away from and that must have been devastating to them.

“If you think I’m going to feel sorry for you about that you’re more insane than I remember.”

“Watch your mouth.” Fury contorted The Master’s features as he stormed toward the bed.

Tied up as she was, Lacey was helpless to do anything to avoid his backhand. Her cheek stung where he’d hit it, but she eyed him defiantly. “I’m horrified those girls felt that was the only way out, but I’m only horrified for them. And I’m glad Ivory saved those girls you tried to buy, and then Pearl rescued the next lot. I’ll do whatever I can to get those two out, you can count on that.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad you feel an affinity for them because you will in fact be spending a lot of time with them. You are going to be their new mother.”

Her brow furrowed.

Mother?

Obviously, she was missing something.

Why did he need a pretend mom in this sick and twisted game of his? Did he think he could play house with her and these two little girls? If he did, he really was more insane than she gave him credit for because the first chance she got she was getting those children out of here.

“Their mother?”

“Don’t you remember your mother, Lacey? The woman who cared for you when you were very small?”

Okay.

He’d gone off the deep end.

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