Page 27 of Tristano

“That’s…” Nadia shakes her head, eyes wide.

“Impressive, and you’re so young,” Melody finishes.

“I look younger than I am. I also graduated high school early, so there’s that.” I shrug.

“What were you even doing with all of those languages?” Nadia asks.

I tilt my head from side to side. “This and that.”

Even when you’ve lost all hope, you don’t break. A little voice in my head chuckles.Uncle Ben would be so proud.

“What languages do you speak?” Olivia asks softly.

I look down at her, and my heart hurts. No child should ever go through anything like this, I should know. Worst of all, she won’t have a Tristano to save her. Not that I do anymore.

I think that’s what hurts the most. I truly believed he would ride in like the dark knight he always promised to be. So far, he hasn’t shown. The disappointment is killing me. Knowing I will never hear his voice again.

Shaking my head, I push away the depressing thoughts. “English, American Sign Language, Italian, and Spanish.” I pause. “Before I was taken, I was teaching myself Arabic. I also know a few words in Russian and Japanese.”

Before they can say anything, the door opens again, instantly sucking the air out of the room. We all tense and hold our breaths. The men have their faces and bodies completely covered, giving nothing away. I watch as they pull another girl across the room before dropping her.

“So thin,” the man sneers with a thick Eastern European accent.

The other man chuckles as he locks the door.

“Hey.” Mandy nudges the new girl. “Do you know what day of the week it is?”

“Why?” the girl asks as she pushes herself up.

“Because I’m curious,” Mandy deadpans.

“I think I was taken last night, but I can’t be sure. They knocked me out. If it was yesterday, then it’s Tuesday.”

“Were you taken in Chicago?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says as she looks around.

She isn’t acting like the other girls that have been taken. She’s not scared or freaking out. She’s calm. Something isn’t right about her.

“What is it?” I ask as I study her.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asks quietly as she moves closer to me.

The girls and I, even Olivia, lean forward.

“Yesterday one of the girls I sometimes work with brought three guys around.” She licks her dry lips. “Scary guys, but they were nice.”

“And…” Nadia waves her hand at the girl, urging her along.

“They gave us these.” The girl pulls up her hospital gown, and on her inner thigh is a clear patch.

“What is that?” Melody asks as she leans farther forward.

“I don’t know exactly. They just told us all that we needed to wear them because some bad guys were taking women, and if we were grabbed they would be able to find us.” She smiles. “I was supposed to check in at noon today and didn’t. That means they will be on their way, right?”

I push down the bubbling sense of hope. She has a mother-fucking tracker on her.

“What do you remember about these guys that gave it to you?” I ask lightly.

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