Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“I’m fine. It’s just hard to look at.”
“You don’t need to be here.” He nods at one of the guards. “Go back to the house.”
“I can’t, I mean, I don’t—”
Lucy comes over. She touches my elbow and steers me away from Mass. “I’ve got her. You keep looking around.” She nudges me back to the path toward the house, and I walk with stiff, numb legs.
“Make sure she gets back to the apartment,” Mass calls as we start trudging through the sand.
It’s not too hot, but I’m sweating. My arms and back both ache from carrying Rosie.
Lucy doesn’t talk at first. She watches the ocean and glances at me. I don’t think I’ve seen her ignore her phone for this long before. Her attention is unnerving. She’s tall and athletic, and I swear she moves like a hunter. Her head swivels around like she’s studying her surroundings for danger.
She’s terrifying.
“It’s strange that you wanted to come down here,” she says at last when we’re far enough away from Mass and the others that they wouldn’t hear me if I screamed. The pathway into the trees looms up ahead, and the Fortress towers over everything. Brutal, utilitarian, and oddly beautiful.
“I was curious,” I say weakly. She doesn’t seem like she believes me. I wouldn’t either if I were her.
“A morbid thing to be curious about.”
“Do many people get murdered here?”
“Never, not without me knowing about it.” Her stare is deadpan, and I know she’s not joking. “Did you recognize him?”
“I’ve never seen him before in my life,” I lie.
“Strange. You looked like you were scared.”
“He was my first body. There was a lot of blood.”
“Not so much, actually. The sand drank it all up. If he’d been killed somewhere less porous, you’d be swimming in his mess.”
My guts twist. I feel like I might be sick. I clutch Rosie tighter. “I don’t know anything about what happened to him.”
“We have drones that patrol the beach. They fly at regular intervals. Somehow, that young man was killed in a gap between surveillance. How do you think that’s possible?”
“Bad luck.”
“Or a very deep knowledge of our security practices. Which do you find more likely?”
I shake my head, too nervous to trust myself with speaking.
Lucy watches me as we walk down the path. It’s good we’re off the beach at least. My legs are screaming from carrying Rosie and walking in the sand. But Lucy’s stare and attention are overwhelming. Sweat dribbles down my back and beads under my arms.
“Accidents don’t happen. Not in a place like this.” Lucy’s pace slows as we get closer to the Fortress. “Everyone who works here is deeply loyal to Mass. Do you know why?”
“I have no idea,” I say honestly.
“They all owe him something.”
“What do you mean? Like he pays very well?”
“He does, but it’s more than that. Mass likes to do favors. He helps people. And not always just to get something in return, but it often works out that way. Mass builds hospitals, funds schools, pays for cancer treatments. He does these good deeds and people come to believe he’s a decent person. They trust him. They believe in him. Even when they come here and it becomes clear that he’s a villain, they still love him. Because of what he did.”
I try to let that sink in. An entire building filled with people loyal to him, not just for money, but because they think he’s a decent man.
“But if he does good stuff, doesn’t that make him a good man?”
Lucy watches me sharply, and I get the sense she’s judging how I respond to this. “Not always. Not if he’s doing good deeds for bad reasons.”
“But his reasons don’t change the good.”
“Not unless there are knock-on effects. For every child with cancer he helps, there are ten adults addicted to his drugs. For every family he houses and feeds, there are dozens more torn to pieces because of his operations. He’s a wound and a surgeon.”
“It could be worse.”
Lucy stops walking and faces me. We’re a few feet from the back entrance. “It sounds like you’re defending him.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” I mean that very honestly too. I’m overwhelmed and exhausted by the walk back here while carrying Rosie the whole time. “Maybe Mass is more complicated than I gave him credit for.”
“He’s not. Mass is a power-hungry monster. He’s a killer.”
“He doesn’t seem that way to me.” At least not most of the time. Except he’s got to be dangerous if he’s a Dragon.
“You’re his wife.”
“Are you trying to scare me or something?”
“I’m trying to understand where your loyalties are.” She steps in closer, lowering her voice. “I’m just like everyone else in this place. Mass helped me a long time ago and earned my loyalty. And if there’s someone in the Fortress who wants to hurt him—” She lets that last part linger between us. The implicit threat sends a chill down my spine.