My cellphone was blaring in my ear, the beast rumbling her displeasure at the loud noise that was waking us from our sleep. I groaned as I rolled over in my bed. The harsh artificial light from the screen blasted through the darkness of my room, making me squint as I reached out for it. I slapped my hand around on the nightstand a couple times before grabbing it, swiping my finger across the screen.

"Hello?" I croaked, my throat rough from being pulled from my deep sleep.

"Sutton." Tatum's voice whispered through the receiver, I could hear she was trying her best to hold herself together. She had learned how much I hated crying over the past week or so. I had been checking in on her after the meeting in Octavia's office. I wanted her to know that she had someone watching her back beyond the guard dogs that Octavia had sent out, they were more than a little useless. They could give two shits if she lost one or two of the mongrels, as long as her top mark makers were safe, they were doing their jobs as far as they saw it.

That's why I had gone out of my way to look out for her. I had been trying to teach her some of the defensive  moves I'd learned with Benjin. She was a little slow on the uptake but she was trying the best she could, and without crying anymore because I'd shown her up close and personal what happened to those who showed weakness.

"You better be dying, Tatum." I could feel the irritation of the beast crawling under my skin.

"It's Maggie..." She sniffled, unable to hold back her distress.

I growled in confusion, "Who?" The name didn't ring familiar to me, and I knew quite a bit of people. It came with the business of running.

Tatum continued to unleash her word vomit onto me, "They took her. I saw them take her, Sutton. One of them grabbed her and threw her into the alley and she never came back out again. Do you think they did something bad to her?" Before I could even respond she let out a little cry, clearly she was shaken up over whatever had happened, "Oh god, they took her and they're going to kill her like they did to those other ones, aren't they? Oh god-oh god! What if they saw me? What if they come back? What if--"

I sat up in my bed with an angry snarl, "Tatum! Calm down! I don't know who or what the hell you're talking about. Who is Maggie and who took her?"

She let out a small whimper, sucking in a slow breath to try and calm herself down enough to speak clearly, "Maggie is one of Octavia's girls from Desire. Octavia brought here to Precious because it was safer. She was a high earner doing--you know... what I have to..." She was still uncomfortable talking about what it was she had to do to keep herself alive, "This man was at the mouth of the alleyway and she went over to him. He threw her into the alley and I think a couple more were waiting." She sucked in another ragged breath.

I could feel in my gut that this was the beginning of something terrible, "Did you call anyone else?"

"No... They don't care about us, Sutton. You're the only one who cares. That's why I called you." She whimpered again.

I gritted my teeth as I pulled myself up out of my bed, body still sore from the beating I'd taken from the twins. Unlike the other beasts in this filthy city, my healing abilities worked quite a bit slower. I wasn't as hideous as I had been in the beginning, my bones had repaired themselves but my joints still ached and the bruises were still visible even though they were fading.

"Let me get dressed. I'll meet you at Octavia's. I know you're not a runner but make it quick. You know what type of people are on the street at these hours." I was already fishing around in the dark for a pair of pants, the phone nestled between my cheek and shoulder, "And call your handler. Unless you want an ass beating for not following the damn rules." I hung up before she could say anything more. I didn't want to think about what was happening to the poor girl that had been taken. There was no proof to say she hadn't simply been taken by slummers looking for an extra good time but I had this gnawing feeling in my gut that I couldn't ignore.

I pulled my legs into a pair of pants and slipped a shirt over my head, wincing at the stretching of my muscles over my ribs, the twins had cracked a few. The healing process had been taking longer than usual  because Octavia hadn't given me a break from my work. As if the beating I had taken wasn't enough to prove her point.

I shoved my feet into my sneakers, jamming my phone into my back pocket as I slipped from room. I did my best to be as quiet as possible, not that anyone was asleep. These early morning hours were the busiest for the brothel. When all the bars closed down and when all the high society  clients would stop by, the darkness had a tendency to shroud their nightly debauchery and those males took full advantage of the nightly shroud. The girls walked in and out of the front door but only with a man on their arm. Some of them returning from high society functions and others just on a car ride around the city for their client's pleasure.

Madame Lao wasn't anywhere in sight, which probably meant she was busy in her office, a good thing for me. If she caught me leaving the house at this hour she would have a small interrogation about where I was going and how long I expected to be gone. She had been keeping a watchful eye on me after I came back to house looking a complete mess. Her trying to convince me to let her buy out the rest of my contract had been almost a daily conversation, so I had been trying to avoid her as much as possible until she cooled down.

I treaded softly to the front door, grabbing my jacket from the rack as I turned the knob as gently as I could. The lock clicked and I pulled the door open a crack, slipping my body outside into the chilly morning air. I closed the door behind me, throwing on my jacket as I jogged across the dirty street. A couple of drunks were wandering the streets but they kept to themselves, too out of it to care about anyone else. I could see the blaring lights of the city in the distance. It could have been beautiful if it wasn't full of predators waiting to sink their teeth into you every time you turned your back.

The city was a little more lively, a good amount of people wandering the streets. Most of them probably rolling high on some kind of trip or out to find themselves between the legs of female at one of the cheaper brothels because they couldn't afford one in the neutral territory. I pulled up the collar of my jacket when I noticed a couple of them eyeing me, forcing my legs to move faster--ignoring the ache of my healing muscles.

I felt relief when I passed through the door to Octavia's tower, the events of the past week had me on high alert every time I entered the city. I couldn't help the paranoia that someone was watching me, waiting for the perfect time to grab me. I knew that I was fine for the most part, Octavia gave enough of a shit about me if simply for the amount of marks I got her to make sure I was thoroughly guarded even if from a distance. Still, I didn't want to become fodder for some psycho looking to start a war over something that seemed pointless to me. Mongrel, regblood, blueblood, pureblood--who gave a shit? At the end of the day we were all beasts weren't we?

I spotted Tatum leaning against the wall near the door, nibbling nervously on her lip. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a braid, her face painted up like the girls on the street. I could see that most of her eye make-up had run off due her crying, I was really going to have to break her of that habit. She turned to me with relief, lip trembling slightly as she did her best to hold herself together. She made her way to me, wobbling on the heels they made her wear.

"Did you call your handler?" The most important question, I was not looking to take another slap for her sake.

She nodded her head, "He walked me here." Well at least not every one of her guards were complete dipshits.

"Good, let's get this over with. I doubt Octavia is going to be happy about us interrupting her sleep." I mumbled it out as I made my way toward the stairs, Tatum following close behind--heels clicking annoyingly on the tile floor. My beast rumbled her urge to make the incessant noise stop. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to hold my tongue as we ascended the stairs to Octavia's office.

"So what happened exactly, Tatum?" I questioned, trying to focus my mind on something else. I could smell the sour scent of her fear as it wafted toward me. My beast turned up her nose at it. She didn't like the smell, in her mind the smell meant weakness and weakness meant death.

"When Maggie arrived we stuck together. She was showing me the ropes of getting clients. I wasn't supposed to do anything, stay out of the way, and watch her. It was a slow night, the other girls were clumped together talking, but Maggie was still trying to make some marks if only to keep the madame from beating her. I made my marks because of my dancing but she was short on them." Tatum's voice shook a little as she recounted the events. I tried not growl at the thought of the uppity madame beating the mongrel girls for not making marks.

"That's when the big man came out of the alley..."

I peered back over my shoulder as we headed up another flight, "Big man? Like Benjin big or what? You're going to need to be more descriptive than that Tatum. Octavia is going to want details."

She sucked in a breath, "Sorry, sorry." She wanted to cry I could tell from the quivering of her voice but she held back, "He was bigger than Benjin, he had a wild look to him...his hair was longer. He wasn't wearing a shirt, or shoes, just a pair of jeans."

"Alright so Tarzan showed up, what happened next?" I cracked a joke because that was how I dealt with stressful situations. If I didn't make light of the situation than I might be swallowed by it and I couldn't have that. Octavia could smell it and that was no good for me. Tatum didn't look all that amused by my joke and I huffed slightly.

"Maggie looked like she was trying to get him to join her. I don't know what they said to each other I was to far away but then suddenly he grabbed her and threw her into the alley." Her voice rose a couple of octaves as her emotions surged, "I rushed forward after that because I didn't think that was normal. I could hear struggling as I got closer. I saw four shadows in the alley...they dragged her away."

I was certain in my gut that these were the men that had been taking the mongrels from the other Doyens' territories. They had come into Octavia's territory and taken property from her, she was going to be more than pissed. I'd be surprised if she didn't hunt down the idiots herself just to watch them cower before her as she ripped them limb from limb. She only cared about us because we brought her marks. We weren't people--we were property and she expected people to respect her property because it was hers. Her name and brand carried weight, made people second guess before doing something against her. If they didn't second guess, she would show them quickly the error of their ways.

I pushed the door to the top floor, Tatum looking winded behind me, "Keep yourself together in front of Octavia. She isn't going to care for your tears right now." She nodded her head in understanding, sucking in a breath as she straightened her back. I felt my lips twitch with the urge to smile at her attempt to look braver than she was, she was learning. I had a feeling she would become the survivor she needed to be.

The guards looked to be leaning lazily outside her door, when they saw us they stood up a little straighter, "You need to come back later. Octavia is otherwise occupied at the moment." I knew what that meant. She and the twins were cuddled up for the night and no one in there right mind would venture to disturb them in their private domain.

Tatum stood like a statue, glancing towards me. I rolled my eyes, gone was the false bravado from a moment ago, "Tell her that someone took one of her girls." The guards glanced between one another as if they were deciding if that was an important enough reason to disturb our Doyen.

I felt my annoyance building, my lipped curled up in one of the corners, "Oye, dipshits." They turned their eyes on me, growls rumbling out of their chests. My beast had been becoming more confident in her abilities with Benjin's help. She growled back at them, ready if they wanted to attack us. I gave them a toothy grin, "The more time you waste the more certain we can be that Revan is turning Octavia's girl into a sushi roll." Tatum stiffened next to me at my comment.

They kept narrowed eyes on the two of us but the one on the right knocked on the door in a particular pattern. There was a moment of heavy silence before the door was ripped open Viktor's glare focusing on all of us. He hadn't cared to put on clothes, everything was out for the groups viewing pleasure. I couldn't help my eyes as they crept over the expanse of his body, Octavia had it really well with the twins. Really well.

"What?" He growled, lips curled up in a show of dominance. Tatum cowered next to me, her eyes focusing on the ground as she leaned towards me in an attempt to escape his rolling dominance.

The guards took steps back away from the door, "The mongrel says Revan took one of Octavia's girls." Viktor's eyes narrowed more, moving over them to me and Tatum.

"You sure?" His accent was thicker than usual, from sleep or irritation I wasn't entirely sure.

I elbowed Tatum and she whimpered slightly, keeping her eyes focused on the ground, "I saw it happen. I called Sutton after she didn't come back." They were the only words she seemed capable of getting out.

Viktor focused on me before nodding his head, "Come in."

I grabbed a hold of Tatum and pulled her into the dark room. There wasn't anyone but the three of us in the office. Viktor left us to our own devices, giving us a good look at his backside as he walked through another door that was hidden within the wall.

Tatum sniffled next to me and I peered over at her, "She's dead, isn't she?" She questioned. I didn't want to lie to her because the truth was that most likely Maggie would be killed before anyone could ever get to her. So instead of lying to her or upset her more than she already was by telling her the truth, I held my tongue. We waited for a couple of minutes in silence before the door opened again, Octavia leading the twins into her office.

She looked like she was ready to rip someone's head off and spit down their neck hole. She fixed her hands on her hips, body covered by a silk robe, "I hope for both your sake's that this is the real deal."

Her dark eyes roamed over the two of us, the heat of it made me want to cower, "We wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't." I spoke up. She met my gaze with a sharpened look and I quickly lowered my eyes to the floor as I gritted my teeth, my jaw twinging with the remembrance of how the twins had broken it.

"Well which of my mongrels did these men take?" She snapped, the tone of her voice showing her growing agitation.

"Maggie..." Tatum spoke up, "The wild man grabbed her outside of Precious, pulled her into the alley where more were waiting."

I lifted my gaze to see the muscle in her jaw ticking wildly as she clenched and unclenched her jaw. The features in her face becoming more angular as the beast rose up within her, "Viktor call Benjin, tell him that I need him. Tell him to bring some of my best trackers with him when he comes." Viktor turned away from our group and disappeared back into the room hidden behind the wall. Octavia moved across the room with fluid movements, Dimitri followed close behind her like an ominous shadow.

She opened the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a phone. She swiped her finger across the screen, tapping her long painted nail over the keypad before putting it on speaker phone, the ringing sound filling up the office.

"It's too fucking early." A raspy feminine voice snarled into the phone, "You must have a death wish."

"Lilith, it's Octavia." Her eyes flipped up toward Tatum and I.

"Who is it?" A distant sleepy sounding female voice drifted through the receiver. Octavia rolled her eyes, tapping her finger impatiently against the hardwood of her desk.

"None of your business, get dressed and get gone by the time I come back. This isn't a sleepover, cupcake, I sleep alone." Lilith said back with a cool tone that reflected the emptiness of whatever exchange had transpired between them. The sound of sheets rustling could be heard, "Octavia, if you've pulled your beautiful ass away from those twins it must be important...What can I do for you? Have you decided to take me up on that booty call? The boys not doing it for you anymore?" She purred through the phone, it was hard to tell if she was being serious or if she was joking.

Dimitri let out a growl, he clearly didn't like the thought of sharing Octavia with anyone other than his twin. Octavia didn't pay any mind to Lilith's comments, breezing over them, "It seems Revan has less brains than we thought. One of my mongrels has been taken." She growled into the phone, knuckles whitening as she clenched them into tight fists. I was surprised to hear that the two Doyen's had been working together behind the scenes. I guess it was true that common enemy could bring people together. Viktor came back into the room with his face hardened into a serious expression, both he and Dimitri were tense as they stood behind Octavia.

The sound of someone flicking on a lighter was followed by the gentle sound of an exhaled breath, "Well... that is unfortunate." She seemed like she did not care all that much, "Do you want me say a prayer for the poor mongrel's soul?"

Octavia looked like she wanted to smash the phone, "Don't patronize me right now, Lilith. I'm not in the fucking mood."

Lilith chuckled softly, this other Doyen must have felt particularly comfortable with Octavia to poke her like she was, "Don't get your panties in a twist. I'll send out my best scouts to the edges of my territory. I'll have them keep an eye out for your missing mongrel.  If we catch any of those bastards coming through, I'll make sure to tell them you send your regards as I gut them. Fair enough?"

"If you catch them, call me. I'd like to send my regards personally." Octavia growled back.

"Will do but remember they took from me first, Octavia, so I'll taste their blood first." She lost the joking tone of her voice, she was all business now. Octavia clenched her jaw as she listened to the other Doyen's words. I don't know if Octavia ever went second in anything, she was the queen of her empire. Everyone always gave her what she wanted when she wanted it because they knew what would happen if they didn't.

"Fine." Octavia snapped, surprisingly giving into the demand Lilith had made.

"I'll call you if we catch any rats. Have a goodnight, Octavia, give the twins my love." Lilith said in a sexual tone that had Octavia's lip curling up in a snarl as she ended the call. 

"Fucking son of a bitch!" She punched her desk, the sound of flesh hitting the hard surface echoed out in the room, "He thinks he can take what belongs to me? I'm going to rip his dick off and fuck him in his ass with it!" She let out a loud snarl before she swept her arm across it, sending all the contents flying across the room, papers scattering along the floor.

The door to the office opened, I turned my head to see Benjin and two other men filing in behind him. His eye was focused on Octavia, no one else in the room mattered besides her, "Viktor told me. I've already doubled the security on the streets, and I've seen to the guards who were supposed to be watching over the Precious area." In Benjin lingo that meant he had killed their sorry asses for failing their Doyen so spectacularly.

"Good." She replied as she gaze swept to the men that he had brought in with him, "I want you guys to find the fuckers that took the mongrel before anyone else does. I will be the first one to taste their blood if I have anything to say about it." They nodded their heads but the disgruntled expression on their faces showed clearly that they weren't at all happy to be up at such an early hour to hunt down her missing mongrel. They were the same as all the dipshits she'd put out on the streets, none of them cared about one missing mongrel. There would always be another one to replace it in their minds. They all lacked the ability to see us as actual people instead of simple property.

Octavia must have noticed the expressions because she flashed them a feral looking grin, all her teeth on display, "And you'll do it with a smile." They both forced smiles onto their faces, not wanting to tempt an unpredictable Octavia. She was not acting like her regular, calculative self. This whole thing with Revan had taken her by surprise. Maybe she had gotten too comfortable up on throne thinking that no one would ever disrespect her like that. Now that someone had, she was re-calibrating her small universe to make up for the slight.

The room filled with a tense silence, Octavia's eyes narrowed her smile fading, "What are you waiting for? Get moving!" They scrambled over each other to get out of her office and to the world outside where it was probably safer for them. The door slammed shut behind them and Tatum jumped beside me, the sound startling her out of her own thoughts.

"They're not going to find her. If they even actually try to look for her." The words are out of my mouth before I could stop them. I wanted to shove both my feet into my mouth. I blamed my exhaustion for my rather loose tongue but Octavia didn't particularly care. Disrespect was disrespect, even if it was the truth.

Octavia stiffened at my voice, gaze sweeping towards me, "Apparently I've given you too much rest if you can already flap those lips again. Do you hear this, Benjin? She doesn't believe you've brought me the best of the best. She doubts yours and their ability to serve me properly." I gritted my teeth at her comment, feeling the heavy stare of Benjin at my back, "You think you could find the mongrel better than the best of my trackers?"

I shook my head, keeping my lips pressed tightly together. "That's right, because you're only a runner. You're good at one thing, running. That's the only thing you'll ever be good at. So how about you stick to what you know and keep your mouth shut about all other matters or I'll make sure that the twins shut it permanently for you next time." Her words were like sharp knives cutting at my flesh. My humanity begged that I respond, that I defend myself but the beast knew survival and I knew now was the time to keep my mouth shut.

She waited a moment, giving me the opportunity before she moved the conversation along, "Mongrel, you will go with Benjin and explain every detail of what you saw and what happened. You will leave nothing out." She nodded her head toward Benjin, motioning for him to take Tatum away. Tatum looked toward me with wide terrified eyes, as if she was going to be beaten. She wanted to cling to me for security and strength but she needed to learn to be her own fortress. I wasn't going to be there for her forever.

"Get out of my office, Runner." She somehow twisted the title in a way that it sounded like an insult, "Don't come back until I call for you." 

I turned away from all of them, not saying another word. This past week had been one of the worst ones I'd had since my first week that I arrived at Octavia's tower. Benjin caught me by the arm as I was passing him, the beast raised her head and bared her teeth. She was comfortable with the Beta, maybe too comfortable at times that she forgot that  he was much more than us. Even though he didn't treat us as bad as the others, I knew he would give me hell in training for her little show.

He narrowed his eye, "Don't be stupid. Do as you're told. Go home." He was very perceptive to the world around him. It was as if he had heard the thoughts echoing around in the back of my head telling me that I needed to check into things myself. Those trackers weren't going to do shit, no matter what Octavia wanted to believe about them.

I pulled my arm away, giving him a small tight lipped smile, "I get it. I'll go home." I wanted to go search the Precious area right now, but I knew I had Octavia's ever watchful eye on me now more than ever. So I would go home tonight but tomorrow I would check things out for myself.  I turned away from him, feeling his gaze following me across the room until I left, the door blocking me from view. I let out a breath before I quickly made my way to the stairs, ignoring the hard looks from the guards that I had name called, we all knew they weren't going to do anything about it. They hadn't before and they wouldn't now.

I didn't want to hit the main streets. I wanted my shortcuts because I was exhausted. I didn't know what time it was but it was late, perhaps even early in the morning. It was always hard to tell. I wanted to jog but my ribs still hurt and my muscles still ached. I understood why Octavia was being such a bitch but I didn't understand why she was taking it out on me. My brand itched but I ignored it as I shoved my hands into my pockets. Perhaps it was simply me growing tired living under someone else's thumb.

I let out a sigh and looked around before ducking into an alleyway. No one would notice me using shortcuts this late at night. I just wanted to get to my attic. I moved slowly but quietly as I ducked through alleyways and broken buildings. I was growing closer to the edge of Octavia's territory when I could smell blood faintly on the air. It wasn't unusual to smell it in the city but the heaviness of it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Someone had died.

I moved even slower as I ducked down one of the alleys that would take me around where I believed the smell to be coming from. I wasn't willing to get caught in whatever was going on. The wind shifted and the smell of blood smacked me in the face. I blinked as the light near the end of the alleyway flickered on. I wanted to throw up.

Bits of what used to be a person were spread around. A woman's torso lay in the middle of the alley, her internal organs ripped out and placed around her body in a pattern that made me acutely aware of what I had just stumbled upon. Revan's brand.

"So I couldn't find a stick but this should work, shouldn't it?" The voice was low and my eyes widened as two men came into the mouth of the alley. One held a pipe and the other held a severed head. Their brands were clear on their bare chests. I had just found Maggie. Or what remained of her. And I had stumbled upon the men that had done it.

"Who the fuck are you?" At the snarly voice I turned and I bolted. My heart was in my throat as I could hear them shouting in pursuit. I couldn't get caught. My ribs hurt and I was running far slower than I normally would have and I cursed Octavia for hell and back. My ribs protested again and I simply held them as I tried to run faster. I could not get caught.

My feet slapped against the pavement and I used as many short cuts as I could to try and lose them but they were consistently behind me. For the first time in a long time, I was terrified in the streets I ran in. I ducked down an alley and wiggled my way in between the heavy dumpster and the wall before I pulled out my cellphone. I pressed one for Octavia's speed dial but it went straight to voicemail. I could hear their voices further away but drawing closer and I quickly pressed two for Benjin. I held the phone to my ear tightly and prayed he would answer.

"I'm fucking busy, runner." His voice was low and demanding and I wanted to slump in relief.

"I found Maggie." I kept my voice a hushed whisper and there was a deep growl from the other end of the line that had me cringing.

"I told you to go the fuck home, runner!" There was an edge of a snarl to his words that let me know he was highly upset with my words.

"I was! I promise you, Benjin! I was going home and then I went through an alley and I stumbled on it and they are now looking for me." I couldn't help how my voice warbled. I wanted to cry because if I wasn't careful, if Benjin didn't believe me, I would be dead.

"Who are?" It was a harsh demand and I swallowed as the voices drew closer.

"Revan's men." It was barely a whisper as I heard them come into the alleyway. I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep my harsh panting from being heard.

"Where is that bitch, Ben?" The voice was agitated and I hoped they couldn't hear how quickly my heart was beating as I slowly pushed myself further behind the dumpster.

"I can't smell her anymore. Too much fucking garbage." There was a heavy edge of a growl to his voice that made me want to cringe. Not for the dominance but for the anger it held. I prayed that they wouldn't find me.

"Check the dumpster." Ice flooded my veins and I fought to keep my panic down. My phone was still pressed to my ear and Benjin's even breathing was all that was keeping me together. He was calm and I needed to be calm. The dumpster lids were flipped open and there was the sound of someone digging through the bags.

"Nothing, Jonesy." One of the men kicked the side of the dumpster with a loud clang that hurt my ear and from the inhale Benjin took, hurt his as well. "Where is that fucking wild mutt when we need him?"

"Yah, he could have sniffed her out without a problem. Come on. She couldn't have gotten far." There was a lot of anger emanating from both of them and I pressed my hand tighter to my mouth. It hurt but I knew it would keep the sounds from escaping.

"Maybe we should just finish up. We want that Octavia bitch to know Revan is here. That little whore can tell her. She had a brand, probably telling her right now." At the words I silently urged them to leave, to go and let me escape to safety.

"You're lucky, you little slut! Next time we will track you down and we will make you look like your filthy little friend!" His words were a shout as they grew fainter. My heart was beating harshly in my chest as I waited for them to be gone completely.

"Sutton. Are you okay?" Benjin's voice was harsh and tears flooded my eyes as I strained to hear if they had truly left. "Sutton, answer me!" Agitation flooded his tone and I slowly pulled my hand from my mouth.

"I'm scared." The whisper was hoarse and garbled and silence came through the line.

"That's understandable but you need to get somewhere safe. Right now. I tracked your position and I have men coming to find Revan's men." The was a faint line of comforting to his voice that surprised me. I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"It was the alleyway between Cornish Ave and third street. That's where her body was." I knew that location like I knew some many others. I pressed a shaking hand to my forehead.

"You did good, Sutton." His voice was firm and I tried not to cry. Tears filled my eyes and I sniffled. Octavia would kill me.

"I-I took a shortcut. Octavia is going to-"

"Octavia will not touch you again. Not for a long while." His tone was sharp and I wished I could have believed him. "You did good. You ran and you reported, just like she told you." His voice was once again firm and I nodded.

"Go home. You will stay there and I will come and get you personally in the morning. You will not leave Madame Lao's without me. Am I understood?" His voice was heavy with an order and I nodded.

"Understood." It was still a garbled and fearful whisper but I couldn't stop it.

"Good girl. Now go." The call ended and I tucked my phone away. I shakily started to wiggle my way out from behind the dumpster. My entire body was hard to move because of how badly it was shaking. This night had turned out to be one of the worst I had ever had to deal with and I never wanted it to happen again.