turn, you threw it all in her face?”
“She exploits young, desperate children who don’t know any better or see any other way.
She’s no saint,” Gia pointed out.
“How quickly you forget where you come from.” India shook her head.
“Like I said, get out.” Gia ignored her ignorance and stepped inside with her head held high.
The dimly lit room stole her ability to focus. She blinked, desperate for her eyes to adjust.
A woman stood a few yards away, hidden by the shadows of the room. She stepped forward.
Gia gasped, grabbing her throat. Her breath came in shallow puffs of air.
The woman’s heart-shaped face was thinner than she’d ever seen it. Her bones protruded at
angles so sharp she swore they might cut her. Her hazel eyes were void of life and her lips were pulled down into an ugly snarl. The scars that lined her face had been deliberate and destructive.
Gia’s stomach rolled. “Taffy?” Her voice cracked and she swayed on her feet.
Lefty caught her around the waist, keeping her from falling.
“Surprise.” She smiled. The cuts on the sides of her lips twisted grotesquely, reminding Gia of the Joker. “So good to see you after all this time. I’ve dreamed of the day.”
“You’re alive?” Gia whispered, completely floored.
“Oh yes, even death yields to Mylandra. They worked on me furiously when they found me.
After you left me.” She narrowed her eyes. “I was fixed up as good as new, so I could feel everything they did to me later.”
Bile rose in Gia’s throat. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have left you. I would’ve come back.”
“Now, that is what I was hoping you’d say. It’s time for you to make this right. For years, you’ve had your freedom while I lived in hell.”
“Tell me what to do, Taffy, anything.”
“Mylandra is willing to let me go for a fee.”
“I’ll pay it,” Gia said automatically
“Oh, it’s not monetary. It’s a life for a life. You go with her and I’m free.” Taffy grinned.
“Fuck you, bitch!” Lefty barked. He pulled her back to his body like he’d been burned. “I
don’t give a shit what went down. You both took a risk running. Don’t expect her to suffer because you got caught ass out.”
“You know nothing, biker,” she growled the words out.
“I know bullshit when I hear it and smell it. Go tell your boss to fuck herself.”
“No!” Gia cried.
“If you think I’d let you do this, you’re out of your fucking mind.”
Gia glanced up.
Lefty ground his teeth together. His eyes burned her with their intensity.