I stumble into the room and frantically look around. Anton sits behind his desk, looking a little stunned at our intrusion, but I couldn’t care less because my little sister is sitting across the room, a blanket draped over her shoulders as she practically forces a sandwich down her throat.
“Ari,” I scream, racing towards her.
She clambers off the couch which seems way too big for her and runs at me.
I drop to my knees before her and her tiny little body slams into mine as her arms wrap around my neck. She buries her face into me as she cries and cries, letting me know how damn happy she is to see me. Her nose hurts against my collarbone but I welcome it as it’s another reminder that she’s right here in front of me.
Noah hovers over us as I hold my little sister and cry right along with her. “I’m so sorry, Ari,” I tell her. “I’m here now. Please forgive me. I’m so, so sorry.”
She nods her little head and holds me even tighter. “I want to go home.”
“I know,” I murmur. “I’m taking you home right now.”
I pull her back and take a moment to look over her. She’s still in the shirt of mine that she was wearing the night she was taken and she looks as though she’s hardly eaten. She’s covered in dirt and smells as though she hasn’t showered. There’s dirt under her nails and muck in her hair, making it appear a few shades darker than what it really is.
My heart breaks for her as I wipe the tears off her face. “Oh, Squirt. What have they done to you?”
Ari’s bottom lip pouts out and it’s clear she doesn’t want to talk about it. I push up to my feet and hold my arms out to her. She allows me to pick her up and she instantly curls right back into me. Not letting me put her down for even a second.
As I turn around with Noah right by my side, I notice Anton now standing in front of his desk, watching the scene before him. He walks forward with a document in his hand and it takes all of three seconds to realize it’s a birth certificate. He hands it to Noah before walking back towards his desk. “It’s her birth certificate,” Anton announces. “I retrieved it from her mother and it seems this young lady is now six years old.”
My brows dip down and I snatch the certificate out of Noah’s hands to scan over it. Anton’s right, my little girl is now six years old. “Did you hear that, Ari?” I whisper. “It was your birthday.”
Ari nods into my shoulder and I quickly realize that now isn’t the time to be celebrating, not yet anyway. I turn back to Anton. “Did you make her pay?” I question, knowing he knows that I’m referring to Kelly.
Anton raises his chin as he rests back onto his desk once again, making sure to cross his leg over the other in a show of arrogance. “I stuck to my end of the bargain. Now it’s time for you to do the same,” he tells me moments before his eyes rake over Noah with distaste.
My brows furrow. “You said I had the summer to myself.”
Anton nods. “That’s correct.”
“And what about college?”
“You said nothing about college.”
“I would like to still attend. I got into Broken Hill University on a scholarship. I’m already giving up my freedom for you. Do I really have to give that up too?”
Anton’s lips press into a tight line as he considers my proposal. “What are you studying?”
“Science.”
Anton arches a brow and I have a sick feeling that I know exactly what he’s thinking. “I suppose that I could allow you to attend classes during your training with me. I guess a college degree in science could be beneficial.”
I nod my head. “Then I’ll need to work on weekends. I have a part scholarship and no savings to pay for it.”
“No. Unacceptable. I will pay for it. Your weekends are mine.”
I sense Noah tense beside me, but the dead giveaway is the way his hand on my lower back turns into a sharp fist with the material of my shirt getting bunched up between his fingers. “I don’t want your dirty money,” I tell him while silently begging Noah to keep quiet. The last thing we need is for the wrong kind of attention to be drawn to him. After all, out of all the places Noah could possibly be on this planet, this one right here is probably the worst.
“Well, that’s really not a decision you get to make anymore, is it, young one?”
I clench my teeth, not wanting to say anything that will make matters worse and simply nod. He’s right. I made a deal with the devil and now that the devil has come through on his end, I need to suck it up and do the same. “Fine. You can pay for college.”