Shattered Prince

I kept that close to my heart as I walked back from class to the parking lot. I slowed and nearly stopped when I spotted the Mercedes parked right up front with Oscar leaning against the hood.

He grinned when he spotted me, and all those good, happy feelings vanished like mist. I’d expected Carmine this afternoon, and a vicious disappointment ate at my guts.

I forced my feet my move. No sense in standing and staring like an idiot. Oscar wasn’t going anywhere, and he wasn’t going to forget about me. So I might as well face him with my head held high.

“Hello, little girl,” Oscar said, grinning that stupid, horrible, toothy smile. “How was school today?”

I didn’t answer. I climbed into the back, put on my seatbelt, and stared out the window. Oscar climbed behind the wheel of the car and pulled out. He looked at me in the rearview, smiling the whole time like we were in on some amazing joke.

My stomach writhed like my guts were filled with snakes. I hated that bastard, hated him more than anyone in my life—more than my father, more than Carmine, more than the other guards that mocked and teased me mercilessly growing up. I hated Oscar because he used me, hurt me, and owned me. And there was nothing I could do.

Not after what I’d done. Not after the recording, and everything that came after. The lies, the stealing.

I closed my eyes. Being around Oscar made it all so much worse. Whatever joy I felt from my lunch with Cap was snuffed out by a single glance from that sadistic monster.

He was quiet on the trip back to the apartment. We pulled into the parking garage and he slid into the spot, but as I reached for the handle to get out, he locked the doors.

“Let me go,” I said through my teeth.

He stared at me in the mirror. “We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t. Let me out.” I tried the handle again.

“Do you need me to give you another reminder, little girl?” He sneered at me. Those teeth were ugly and crooked. He made me completely sick. Sweat broke out under my arms, thick and disgusting.

“Do we have to do this today? Right now?”

“I need you to do a job for me.” He stared. Kept staring. I looked down at the floor and slumped my shoulders forward.

“What do you want?”

“Find out about Carmine’s business. I want to know where his goods come in and where they go out from. I want to know his stash houses, his customers, and what he’s moving. I want to know it all, little girl. And you’ll get it for me.”

“How? You think I can just ask him? I’m a guest in his house.”

“You figure it out.” He unlocked the doors.

I climbed out of the car. My knees shook as I walked toward the elevator, but Oscar got out and cut me off. He grabbed me by the backpack and pulled me close.

“Get off me,” I said, sucking in a sharp breath.

But he only stared deep into my eyes. “We’re going back to the old days, little girl. I want money, and I want it soon. I need information, and you’ll get it for me. Bring me what you can and start today, because you know I’m not a patient man. Now, say, yes, sir.”

I didn’t look at him. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He shoved me away. “Don’t be stupid, Jules. Your father will cut your throat for what you’ve done over the years.”

I hung my head. “I know.”

I walked to the elevator, and we rode up in silence.

Chapter 6

Jules

I sat alone in the living room near the gas fireplace. It was always so cold in Carmine’s apartment. He kept the air conditioning running all day long, even on mild days. It was an extravagant use of electricity and money, but he didn’t give a damn, so long as he was comfortable.

I didn’t mind it. I was used to the heat from living in Mexico, but the air conditioning was nice. I sat curled up with a biology textbook in my lap, trying to study life cycles, but my eyes barely glossed over the surface.

Carmine shuffled around the kitchen. He’d come home an hour after Oscar brought me back. The guard had left and gone home to wherever he was staying. I didn’t ask where, and nobody told me. I didn’t want to know anyway. I hoped he was sleeping in a gutter, but it was probably a motel room nearby, or even an apartment in this building.

Carmine poured himself a drink and drifted over. He sat heavily in a chair and took a long sip of the whiskey before staring at me intently. I thought back to my conversation with Cap and saw a glimmer in his eyes, barely a hint of the all-consuming heat I’d seen before. The desire, the darkness. It shimmered under the surface.