“Outside?” She pushed the innocence a little hard into her question.

“You girls don’t go outside, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you were curious.” He stuck the straw into her grape juice box and put it down on the table beside the bed for her. When she finally escaped this House, she was going to have a gallon-sized glass of wine. The real use for grapes.

She smiled at him. “What do we need outside for? Everything we need is here. You give me everything I need.”

“Is that right?” He folded his arms over his chest, leaning against the thick pillar of his bed.

A knock interrupted her thought.

“Anyone want a snack?” A cheerful voice accompanied the knock.

As Ariana looked over at the door, she had to stop herself from sighing. Snack time came around in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Apparently, being in Costello’s room didn’t excuse her from the cookies and milk ceremony. Like she’d become accustomed to doing, she pulled herself together and clapped her hands with excitement.

Even though she could feel Costello’s examining eyes on her, she didn’t look over at him, keeping all of her attention on the door.

“You want a cookie?” he asked tentatively. Like he was testing her.

“Yes, Daddy.” She stepped toward the door.

“Go on, then.” He motioned for her to answer it.

She bounced on the balls of her feet as she made her way to the door and flung it open as carelessly as she could. A six-year-old wouldn’t keep herself under control when there were cookies to be eaten. A six-year-old wouldn’t understand the poisonous effects of so much sugar and carbs to her hips.

“Here you go, Ariana.” Nancy smiled her biggest saccharine grin at her as she handed over a small plate with three sugar cookies. “Do you want milk too?” she asked as though Ariana could barely understand the question.

“Nope,” Ariana said, stepping back inside the room and shutting the door while Nancy craned her neck, probably trying to sneak a peek at the goings on in Costello’s room.

She spun around on her heel and brought the plate of cookies to Costello.

“Do you want to share a cookie, Daddy?” She held the plate up to him.

Ariana couldn’t peg his age, but she assumed he was somewhere nearing his thirties. But with his height towering over her, and his muscular build, standing in front of her, he probably looked every bit her daddy. Especially with the silly dress they made her wear.

“No, thank you, Ariana,” he answered, with his lips pinched together as though he were trying to keep a grin inside.

She put the plate down next to her juice box. Snagging one cookie, she hopped onto the bed and nibbled at the edges. The food given to the girls was usually pretty tasty, but the cookies didn’t meet the standards she had regarding baked goods. They would never sell such dry goods at the bakery where she’d worked.

When she had a job.

The text she’d received from her boss the night she had been kidnapped told her they thought she’d quit. When she didn’t show up for work, there was no alarm, no concern. There was no one missing her. No one looking for her. She should have made more of an effort to make friends, to start some sort of relationship with anyone, instead of keeping herself isolated from society. Now she’d been taken, and not a single soul even knew.

“Why are you pouting?” Costello asked.

She blinked. Getting lost in her moments of self-pity made her forget she was in her daddy’s room.

“I was thinking of old friends,” she answered, unsure if having memories from before arriving at the House was normal. She could be setting herself up to be caught.

He tilted his head to the side, but she couldn’t read his blank expression. Had she just clued him into what was happening?

“Did you have a lot of friends?” he asked.

“Yes. Lots.” She exaggerated her nod. Maybe if he thought there were people who cared about her out there, he’d tell Uncle Frank it was dangerous to keep her. Maybe they’d let her go.

It was a foolish thought, but she wasn’t coming up with any better ideas.

“Tell me about them,” he encouraged her.

Well, hell.

“Uh, there was Stephanie. My roommate.” She grinned. Yes. If she had someone living with her, she’d for sure be looking for Ariana. He’d have to see that.

“Your roommate?” he asked with raised brows.

Good. He was starting to understand that people would be coming for her.

“Yes. We were very, very close.” She nodded some more, then picked up her juice and squirted a bit onto her tongue. The overly sweet juice was going to give her a sugar high, but it would probably help her keep her act together all afternoon.

“Really?” he asked, pushing off the bedpost and moving to stand in front of her.

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