“Master?” she said.
Julie couldn’t help the flinch at hearing her speak to him that way, but the woman said it with a strange sort of relish, as if somehow she actually liked being his slave—a thought that was incomprehensible to Julie. Gabe’s confession of what he was into came across as an admission of finding enjoyment in dismembering kittens. Certainly nothing to be proud of or happy about, and yet this woman, this flip side of that coin, somehow seemed even more aberrant in her existence.
At the sound of the woman’s voice, Anton’s features softened into the least threatening expression she’d seen from him so far.
“Thank you, Kiska. I’m sorry our fight woke you. Go back to bed. I will join you in a little while.”
“Yes, Master.” And then she was gone.
Anton sighed and turned his attention back to Gabe. “No, I won’t cry over Dmitri, but I think you’ve lost your mind.”
“Where’s Brian? I’m sure he’ll be happy to clean house. You know how he loves to clean.”
“He and Mina are out on a job. They won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Fine.” Gabe grabbed Julie’s hand and led her to the stairs.
“If Dmitri calls, I will act as if everything is normal,” Anton said. “It’s safest until Brian returns. We can decide our strategy from there. Agreed?”
Gabe nodded and took Julie upstairs to the second floor. He guided her down the hallway and stopped in front of a door about midway down. He opened the door, peered in, glanced back at Julie, then shut the door again.
“Not that one. It’s too dark. And you’re so pale.”
He looked in a few more doors, but nothing seemed to meet his standards. While Gabe deliberated, Anton strode down the hallway toward them. He was out of breath, appearing as though he’d taken the stairs two or three at a time. “Here.” He gave Gabe a silver metal cuff like what the other girls wore.
Julie shrank back, still resistant to the idea of becoming his full-fledged captive. What was she supposed to do? Walk calmly to her own slaughter? So far, the evidence of the evening pointed to Gabe protecting her. She wasn’t sure how long he would be so patient and caring. It seemed silly now in hindsight, but she still remembered how much he’d scared her on their date months ago.
“Is it programmed?” Gabe asked, not noticing her reaction, or else thinking it was motivated by Anton rather than the electronic leash that was about to be put on her.
“Yes. Brian got bored and programmed all of the extra ones one day. It was right after we upgraded to the new design and features.”
“So then it’s got all the standard stuff in it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll fix that,” Gabe said.
There was a question in Anton’s eyes, but after being punched in the jaw, he didn’t seem too keen to initiate another fight.
“If you think I’m letting ANYONE control this bracelet, you are out of your fucking mind. You know how Brian likes to hurt people. Absolutely not. All I want is the standard electric fence activation—keep her inside the perimeter, but nothing else. And definitely not anything anyone else can control.”
Julie tensed at the mention of someone who liked to hurt people. Gabe had promised safety, but from the brief snippets of information she’d gleaned in the past few minutes, Brian seemed anything but safe.
Anton shrugged. “You won’t get any argument from me. Mina and Annette have the same set up, and if this one is yours, it’s only fair that she have it as well.” For the first time since she’d stepped inside the house, Anton turned toward her and seemed to acknowledge her presence as more than a mere inconvenience or stationary piece of décor in the room. He offered a hand. “I apologize for my rudeness. I’m Anton. You are?”
Julie looked at Gabe, and he nodded but she didn’t take Anton’s hand. She couldn’t bring herself to touch him. That smooth politeness was so like Dmitri. She didn’t trust it. “I-I’m Julie.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Anton casually withdrew his hand, somehow making it appear as if he’d never offered it to begin with. He looked at Gabe again, then back at her. She moved closer to Gabe.
After a moment of this intense scrutiny, Anton sighed. “You’re right about Dmitri. I did not check it out carefully enough. He and I are not close. I will follow your lead about this.”
Gabe nodded. “Thank you.”
“Good night, Julie,” Anton said and left them alone.
Gabe punched a long complicated code into the silver metal cuff, and it sprang open. He locked it around Julie’s wrist. “It’s a security precaution.”
She nodded, but wasn’t at all comforted by this. She’d known he wasn’t letting her go, but this was a real, solid piece of metal that reminded her no matter how much nicer he was, she could never be here truly of her own free will because they wouldn’t let her leave.
Gabe proceeded to punch in more codes. A series of beeps responded. She jumped when a small recorded voice emitted from the bracelet.
“Are you sure you wish to deactivate punishment options A through D?”
Gabe punched a button on the bracelet.
The metal bracelet answered, “Punishment options A through D deactivated. To reactivate, please input the correct code and return to this menu.”
Gabe pressed another button and the bracelet said, “This security bracelet is equipped with perimeter security function. If this is correct, press 1.”
Gabe pressed a button. Then he punched in some more numbers.
The bracelet said, “Are you sure you wish to change the access code to this security bracelet? This action cannot be undone. Press 1 if you are sure.”
“Yes, I’m fucking sure,” Gabe muttered, stabbing at a number on the bracelet.
The bracelet said “Thank you,” and then fell silent.
“Y-you’re the only one who has the code you put in?” Julie asked.
“Yes.”
“So that Brian guy can’t...”
“No. Don’t worry about him. Come with me.” Gabe seemed to remember he’d been trying to decide on her accommodations before Anton had shown up with the bracelet.
Julie followed him to the end of the hall, her anxiety only beginning to recede. He opened another door and peered in, and nodded, satisfied. Then he closed that door and opened the door next to it—the last one on the hall. This final door he held open.
She stepped inside. “Holy shit,” she said. This room wasn’t tacky and overblown like Dmitri’s. Everything was nice and crisply clean and much more spacious than she’d expected. The room had a distinct masculine touch with simple lines and edges to everything. There was a private bathroom, and an attached balcony.
“You’ll get plenty of light in this room, but I want you to spend some time outside and make friends. I’m sure you’ll become friends with Mina and Annette. Let me show you something.” Gabe opened the balcony door and she followed him outside. The walls on either side of the room created a private nook outside, but the balcony expanded out farther into more open air where the only thing that finally stopped this sense of expansion was the railing. Next to the railing was a table and chairs with cushions. “I like to eat out here sometimes. It’s a nice place to think.”