“I wonder where she’s from?” asks Pal. “Surely, a kid like that would be missed? It’s not as if she’s an unruly teenager likely to run off.” He pauses. “Unless she was already being treated like shit.”
Cad nods. “I’ve been thinking that myself. You’re right, Pal. It seems unusual for a girl like that to just be walking the streets and be picked up. The woman got any idea how they took her?”
Mace answers, “She didn’t say. Esme just appeared one day. I don’t know if she was able to tell her. Right now, she’s not talking, so it’s hard to know what her level of comprehension is.”
Cad nods at him. “I can discreetly start looking to see if anyone’s asking questions. If she’s got a loving family, she might be missed. Even a care home would be looking for her.”
“She might have shit parents who sold her for cash because they couldn’t be bothered to fuckin’ look after her.”
“Don’t have much faith in the human race, do you, Rusty?”
“Seen too fuckin’ much, Brother,” the older ginger-haired biker responds to Judge. “She could have been with foster parents who found her too challenging.”
“Do you think Shayla will take responsibility for her, long-term?” Prez asks Mace, then includes me.
“Don’t know much about either of them,” I reply. “Just know I don’t want Major to get his hands back on them. He needs to be removed before they can think about a future.”
Beef says determinedly, “Only thing that man’s getting his hands on is a fuckload of pain and six feet of earth over the top of him.”
Growls, stomps of feet, and fists bumping on tables shows he’s just voicing what we all think.
Prez taps his fingers together, then gives us his thoughts. “Shayla looked nervous as hell when she came in. You’re the kid and woman whisperer, Mace.” He looks at the enforcer with a smirk. “Got any hints for how we should help them settle in?”
Mace rolls his eyes but sits forward looking serious. “I think her first thought was we might want to use her for ourselves.” He waves his hand in a downward motion. “Simmer down, told her that wasn’t the way of it, but she’s not going to trust easily. Not just her, the kid doesn’t want to talk in case she gets fuckin’ tasered or hit. Keep your distance, don’t touch, don’t crowd, and no mention that she’s got boobs or an ass, or not in her hearing.”
“Has she?” asks Sparky.
“She’s a bitch, what do you think?” Hell bats him around the head.
“I fuckin’ know that,” Sparky defends himself. “But are they nice?”
Mace groans. “That’s precisely what I’m saying. That’s not the way you should be thinking of her. Look, treat her as you would your sister. She’s out-of-bounds. And before you say you haven’t got one, Sparks, I fuckin’ know you have.”
“Sure wouldn’t want to fuck her.” Sparky puts his fingers in his mouth and pretends to retch.
Mace glares at him which shuts him up. “As far as Esme goes, she’s got this amazing talent. She can draw, really well. I think we ought to encourage that. Praise her, hang her fuckin’ pictures up. Show she’s worth more than what she was sold to provide. And,” he narrows his eyes again, this time his fierce expression includes all of us, “she’s a kid, so if you swear in front of her, cough up.”
“What?” Various people ask in various tones of astonishment.
“She’s already had me for five dollars,” I admit. “But Mace has got a good point. Men have been abusing her, not treating her as human. If you do swear, apologise and pay up. Putting a bit of dough in her pockets will make her feel valued.”
“A bit of dough? She’ll fuckin’ bankrupt us,” Bomber groans.
“Won’t do any harm to start watching your language when she’s about,” Prez remarks. “Theo’s starting to talk now, Mel’s expecting. Can’t reprimand kids if their role models use foul language.”
Bomber gasps. “We’ve got to pay them all? Christ, Prez, you’ll need to increase our wages.”
“Kids will end up richer than us,” Wills mumbles.
“Too fuckin’ right,” moans Rusty, to my mind sort of proving the point.
On that note, we break up.
“You okay, Brother? How’s the head?” Mace sounds and looks worried as he waits for me to leave the meeting room.
“Not good,” I reply honestly, touching my hand to my brow. “Think I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
“You made that appointment to have your eyes checked?”
“Yeah. Going on Wednesday,” I admit.
I never expected to end up wearing glasses, not until I was middle-aged, and I don’t feel I’m close to that. Isn’t that like when you’re fifty? But it’s probably down to the work that I do, always concentrating. Two things my job needs are a good eye and a steady hand. He pats my shoulder as I walk off toward the stairs.
After a couple of hours lying down in a darkened room, my head feels a lot easier. The rumbling of my stomach reminds me I’ve not eaten since the tacos I had with Mace at lunchtime. As I open my door, I find Steph leading a procession to the room next to mine. The one that used to belong to Skull, God damn his black soul.
“Okay, this is you.”
Shayla catches my eye and mouths, How does she do that? I shrug. I have no idea. Max isn’t even leading her, he’s sticking close to Esme’s side. I reckon Steph has counted the steps, and the number needed to reach any of the rooms and has them stored in her mind. Sure, being blind does hinder her in some things, but not as much as you’d think.
“Hi, Liz,” Steph greets me, and I’ve no idea how she knows I’m there. I manage to refrain from sniffing my armpits. She ignores me after that, opening the door to the empty room and gesturing inside. “Prospects were told to get this place ready, but I can’t tell if they have or haven’t.”
“You’re spidey sixth sense doesn’t tell you?”
“Liz,” Steph admonishes with a laugh.
“Looks like they have.” Shayla gives a smile as she glances inside. “This will be great, Esme. Where’s the… oh, there’s a bathroom as well. It’s a palace, isn’t it?” She forces a smile as the girl beside her nods vigorously. I’m so full of admiration for this bitch, it’s unreal. But maybe caring for Esme helps her bury her own trauma to some extent.
“I’ll leave you to get settled. Come, Max.”
I watch, shaking my head, as Steph unerringly walks back to the stairs, holding my breath until her hand’s on the bannister. Then I turn back to Shayla, catching her before she follows Esme into the room. “You coming back down?”
Shayla shakes her head. “To be honest Lizard, I’m exhausted. I think we’ll just stay up here.”
I translate what she’s saying. “Shayla,” I start forcefully. “Nothing is going to happen to you here. I know it’s too early for words to make you believe it, but you can trust us.”
She offers a weak smile but betrays herself by glancing down and noticing the lock on the door. Then she catches my eye. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust anyone again.”