“He’s not a man. He’s an animal like this snake.”
The bars of the cage creak again and this time I can actually see them collapse a little. The girl hisses when the hard steel presses tight against her shoulders.
“How will you even get her out of there?” I ask, because the head of the snake is positioned right over the top of the cage like maybe it’s considering swallowing the whole thing. Metal and all.
“She’s not getting out. Let’s go, Philip. We’ve seen enough.”
Philip starts the engine and we begin to roll forward. I wait for the girl to call out. To beg us to come back.
But she doesn’t.
The last thing I hear is another dramatic creak of the cage as the monster snake takes another go at collapsing the bars.
And that’s that.
That is my first look at Indie Anna Accorsi.
I see Donovan mingling with other men in the pavilion just before the auction starts. I have known him his whole life. At least, I know who he is and I know how he’s connected to me, and we have met maybe a handful of times in the past before our fathers died.
Here’s the most important thing I know about Donovan: I understand who and what he is. I appreciate how we are the same, even though we’re different.
Donovan Couture is Gerald Couture’s grandson. Donovan’s father and my father had a team together back in the day. They came to these auctions a lot for girls, and like me, they were not looking for concubines.
At least… not at first.
Gerald can talk all the shit he wants about my desire to be part of the Company black ops, but he took the same path. Most people in the Company don’t get choices like us. You’re given an assignment, and God help you if you don’t follow instructions.
But our families—mine and Donovan’s and about a dozen others—they go back to the very beginning of the Company. You can trace our pedigrees back nearly three hundred years. We are called the Founders, but more commonly referred to as the Untouchables.
Because we do get a choice and Untouchables is a very dramatic name.
We are into drama.
Anyway, the point is—Donovan is here. He’s a skinny, fifteen-year-old kid wearing a ten-thousand-dollar suit and a fifty-thousand-dollar watch, clean-shaven, dark hair slicked back like he’s a mafia boss.
I don’t laugh because he catches my eye just as I recognize him, but I want to.
He holds up a crystal glass with a couple fingers of whiskey in the bottom in a ‘cheers’ gesture.
I hold up my champagne flute and cheers him back.
He must decide this is an invitation to join me, because he crosses the room. “Adam Boucher. As I live and breathe. I heard you were coming this year. How’d the tour go? See anyone you like?”
I shake his hand, because he’s offering, then nod. “Yeah. I have one on the list.”
“Just one?” Donovan raises an eyebrow. “Let me guess… snake girl.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “She is creepy as fuck.”
“So why? Why buy her?”
“Because honestly”—I lean in and whisper—“I don’t want anyone else to have her. The thought of that girl out there, not on my side? Nah. I won’t be able to sleep at night.”
Donovan laughs. “I totally get it.” Then he goes serious. “But I know her. Fairly well. She’s been on the island for about six months now. Her house mother threw her out and… this is pretty much her last chance.”
I cringe, reconsidering my choice.
“But don’t worry. I told her about you.”
“About me?” I point to my chest. “What the hell could you have told her about me?”
“Just that she could do worse. And you’re young. And obviously not looking to…” He juts his chin up. “You know.”
“She’s ten.”
“Yeah, well. They like them young.”
I close my eyes and shake my head.
“So, listen.” Donovan touches my arm. “I heard some rumors about you.”
I open my eyes again. “What kind of rumors?”
Donovan’s crooked-smile response makes my heart skip. But only once. “From who?”
He shrugs. “I have feelers out there.” Then he leans into me again. “But you need to be careful with her.”
“Who?” I ask, because I have to. I’m not gonna admit anything to this kid. Not about me, not about him, not about his father, or my father, or the things I’ve heard. And I’m sure as fuck not going to admit I had anything to do with Santa Barbara or Sasha Cherlin. But that’s what he’s getting at.
Donovan smiles. And even though he’s only fifteen, I have to give credit when it’s due. He’s fucking smooth like that whiskey in his glass. “Just… lie low, man. Don’t do it again. And don’t ever talk to her again, either. She is the whole reason snake girl is in a world of shit.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Zero Project is a failure. You know that, right? Indie—that’s her name, by the way. She’s one of the last. There’s maybe half a dozen younger than her. Mostly babies, but the older ones didn’t pan out like we’d hoped so they’re just shutting the whole thing down.”
“So she’s a waste of my time and money? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No. I’m not saying that.” He looks away, takes a sip of his drink, then side-eyes me. “But you gotta train her, Adam. Right from the start.”
“I have Core McKay waiting for me back home. He’s taking care of that.”
“McKay, huh?” Donovan considers this. “He’s not a bad choice.”
“You know him?”
“Not well. But I’ve read his file. Patient. That’s always a plus when dealing with kids like Indie. But he’s… young, ya know? You might consider someone with more experience under his belt.”
“He’s older than you.”
“He is. But he doesn’t have my connections.”
“He’s only a year younger than me.”
“Or your connections either, for that matter.”
“So what are you saying, Donovan? I should buy her? Or not?”
“Buy her. One hundred percent. I kinda promised her I’d make sure she went somewhere good. Just… be careful. Her kind… they’re… fragile.”
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, wanting this whole trip to be over. I’ve been renovating the family home since my trust fund matured two years ago and it’s finally fucking ready. All I want to do is go back there and settle in to… something. Something normal, and predictable, and easy.
And snake girl is starting to sound… well… not easy.
“Did you hear that I’m off to medical school?”
I pull back from my thoughts. “Yeah? Good for you.”
“Duke. Not too far from your stomping grounds.”
“I guess. Not really a day trip though.”
“I’m not driving, Adam.” He laughs. “Private jet.”
“Sucking down all the old money now, are ya, Donovan?”
“My trust matured when I finished undergrad.” He holds up his glass. “Here’s to early graduation.”