He was motionless and expressionless as a rock. They’d used my mother to trick me. As unfeeling as I thought I was, that hurt more than I’d admit to anyone. Her, out of everyone . . . I was blindsided.
“We’re going to the shelter,” Easton said evenly.
I took another step back, wary. “I don’t believe you.”
He shrugged. “The word is trust.”
I snorted. How could he say that? After what I’d done, there was no getting any semblance of trust back.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll find my own way.”
“It’s not.”
“Then we’ve got a problem.” If I got in a car with them, they’d take me straight to the FBI or cops or whoever could lock me up the longest.
“You know the choices.”
Ah, so my father could speak.
“I should’ve known you were behind this. In your mind, there’s only one place for me.” I gripped the doorframe, struggling to ignore the onslaught of hurt. It wouldn’t go away.
“She wasn’t supposed to see you,” he said through tight lips. “But this is what Loretta wants, so it’s what’s going to happen.”
Easton looked at his watch. “They’re expecting us. Do I need to call Mrs. Quinn and tell her we’ve made other arrangements?”
I glanced back and forth between the two of them. A powerlessness swept over me. I was always in command. I pulled the strings. That way I wasn’t left exposed. Now? What choice did I have?
I pushed off the doorframe. “If y’all think it’s a good idea to put me in a place full of women, that’s on you.”
Chapter Four
Sonya
Walking barefoot through New York City sucked.
It didn’t help I had to stick to side streets and alleys to avoid Tamas and his goon. Yet with every block of distance I put between me and the apartment, the easier I breathed.
That hadn’t gone as planned.
Esmerelda had snitched on me. She’d seen me nosing around Tamas’s study, and of course he’d take her word over mine.
But a black eye was worth it.
I couldn’t say worse had happened, though it would heal, and I’d still have the coin . . . as long as I lay low for a while. My head smarted where he’d yanked out a chunk of hair. I hadn’t seen the aftereffects yet, but I was sure it wouldn’t be lovely. One thing was for certain: Tamas wouldn’t stop looking for me until his last breath. I’d heard countless conversations—more like threats—when he’d found out his chief engineer disappeared after he’d stolen and attempted to sell the new technology for his company’s latest rechargeable battery. Three days. That was how long the engineer was able to hide from Tamas. But he’d never think of the place where I was headed. And he was the one who’d introduced me to it.
Turned out the state he’d left me in would play to my advantage when I got there.
A whimper came from a shadowy doorway. I knew better than to go into dark corners I couldn’t see, but that plea for help had me backtracking. As I crept toward the cry, I heard it again. What a time to have no phone for a flashlight.
When I was just outside the doorway, something licked my foot. I let out a startled screech and prayed it wasn’t a giant rat even as I squatted.
In the darkness, big, sad eyes met mine. My heart lurched. “What’s the matter, baby?”
I held my hand out. The dog lifted his head and sniffed, swiping his tongue over my fingertips. I stroked down matted, dirty fur and felt bones where meat should’ve been.
“Are you hungry?”
With my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw his tail wag. This baby was starving and who knew what else, yet he was trying.
“Can you come with me? I don’t have anything, but we’ll find you something.”
I forgot about how my face and feet hurt, determined to help this sweet creature. It took him a minute and a struggle to get up, but once he did and we were in the alley light, what little heart I had shattered.
He was a pretty good size mutt with long lanky legs and floppy ears. But he was so skinny, I wasn’t sure if he’d eaten in a week.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I promised, though I wasn’t sure if that was more for me than him.
I stroked his head, and he looked up at me with all the hope and love I didn’t deserve. How could he trust a human when we’d let him suffer so? I didn’t. The only one I could and would ever rely on was myself. This wasn’t how I saw my life turning out, but there I was.
We trudged slowly to the street. When I moved, he moved. When I stopped, he stopped. He stuck close by my side. Even though it was obvious it took all his effort, he tried so hard, as though he knew if he could just make it wherever we were going, he’d be okay.
But he was tired.
I hailed a passing cab, which skidded to a stop. When I opened the back door, my companion looked at me like he didn’t know what to do. Carefully, I hefted him inside.
“No dog,” the driver said.
I ignored him and climbed in the back seat, rattling off an address. He caught sight of my black eye, clamped his mouth shut, and took off.
* * *
“Your charity will come back to you tenfold.”
I slammed the car door. The dog stared at me as I stared at the brick building in front of us. Tree-lined sidewalks and a quiet that was difficult to find in this city settled over us. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but this wasn’t it.
A bronze plaque indicated we were at the right address.
“They’ll help us.”
I tried the doorknob, uncertain what the protocol was, but found it locked. So I rang the doorbell. The dog sat on my feet while we waited for someone to answer.
I was about to press it again when the door flung open.
The woman who answered had an elegant gray bob and wore a pantsuit that looked expensive. A strand of pearls circled her neck. And she smiled as if she’d been expecting me.
“Hello. I’m Mrs. Quinn. Come in.” She stepped aside and ushered us into the foyer, which felt homey, comforting. “And who do we have here?” She patted the dog’s head, and he nuzzled her palm.
“I’m Sonya.” I snapped my mouth shut. Why had I given her my real name? “And this is . . . Sam.”
My new friend looked up at me when I spoke his new name, and relief coursed through me. Although this woman probably thought I was an asshole who didn’t feed her own dog.
“Why don’t we get you two something to eat?” Mrs. Quinn led us to an opulent office and didn’t seem to mind when we tracked dirt onto her cream carpet.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t even flinched at the pair we made. Black eye. Barefoot. Dress in tatters. No coat. Dirty. She didn’t seem to see any of it.
She offered me a blanket draped on the arm of the sofa and indicated for me to sit. I opened it and huddled underneath the soft cashmere. Sam placed a paw on the cushion, those brown eyes pleading for help. He didn’t have the strength to jump up.
If Mrs. Quinn minded when I helped him up, she didn’t say a word. He laid his head in my lap. My hand shook as I stretched the blanket to cover his chilly fur. I hadn’t realized how cold I was until we’d reached the warmth of the building.