Page 105 of Poisoned Pawn
The small corridor is quiet as I make my way to the toilets, but I can make out the faint sound of tinkling cutlery and pans crashing coming from the kitchen.
My mind is distracted with thoughts of where Toni is as I wash my hands and dry them under the dryer. It’s a crap dryer, and I give up before my hands are completely dry. I’m wiping my hands down my legs to dry them off fully as I exit, so I don’t notice the guy exiting the men’s toilet as I make my way back down the corridor.
As I close in on the door, angry voices reach me and my footsteps slow. I can hear Carter and a voice I don’t recognise, but I don’t have time to think about it when there’s a sharp tug on my ponytail. My head is yanked back, causing me to cry out, and something blunt digs into my side, silencing me immediately.
The voices up ahead are louder now, and I can hear Carter’s angry cursing as the guy behind me shoves me forward, leading me with his hand wrapped tightly in my hair.
I can’t see much with my head at this angle, but as we pass the door frame, he loosens his grip enough to allow me to look ahead, but he gives me a hard dig in my side with the gun I know he’s holding there, just as a reminder for me to behave.
Carter and Maddox are standing next to our table, their faces hard and furious, eyes narrowed. Carter’s jaw ticks as his eyes meet mine, and he steps forward, but the second he moves, a voice off to my right stops him.
“Ah, ah, you don’t want to do that, Carter,” he says, my eyes flicking sideways to try and get a look at him. The hand at my hair tightens again, stopping me, and all I can see is him raise a finger and point at Carter.
Looking back to Carter, I finally spot what he was pointing at. There in the centre of his chest is a small red dot, the sight from a sniper rifle.
“Let her fucking go, Rook,” Carter says, pushing the words out past his clenched jaw, his hands fisted at his sides.
Rook tilts his head, bringing a finger up to his mouth as though contemplating the idea. He looks to me then back at Carter.
“I don’t think that’s going to work for me. You see, you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you fucking shit. You want me, I’m here, but leave her the fuck out of it.”
Rook looks over to me, then waves his hand to the guy holding me, beckoning him forward. I dig my feet in, refusing to move.
“I’m sorry but it seems she doesn’t care whether you live or die,” Rook says, his tone hyperbolically apologetic. Before I can back track and stop him, a shot rings out followed by a scream, a wail of terror and grief as the body of our waitress hits the ground in a heap.
“Now let’s try that again.” He waves his hand for me to come to him. “Unless of course you want me to reunite mother and daughter?” he says, waving his gun in the direction of the older woman now sobbing uncontrollably as she cradles her dead daughter in her arms.
I hadn’t even realised they were there. Before grief and sorrow, first came relief. I thought he was talking about Maddox or Carter. This time I move without hesitation. As I come to a stop, Rook turns to face me, and I get a proper look at him.
His hair is shorn short like Carter’s, but the right side of his head is scarred. There is a large surgical incision that runs up from behind his ear to the centre of his scalp along with a deep cleft in the side of his head. His right eye is partially a white hazy shade, and it reminds me of Erica’s. This explains how he was able to connect with her so easily, to gain her trust and for her to fall for his bullshit. His good eye is a dark hazel that watches everything. It’s eerie as fuck and reminds me of the Eye of Sauron inLord of the Rings.
“You fucking touch her—”
“And what, Carter? You going to shoot me again? I don’t think so,” he says with a mocking laugh. “You have no moves left to play. Star’s big sister and plaything number one are outside enjoying the company of a couple of my friends, you know, entertaining them. While we have a nice little chat. But I never was one for small talk. Much like you. It’s how Lennox made us right?” He nods to himself, then stretches out his neck like he’s irritated by something.
“Oh for the love of fucking god shut the fuck up, bitch,” he shouts, rolling his eyes, then points his gun and pulls the trigger.
I can’t help flinching and squeezing my eyes closed as the other woman slumps over her daughter’s body, and the arsehole behind me chuckles in my ear. “Aww, what’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“Thank fuck for that. I can finally think!” Rook says, smacking the heel of his hand on the side of his head a couple of times. “Where was I? Yes, that’s right, little Star, or…should I call you Anastasia?” He raises a hand to touch my cheek, running a fingertip down it and under my chin.
Bile rises, instantly souring inside my mouth as the name washes over me.
“That’s not my name,” I snap, spitting the words at him like they are daggers and shoving his hand away from my face. He scowls at me, fury flicking in his eyes for a moment. But then it’s gone. Replaced by something that chills me to my core.
“No?” he says questioningly, but the cruel smirk that curls his lip says there is no question. “It’s the name I remember.”
I feel sick. Memories force their way into my mind and cold seeps into my bones, freezing my breath inside my chest. I can hear Carter calling my name, but it’s all just white noise.
“My brother and his friend couldn’t stop talking about you. Little girls don’t do it for me, but you’re quite something now…” His words trail off as he appraises me, then he shrugs, ignoring the threats from both Carter and Maddox. I can’t take my eyes off him. In my mind they are burning through his skull and slicing his brain into tiny fucking pieces, but my body is frozen, locked in place by fear. My stomach knots, desperate to empty its contents, but I refuse to let it, swallowing it back down.
“Fuck you,” I croak, my voice trembling, and it’s all I can manage.
A hand connects with my face, stinging my cheek and forcing my head to the side. The move yanks at the guy’s hold on my hair, causing my scalp to scream in protest.
Carter and Maddox are being held back by two of Rook’s men, but it’s the red dot dancing across their chests that has me relenting.