Page 27 of His Toy

“I don’t know if you know this,” I did, “but I’m kind of a super-fan when it comes to these places. Natural wonders. Nothing can beat it.”

I could think of some things that were more beautiful.

I harnessed the backpack, while Heather gleefully walked down a trail of her choosing. She was in her element, bouncing down the path. We found petroglyphs in the rock, made our own approximations of their meanings, musing aloud as to what the ancient civilizations were trying to communicate. To any stranger, we would’ve appeared as a normal couple. A slight age difference. But a normal couple nonetheless.

I had chosen a day I knew the park would be near empty.

Halfway down the trail, we found a shaded area. As I removed the water bottles from the backpack, I rubbed the hemp rope between my fingers. We could practice here. It would be indulgent on my end, but everything was an opportunity. Heather needed to be ready.

It was an excuse, but I knew that.

“Can I ask you something?” Heather said. I zipped the backpack. If the time came for training, we would be ready.

“You can ask anything,” I said. Whether or not I would answer was another question entirely.

“What’s your secret behind this?”

I frowned. That didn’t spark the mood. “What do you mean?”

“What did Eric do to you? To deserve this kind of revenge?”

I had told her about her part in my design, but none of the other details. Her word choiceto deserve thisimplied that I was in the wrong. And I knew the truth.

“What do you think I have planned?” I asked.

“I have no idea.” She sighed, then took a gulp of water and gazed out at the Aztec sandstone. “You’re one giant mystery. A cage in a basement? A live-in chef who won’t say a word, no matter what tactics I try?” The cage in the basement was understandably ominous. But Donna had strict orders. She knew the rules. Until I deemed it safe, she was not allowed to speak with Heather. “A security service is kind of understandable, I guess. But what did Eric do to you that was so wrong that you sought out my sister?”

She thought I searched out her sister? In a way, that wasn’t untrue. Hazel had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and betrayed people she should’ve known better than to cross. They had notified me of her presence, and the host had requested that I take care of her before someone else did. It was part of my donated services to the Afterglow. Protection. Discreet elimination.

If I hadn’t removed her from their vicinity, they would have killed her.

I had been collecting Eric’s followers over the last two years. She was lucky that she happened to be one of them.

“As soon as I mentioned her name at Club Hades, you knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“That she was my sister.”

I glared. This was beginning to irritate me. “I tried to warn you.”

“I know,” she said. “And I should’ve listened. But I couldn’t leave my sister behind. You know that, right?”

It was a weakness of mine, a woman who dedicated herself completely to her loved ones, whether it be family, a lover, a dominant, or a master. I wanted that kind of loyalty. I needed it.

I wanted to earn that kind of loyalty. From someone like her.

For that moment in time, I let myself forget what held us together. The agreement. That our relationship was different.

But then reality struck us like a rockslide. “Tell me about your sister,” I said, focusing once more. “What do you know about Eric?”

She paused, tilting her head as she looked from me, to the sun-bleached stones surrounding us, back to her laced shoes. “Honestly, I don’t know anything about Eric. Hazel finds a way to fight almost everyone. But when she likes someone, she’s a sponge. She soaks up whatever they want her to say, molds herself to fit in. She’s good at it. Fitting in.” The way her tone lowered towards the end, it was obvious that Heather felt inferior. Hazel was good at finding a place in a crowd; Heather was not. “She’s dated firefighters, rednecks, Molly enthusiasts, even a drug dealer once. The only one I truly disapproved of was the fucker who hit her.” Heather shuddered at the thought, recalling some distant memory. “But the rest? I didn’t care. I helped her out when she needed it. But it was the usual stuff. Ghosting the annoying types. Helping her pack. Whatever. I figured Eric must be a gambler.”

If only he were simply a gambler. But gambling didn’t come close to what he was capable of.

“All I had was her note.Find me in the afterglow.This isn’t what you think it is.It was weird, you know? She’s always liked to play games, but this was a straight riddle. And then she disappeared. And since social media had her attending an Afterglow event, I figured I’d start there.” She paused, staring at the sandstone. “The dungeon stuff surprised me at first, but not really. Hazel could do anything.”

Her innocent desire to protect her sister, to save her, could have gotten her killed. And if she had managed to survive her sister’s enemies, Eric would have found her. What would he have done to Heather?