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...

The lock beeps as the door thunks behind Reid and my skin prickles from the silence that reverberates around us. We look at the light switch, but neither of us opts for it. Maybe because the electricity barely works in the city, or perhaps because we don' want to be reminded that it does here. Uncomfortable to be confined so close to him, I walk ahead and survey the new room.

"Thai said all the girls think that if they get pregnant the government gon' let them raise the kid in Newcastle," Reid remarks. He seems unconcerned with the lavish room or the prickly tension that consumes the gap between us.

It's small; in the corner, there's a window with wire caging us in, and beside it is a sleek dress cabinet with angular silver handles, but the thing that stands out is the bed. Huge, plush, covered in pillows and designed for us. I scowl, scratching my cheek as I approach the mattress before touching a towel gingerly, glancing at the door that I assume leads to a bathroom.

"Carden said we're gon' be advertised to adopting couples who bid on the kid," I mutter, but he looks at me quickly and I realise he didn't know that... which leads me to believe no one in the hall did either. But, of course, that would explain why everyone seems to think we're on some little holiday with good food and free sex.

Why would Carden tell me, but not the others?

"Bid on the kid? Or mother?" He wrinkles his nose, but he averts his gaze from me like he don' like imagining what fate I could eventually face. It makes my stomach twist because I can't pick if he's reluctant to acknowledge the role he could play in it.

I narrow my eyes, "Assuming based on what I know of Newcastle, they'll be bidding on the parents with the best genetic makeup. Pick the eye colour and hair to look like a fairy or some shīt."

He scratches his arm, his features darkening, "And after that kid, you go into Newcastle?"

I grit my jaw, "Here's betting they're just gon' breed us till they can't no more then put us in their city to pay this credit debt off for the rest of our lives." I snark.

He surprises me by cracking a grin that looks more like a dog snarling, "I'll get shot before I let that happen."

I just bounce my brows, "You let me know if you find a gap in the walls, yeah?"

"Figures you're my ticket out. Anyway. You gon' shower?" He mutters, silencing my onslaught of questions with his dismissive tone.

He trudges past me as he fishes through his pocket and places his phone on the charging dock beside the bed. Without saying anything, he lays claim to the bedside table closest to the wardrobe, but I watch him, trying to make heads or toes of what he meant. Was it an obscure reference to his doubt about my knowledge of the abduction? Some reference to his suspicion that my father is gon' pull strings to save his princess? Asshole. But I play my cards, keeping quiet as I walk to the opposite counter and drop my phone. The screen blinks and makes a charging noise, returning to sleep.

Reid and I face each other across the lavish mattress, but I avert my gaze, trying to hide my tension with a bitchy scowl. It's surreal that we were glaring at each other across a hospital barrier two days ago.

He turns around and tugs his hoodie off, revealing muscular arms and a tank top that sticks to him dangerously well. I gaze at his shadowed back, observing the tattoo on his shoulder of a skull wearing a gas mask. It's intimidating and grunge, but somehow it suits him.

I look away, but then Reid approaches me around the bed, "Sick response." He mutters.

Shit, he asked me a question. I shake my head like I'm trying to clear the fog in my brain, "Uh, yeah, I'm gon' shower. Sorry," I mutter, briefly clenching the cuffs in my hoodie pocket.

"You wan' go first?" he arrives at the bathroom door.

"You can," I swallow, turning to pick a pillow and chuck it on the floor.

"What're you doing?" He murmurs.

"I'm not sharing a bed with you," I snap, glancing at him, but Reid's eyes spark.

"I know that, I just thought I was gon' have to take the ground from now on." He watches me a bit too closely like I'm about to switch up on him.

I face him, amused, "I'm just being fair. If you don' want the bed I'll take it."

He grins for once, revealing his white teeth. His canines dip lower than the rest, like Scorpius's do. It's not the same protrusion as Thailand teeth... almost synthetic, "No. I wan' the bed..." He opens the bathroom, but then he turns back to me and leans on the doorframe, "You mean it? I didn't think a traitor like me was worth a mattress."

I scoff, dismayed, "you're saying that like I was even a Ghoul at the end."

"You weren't?" His dark brows tighten, but the genuine question isn't invasive or filled with his pre-conceived judgements. Hadn't I said that to my father in front of him?

For the first time I tell him the truth, "I stopped being a Ghoul when Tokyo enlisted. It just became official when I found out about Hito, so I burnt my mask in that old cooking pot that mum always had burning." He lived with us for a bit, he would remember. Reid's gaze lasers in on me like he wants to attack me with questions but then my features sober when I realise talking about the city is useless. I pull the neck of my hoodie to let some air in, "That stuff don' matter anymore. If I get out there's no way in fuck I'm going back through those walls."

I realise his attention had fallen to my face, seeming to be preoccupied with studying my features, "Somewhere better in mind?"

I look down, picturing the time Scor and I spent in Holders Bay. "Yeah."

His dangerous expression pins me in place, "Where'd you learn to undo those cuffs?"

I shrug, gazing at him sceptically when he crosses his arms over his chest, "I picked it up." I fan my hoodie lightly before I slip my wrists through the sleeves. "I didn't mean to default them, I just wanted to find out who's supplying the army."

"Where'd you get that gun?" He asks, but his gaze slips to my navel when I peel the jumper off. Chills run through me, and I'm suddenly hyper-aware of my tight top.

"I picked it up." I glance at my singlet, which moulds to the ridges of my stomach and the slope of my breasts. A strip of my navel peeks out for the world to see. Should've worn a bra, but by god I fuckin' hate those things.

He gazes at the tattoo that curls around my hip, but when I cover it smoothly, he wets his lips, "You gon' show me?" His voice always has such a husky lilt.

My heart lurches, "What?" I have to make myself breathe to stop the flush in my cheeks.

Reid's dark eyes slip to the tattoo again but then they fix on my wrist, "How to get out of the cuffs? You gon' teach me?" The deep drawl in his voice makes me question if he's really interested in such an innocent idea.

"You ask me nice and I might," I mutter, irritated with myself for entertaining the conversation.

He grins again, watching me with amused eyes.

I look away and push my hair back, "What were you and Thai saying about me?"

He pushes himself off the wall, "What you mean?" He hides it well but a flicker of defence flashes in his dark eyes.

"At dinner."

"All I said is I wanted her to sit with me and she asked if any of you would give her a problem. I said you might." He slings his towel over his shoulder.

I'm so impressed with his smooth lie that I nearly have to grin out of respect. "Right." My lips quirk in amusement, but it sours into irritation. It feels like we're playing cat and mouse, "You gon' level with me at all?"

He scoffs, "I'm an open book."

It's my turn to laugh in thinly veiled frustration, "and I'm a fuckin' duck."

He actually snickers, shaking his head as he enters the bathroom.
...
Two Weeks Later
...

The dining hall bustles like a swarm of bees, loud and overwhelming. Soldiers prowl through the throng of people. I sit alone on a back table, slumped over a plate with my hood pulled and a natural glare resting on my face. Elias and Reid got off labour later than me, but when I saw them sit with the others I didn't join.

I purchased clothes that will survive the hike out of here and jewellery in case I have to trade my way out of a bad situation.

The kid, Teacup, is on the same labour duty as me so she came to the shop after. It was cute, she didn't ask my opinion or anything, but I could sense her taking notes from my selections.

I inspect the new rings adorning my fingers, grazing the gold chain hanging from my neck. It matches the gold bracelet Elias bought me and the earrings that Scorpius gave me for my twentieth birthday. I switched out anything that wasn't worth at least a thousand dollars.

I absently twist my rings to make the stones face the right way before scooping a forkful of food. All my jewellery combined would market for twenty thousand, but to be fair, the only thing I've actually purchased with real money is the ring my mother tried to take. I don' intend to pay my credit debt, because I don' intend to remain in this institution for a second longer than I have to, so it's basically free.

What happened to mum's wedding ring? My peaceful mood twists in my stomach, and I look ahead sadly when I imagine my father pulling it off her veiny hand.

"Why are you sitting alone?" Thaila places her plate on my empty table.

She's taken to avoiding me on labour, thankfully. Still, she watches me like she's assessing me for a job or something.

"In a shit mood, so best if I'm alone," so can you piss off? I need to relax... she's not as bad as I first thought, we might have a bit in common.

She grins, "Avoiding anyone in particular?"

Other than Reid, whom I barely utter a civil word to, then, "no."

"I never had a chance to talk to you, properly," She takes a mouthful of her food. I thought we talked plenty that first night. "So, level with me. What are you planning?" She's blunt, at least. I can appreciate that.

I squint at her. "Eat my dinner and go to bed."

She grins, "That why you been watching the guards like a hawk?" She glances at the soldiers pinned throughout the hall.
I have, in fact, been casing their movements since we got here.

"My plan is to get out," I feel safe telling her that at least. "You?" Where is this coming from? She didn't even ease into the big talk, it feels comically disingenuous.

"Get away from the Yakuza." She twists her fork in her slender fingers, looking bitter for a moment. "Means I want the same thing, cause I got to get out of here. But my chances on the outside are slim given that I don' know the first thing about Manics."

I side-eye her. She said it like she expects to encounter manics. In fact, she hadn't overtly said the words, but it sounded like... "You know how to get out?" I scorn. Her easy features quirk. "Bullshit." My voice lowers to a bored mutter.

"I said I was gon' level with you." She shrugs, "All I know is you're the only person who knows enough about the outside to survive."

"That what you think you know?" I feign amusement to silently ridicule her grand statements and assumptions.

With hiked bristles, she moves on, "I saw you stealing off them guards at labour," She presses her lips together like she wants some lip balm or something. She did see me stealing because I was trying to get our location. We're a two-day drive away from Lake Darling and five hours from Holders Bay. "If you're stealing phones, then you're probably trying to figure how to get back to that blonde manic of yours... one plus one."

I grit my jaw, my nose flaring. "How do you know Scor is blonde?" I snarl, but she grins coyly, her gaze falling to my food. I grab her wrist when she tries to pick something from my plate.

She stiffens, irritated that I won't give her any chicken, until she sighs, "We're gon' be friends, Violet. Zina is working for Craig, Craig for the army, but Akimitsu wants revenge. He can pull Hito out at the drop of a penny. I don' wan' anything to do with their little war chant, and my father is spearheading the supply deal the army has with the Yakuza. He's already made contact, without Hito or Akimitsu's knowledge, but cut it short I can dip when I like." She smiles sweetly, wrenching her wrist free before she twists it out like she's stretching a stiff muscle.

I laser in on one name. "Zina." I remark, and Thai nods before she gestures with her fork at a table ahead.

"Zina." She agrees, the both of us looking at the woman surrounded by a tribe of drugged-up drop-kicks. She always looks cooked, but I thought she was perma-fried.

Is she moving drugs in the compound? She used to deal for my father in the city.
"What the fuck do you mean your daddy is supplying the army?"

She shakes her head, "Chill, man, no one except Reid knows and it's got to stay like that. But Akimitsu has been selling them the linen and medical supplies they need to stock Barden, and he put dad on the job. Drops every night." From the factories Osamu owns?

I could splutter out a noise of surprise. Is it funny that Akimitsu is selling them the towels that I've been using to dry myself each night? It surprises me how casual she is. How, composed, she appears. What if I freaked out? I guess she's intelligent enough to bet that I'm not an idiot. Her father is a high ranking Yakuza who manages a lot of trade and dispatch of the goods that leave Osamu's warehouses. Her story might actually check out.

Thai continues, "I've seen you leaving the walls with that Manic. Scorpius? Blonde, hot in a weird way..."

"You followed-."

She laughs, "No. No. G-Tracked. Akimitsu wanted to know everything about the borders. Honey I need an in for Holders-Bay, you're not gon' like me at first, but we're gon' be friends."

The knowledge that Akimitsu was tracking the borders has me gulping like a fish—but then my questions snowball into one realisation. Reid has to have known about me leaving the walls the whole time. Is that why he's so suspicious of me? What about my father? Why would Akimitsu organise for Hito to marry me if he knew I was a traitor?

She surrenders, "Look if you don' like me, I get it. Don' like you much either, but, I'll answer any questions you have. Just, ask Reid."

"What does Reid have to do with this?" I snap.

Her brows shoot up, but she covers her surprise too quickly. Her face falls stiffly like she wants to capitalise on the knowledge that I'm in the dark. It just begs the question, what am I missing?

I scoff. Thai narrows her dark eyes at me, and her eyeshadow glints in the harsh lights. I glance around at the bustling hall, edging closer to her in silent threat, "Okay, miss Tanaka. You want me to believe you? Give me one good reason." Her real surname is Kankedo. Bloom Kankedo, Reid's half sister, is her cousin, but Thaila was fortunate enough to be born to the right brother. Blooms father was the shame of the Kankedo family, however, Thai's dad? Military god, rich, stable, smart. Heard he's a good man.

Thai opens her mouth to snap at me for insulting her with Hito's surname, but then she sees something behind me. Her porcelain skin flushes like she's suddenly livid with rage before she pushes her hair off her neck and focuses on me again. "You already do, the question is if you should trust me, and the answer is that you're just going to have to."

"If your daddy gon' get you out, why you setting up a future in Holders Bay? Surely he wan' you back?"

"He just said I have to wait for him in Holders. No explanation. Look I know you don' fuck with the Yakuza enough to know what things are like with the gang at the moment, but any of Akimitsu's high rank are under serious scrutiny at the moment, because they're working up to a big fucking move," what's the move? "And dad's got a lot of eyes on him at the moment, so if he starts moving suspect, it might go bad." She glances behind me again, so I follow her gaze which leads to a tall, muscular guy in a tight tank top with Yakuza tattoos all up his arms. He leans on an empty table despite the bustling hall. Hito.

He's fine as hell. Looking at him makes me wonder why the fuck I was so angry about our potential marriage.

Thaila snickers when she sees my face, and I actually grin back at her, "Damn. You said he's good in bed too?"

Thai barks a laugh, but then she focuses on him and her irritated glare resumes, "He knows when to tease and when to fuck." She mutters.

I whistle, "So why you looking at him like you wan' him dead?"

She smirks, averting her gaze for good, "Put it like this, he thinks I'm here to do what he told me to."

I fail to stop myself from grinning. "Which is?" Man, I dig this chick's vibe, people rarely get the jump on me but she just rolled me with a tidal wave of a deal, and I didn't even know we were bartering.

She looks at me, contemplating for a moment, before she sighs like she may as well do it, "Win you over to his side of the war."

My jaw slackens, unable to decide what to think—what war? The one between the Ghouls and the Yakuza? It can't be that, because I have no incentive to betray my identity... I know about the Manics, and the army has practically thrown the gauntlet at Lake Darling. Why do I get the inkling that it's a different fight altogether? By god, a seed of intrigue plants in my stomach, and I find myself wanting to grill her alive with questions. But I glance at Hito again, knowing this isn't the time.

"Thought we went over this. I don' take Yakuza at their word." My tone practically drips with scorn, though I cast a look at her out of the corner of my eye. Silently, we agree to talk later.

Thai laughs as she stands, "Of course not. You don' take no one at their word." She easily slips into the mayhem of the hall, "See you tomorrow." She struts off and I wrinkle my nose up, but then the edge of my lip tugs. Scorpius would fall in love with her on sight.

My amusement shrivels up when I realise the magnitude of what she just said—War. Between who? Over what? What big move are the Yakuza gearing up to pull?

What does my father have to do with this?

I place my fork down, shoving my plate away. I shouldn't trust Thai. She comes from people who play games for life or death, but it irks me that she knows more than me right now.

Was she baiting me into a game? Intuition pinches me, and my gaze falls on the table ahead.

Zina.

...

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