Chapter 58

CHAPTER 58

W hen I came to, I was in the shop, behind the counter, on my side, my hands tied behind me and my ankles cinched together with what felt like zip ties. It took me a minute to sort that out—I was still woozy from what Serena had done to me—but I could hear her in the shop, opening drawers and throwing things on the floor. I didn't know if it was a temper tantrum or if she was just in a hurry, trying to find whatever it was she wanted.

I was scared. Scared for me and terrified for Darius. My mom said Norman had killed some Russian guy, and he'd shot Darius with something, and if Darius was dead, I was going to kill Norman, assuming I didn't die here first ?—

Okay, no.

I could hear my mother say, "Panic doesn't help, Poppy, calm down and think." So I had to think. That was my mother's solution to everything; when it all went pear-shaped, she'd stop and think and find a way out of it, which isn't much fun when you're a kid and just want to cry because everything is awful, but after a while it gets to you and you can't help yourself. You hear your mother's voice in your head saying, "Okay, here's our problem. What caused it? What will fix it? We can do this." And then we'd make a plan .

We can fix anything as long as Darius isn't dead.

Okay, so that rabid bitch Serena caused this because she wanted something we didn't have, so that was no help unless somebody would come along and shoot her.

But that was wrong, the big problem wasn't that Serena was trashing the shop, it was that she had tied me up. So I needed scissors. Or a knife. I needed my mother's apron, the stuff she keeps in those pockets?—

I heard Serena coming toward me, so I closed my eyes so she'd think I was still out, but she said, "Nice try, kid, but your breathing changed. I know you're awake."

So I opened my eyes and glared at her.

"What?" she said, her voice thick with scorn, or maybe because her nose was smashed and full of blood. I was proud of that. The red really stood out against her white skin.

I kept staring, and she said, " What? " again and I said, "I'm putting a curse on you and all your future generations." I wanted to say, "Where's Darius?" But I didn't want her to think about him, to hurt him if he was still alive. "Do not give up information," my mother always says. "People can use that against you." It was kind of strange suddenly realizing all these things my mother had taught me.

Serena glared at me. "Do you know where Oz put my film?"

"What film?" I said, legitimately confused, possibly because I was legitimately terrified. I mean I can sass while terrified, but it doesn't help. Think, Poppy.

" Don't play dumb ."

"I'm not playing," I told her. "This is real dumb."

"Your mother is a player," Serena said. "Herc wouldn't have told me to back off if he didn't care. He cares. Oz cared about her. Pike cares about her. Max Reddy cares about her. She has to be a player. I don't know her background and I'm sure Rose isn't her real name, but she most certainly is a player."

That confused me further. "What the fuck is a player?"

She came behind the counter and jerked me to my feet, and I almost screamed, but I think she was surprised when I came up to eye level with her. My family does not breed short women.

"How about," she said, her eyes narrowed, "I start cutting off fingers until you give me a straight answer. And then toes. And then nipples. And then?—"

"You didn't think that through," I told her, channeling my mom. "I'd be unconscious from blood loss and shock before you got to the second hand." Yeah, that sounded like something she'd say.

"No," Serena said, "not if I cauterize the wound with flame. Trust me, I have a lot more experience in this than you. I can keep you alive a long time in a lot of pain."

"Nice skill set." I was terrified now because she was terrifying, but I was my mom's daughter, too. "I don't know where your stupid film is. I'm betting my mother doesn't know, either, or she'd have given it to you to get rid of you."

Serena pushed me away from her with a snarl and because my ankles were zip-tied, I fell on the floor in the middle of a bunch of broken teacups—Mrs. Baumgarten was going to be pissed—cutting my arms where I landed on the shards.

I looked at all the sharp edges around me and thought, That was a mistake .

Serena pulled out her cellphone and hit some buttons. After a little bit, she cursed. "Damn you, Norman. Pick up."

If she was relying on Norman, she was screwed. Although Mom had told me he'd shot a Russian. Which I had told Darius about. Maybe he should have listened to me. Darius was out there somewhere, hurt, maybe dead. I couldn't stand to think about it.

But my mother was out there. I took a deep breath. And Max. And Darius's dad, who had said Max could take care of anything, and I believed it, but I believed in my mom more.

Rosalie Malone was nobody to mess with.

Serena shook her head at me and went into the other room, and I could hear more smashing as I went to work sawing through the zip ties with pieces of broken teacup.

And trying to figure out a plan.