Chapter 22 - Riggs

CHAPTER 22 - RIGGS

I f you kill Clover Bradley , I will save you .

Her words echo in my head as I play them back. "Get me some clothes."

"First, you give me an answer."

"Why, Hattie? What difference does it make if I answer you first? Are you enjoying this?" I nod my head down to my naked body, then scoff when she smiles. "Well, I'm not surprised. You've been after me since I was a kid. And I never wanted you. It drives you crazy, doesn't it?"

Hattie shrugs. "It's neither here nor there. Do you have any idea how many men I'm fucking at the moment? Sure"—her eyes linger on my body for a long second before meeting mine again—"you're hot and you've got a nice dick. But I don't pine for you or your dick, Riggs. I've got my share."

"Liar. You're a liar. You're doing this to hurt me because I hurt you."

"I'm doing this to save you , Riggs."

I laugh. Loud. Because Clover's words come spilling out of my mouth. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't need saving, Hattie. You've done nothing but betray me."

"You've done nothing but betray the Colony!"

"Don't act like you're some Colony Charter patriot, Hattie. You cling to those rules because it gives you power. My fuck-ups give you power . And if the only way to control me is to hurt me, then that's good enough for you. You'll never have my love, but you don't need love to thrive, do you Hattie? Because you're not driven by love, you're driven by hate."

"So many words. My God, you're dramatic." Her eyes narrow and she stares at me. "But before you make a hasty decision, let's paint a picture of your future, shall we?"

"Oh, I know. I know better than anyone what my future in the tunnels looks like."

"Do you?" She scoffs. "Because I don't think you do. I think you've already forgotten what it was like in those tunnels."

"That's hilarious coming from a person who's never been down there. You have no idea what I went through. So I don't need your reminders."

"You're wrong, ya know."

"About what?" I'm sneering now. So angry. If I wasn't across the room and tied to a chair, I'd choke her out and never think of her again.

"I was down there. I went to see you. After six months of me begging my father, he finally arranged a day pass for me with your father's permission."

"Well, obviously you never followed through because we never saw each other down there."

"You're right. We didn't. But I did follow through. I did see you. You just didn't see me. I don't know what your days were like. If that was an average day or a bad one. But I didn't even recognize you, Riggs. It wasn't the beard, either. Or the dirt, and grime, and sweat that was caked all over you. It was the look in your eyes. That empty, dark look in your eyes. It was hopelessness."

"You never got that close. I would've seen you. Hell, everyone down there would've noticed a woman walking into the tunnels."

"I was watching on the surveillance system. And let me tell you, I was… shocked. At how bad you looked. But I was still gonna see it through."

"Except you didn't. So what happened to change your mind?" I hate that I'm interested in her little story. I hate it. But I can't help myself. I need to know why she didn't come. I would've given anything for a visit—even from Hattie Miller—while I was in the tunnels. There was no hope. A familiar face—even if it belonged to the woman who put me there—would've been better than nothing. At the very least, it would've marked the day as different. Would've lent a sense of time to a place where time almost ceased to exist.

"I wasn't allowed. While I was watching security monitors, you killed a man for stealing your food."

Something comes over me here. Some kind of hysteria, I think. Because I am suddenly laughing out loud. "You're so full of shit."

"Am I? Didn't you kill someone over food, Riggs?"

"Yes. But if you saw that footage, you weren't on your way to see me and it wasn't six months in. It was week two. I was still in holding. So I'll give you a few points for reading my file, but the take-home message for me here is once a liar, always a liar."

Hattie comes towards me, grabs my face with both hands, then bends down so we are eye to eye. "Are you going to kill her to save yourself? Or do you want me to do it and let you rot in the tunnels? Either way, she dies and you live with it. The only question left is… would you rather live with it as a free man or a prisoner?"

"You're evil. You're ugly, too."

Hattie smiles. Laughs. "Your insults don't hurt, Riggs. Because you're a liar as well." She leans in, pressing herself against my chest as she stares down at me. "How about this? How about one more chance, hmm? One last shot to save her."

"Just another lie, I bet."

"No. It's a real offer. All you have to do is kiss me ." I'm already laughing. "Kiss me one time, Riggs. Good, and long, and make it as real as you can stand. And if you do that, I'll let her go."

"What about me?"

"Well, if you're not gonna kill her, then you're still fucked. Unless, of course, you'd like to take that kiss to its logical end?" She winks, eyes dancing with malevolence. Then she actually climbs into my lap, pressing herself down on my legs, grinding herself into my dick as she loops her arms around my neck and leans in, like she might kiss me without my permission. "Just one," she whispers. "Just one stupid kiss with me and I'll let her go."

I inhale deeply, steeling myself for what I'm about to do. And then lean towards her.

Hattie smirks at me. Snickering with satisfaction.

I lean closer, our lips a breath apart.

She's waiting for it, I can tell.

"You are nothing but a rotting piece of filth under my fingernails, Hattie Miller. You disgust me. And if I wasn't tied to this chair right now, I'd wrap my hands around your neck and then gleefully watch your eyes pop out as I choke the life right out of you."

Her smirk fades and I'm laughing, fully enjoying the fact that finally, my colorful threats have found an appropriate target.

Clover would approve.

Hattie screams, headbutts me, then does it again. My forehead splits, blood gushes out of my nose, and a moment later, she punches me in the ear, the chair topples over to the side, and I hit my head on the floor.

But this time, when the world wobbles and starts to fade, I'm wearing a satisfied smile.