Nadya Stroya sat, waiting her turn to be seen by Diamond. Memory loss be damned. It was something she needed to do for her friends. If it hadn’t been for Anna finding her when she did, things could have gone a lot differently. She owed the woman her life. It was either Diamond or Attia. She chose the lesser of the two evils. Diamond ran the Quarry, and Attia operated out of North Brother Island. The insane woman wanted Nadya to join her harem of horrors. It was something she couldn’t accept. The two had never officially met, as Attia very rarely left the island. But she sent scouts out all the time, and somehow, Nadya had made the list of most eligible fighters. Nadya wasn’t desperate, but she was running out of options. There was only so much a person could take. She had to ensure she’d exhausted all possibilities before going to the extreme. She’d reached extreme two days ago, when Attia had sent her men in search of Nadya and Dominika, one of Nadya’s only real friends. Nadya’s only choice was to convince Lavarious Diamond that what she had to offer was good enough to secure sanctuary for Dominika and her mother. She was not without her talents, but she knew the one thing she had to offer, was the one thing he’d want.
She owed it to the two people who gave a damn about her. They deserved a good life, and if she had to make sacrifices, so be it. They’d taken her in, even when they had no reason to trust her. When Attia had sent her men to search for new recruits, they’d wanted her and Dominika immediately. Nadya had traveled all the way from Inwood to get an audience with Diamond, and without a glider to take her, she’d traveled on foot. No easy task. The journey to the Quarry should have been a short one, but it had taken her three days and two nights, where she’d encountered a handful of dangers in between. The gangs, the attempted kidnappings, and the Ragers. There weren’t as many now, but they were still out there. Skulking around in the dark.
But she was hell-bent on securing their future, because Dominika and her mother, Anna, had given Nadya one. Lindy was particular about those she chose to work inside the Quarry’s pleasure house, and only twelve contracts were selected every year. Nadya didn’t have much to offer in the way of looks, but she figured she’d win them over with her offer. She’d grab their attention for sure. She’d find a patron to not just procure Dominika’s and her mother’s futures, but Nadya’s, as well. It was the least she could do, considering their current predicament. Through no fault of their own, they’d ended up living in Inwood, which was as close to homeless as a person could get. Almost anything would be better than that. And Nadya would do whatever she could to make life just a little bit easier for those she cared about. She could work for a set amount of time, and once she was done, she’d be able to leave, knowing she’d given them the best chance at survival.
Lindy only came looking for new contracts once a year. The timing could not have been more perfect. This was Nadya’s last chance to gain an audience with the Sovereign of the city. She’d tried once before, that much she remembered, and it hadn’t ended the way she’d expected. For her troubles, she was severely injured and her memory was mush. Although the last time she’d tried to get his attention, she must have gone about it the wrong way. Why else would they leave her for dead? She didn’t look the same now, and her attire was completely different. She’d matured, changed. Whoever she’d been before, wasn’t who she was now. Hopefully, no one would recognize her. If they did, she might not even get a chance to make her pitch.
Diamond wasn’t a bad guy. Not really, or at least not totally. He wasn’t a good guy, but everyone in the city was grateful for all he’d done to keep them from being overrun by those infected with the Rage. He’d also given them the Grid. An intricate system bringing electricity and an almost drinkable source of hydration—as long as they had the proper filtration system. Some were afforded luxuries others—like herself—were not given. Because of this, there was a high probability of infection. The disease itself was something many were ignorant of. It came from spores that contaminated the main water source. Rain, lakes, rivers, and even the oceans were all polluted. Those with the infection were the ones closest to the initial spread of the contaminated water. The infected were cannibalistic. The infection chose its hosts randomly, but once infected, a person would suffer first from hallucinations then eventually succumb to the Rage, killing and eating anyone who crossed their path. If not for Diamond and his team, the city would have been completely overrun. There was definitely a pecking order. Unfortunately, Inwood inhabitants were not on the top of that list. They were the farthest away from the trading routes and suffered the most due to lack of resources, even though they were a devout bunch and preferred to live off the land without assistance from technology. They believed there was a higher power that provided for them. If it was of the land, it was good enough to consume. It was a harsh way of life, and Nadya had found it difficult to adjust at first. But she had, and somehow, she’d not gotten sick, while others around her had. Anna said some had weaker immune systems than others. She must have been right, because Nadya never got sick. There were times she felt drained to the point of exhaustion, but after a night’s rest, she was rejuvenated and ready to start her day all over again.
“Iland, do you honestly think any of these people are going to get picked by Diamond? I mean, look at them, they’re so dirty. And look at this one here with the bloody hair, I mean, she’s dressed in nothing but rags. She could be a Rager or one of those hybrids,” Frey stated with a sneer.
A hybrid was the offspring of a person infected with Rage in its beginning stages and an uninfected. The child between the two was normal, except for the eyes. Dual-colored, one eye rimmed with red and the other the color of one of its birth parents.
“Quiet, Frey, you’ll get us in trouble with Lindy,” Iland replied curtly, a furrow to her brow.
The girl named Frey rolled her eyes before saying, “Lindy can suck it. Just wait till I get in there with Diamond. He won’t look at another female, ever.”
“You talk like you’re going to be warming his bed permanently. You know he never takes just one female.”
“Let me handle the details of our negotiations, Iland.”
Nadya had to admit, the other people were dressed to play the part. Even the Bionic, who called himself Freeze, was dressed for pleasure. She didn’t own clothing considered suitable for what she was offering. Her wardrobe consisted of rags sewn together to protect her from the elements. To keep her warm and dry. She had a long piece of cloth she’d sewn together to form a hood to keep her neck and face covered. Her pants were stitched together, and she had pockets on the inside and outside of her thighs. This was so she could carry her knives and any object sharp enough to kill. It wasn’t easy living in Inwood. Her boots, yeah, they were a joke, but they were hers. Now anyway. She’d taken them from the neighbor’s daughter after she died. They were a half-size too small, but knee-high with huge buckles that she kept undone so she’d have some semblance of comfort. She’d lost her pair when she’d fallen asleep in an abandoned building. It wasn’t because she was a deep sleeper—she didn’t know the meaning of deep sleep. Had never experienced it. But her boots were useless after that little nap. Nobody stole them; a thicket of live vines had tried to detach her ankles from her legs as she slept. Live vines were another product of the comet. Deadly and carnivorous. Now, her feet constantly throbbed. They had ached more in the beginning, but as time passed, the pain had lessened. Now it was just the aggravating throb.
Her black hair was a rat’s nest that she’d kept braided for so long the plaits were locking. Nadya couldn’t bring herself to cut it. It was a part of her heritage. There was a voice in the back of her mind, reminding her not to cut her hair. There was a reason, but it had yet to reveal itself. But the strands were black now, died to keep her from being found out. She’d traded her goggles with a worker from one of the tunnels before it had collapsed to get the dye for her hair.
Enough reminiscing. Time to mentally prepare.
The Bionic male was called in first, then the pair of girls. They came out with big smiles on their faces, which could only mean Diamond had accepted their contract. The clock on the wall was an old one. The constant ticking a reminder of time. It was something she was short on. As the potentials went in, one at a time, some came out smiling, others quiet. The girl that was in there now could be heard pleading with Diamond as she begged to be put into service. It was obvious she’d been in far better conditions than Nadya was. Her hair was the color of the sun, and her eyes were a clear blue. Why would he turn her away? Nadya’s guess was that the female was only good on the outside but had nothing to offer on the inside, which could only mean she was a Splice. A cross-mutation. Maybe a woman born without female genitals or with something else. There were any number of different Splices running around out there, from cross-gender to human-animal splicing. Splices were flawless and blemish-free on the outside, but had no control over their emotions. If a situation became uncomfortable, they acted without thought.
“There’s nothing we can do for you, girl. You don’t have shit to offer. “
The voice was deep, dark, and held a hint of anger. Nadya couldn’t see beyond the door, but she could hear as the girl began to sob uncontrollably.
“He will kill me if I return. Don’t you understand? I can’t go back.”
“Your choice, not mine. Like I said, you don’t have anything to offer. Lindy will take you somewhere else, see about finding you work in the salt factory. You can’t work for me.”
“If I can’t work for you, I’ll die.”
“It won’t be by my hand.”
There was silence before a maniacal laugh laced with insanity burst free. Nadya imagined that there had been some sort of unspoken standoff between Diamond and the girl prior to her outburst. The woman laughed long and loud. Someone yelled, “GET DOWN!” before the room shook, and the building itself swayed. Pieces of the ceiling fell to the floor. Nadya could feel the foundation beneath her feet rumble as debris continued to rain down. Men came running past the once closed door. Obliterated by the blast, it was now buried in the wall directly behind her where she’d once sat in a rusted-out chair.
“Boss! Boss! You in here?”
“He’s over here, we’re okay. Bitch blew herself up. How the hell did she get explosives past the guards?”
Nadya recognized Lindy’s voice. She’d been less than friendly when they’d met, as well as visibly reluctant to take her to the Quarry. It hadn’t taken much to persuade her. Everyone had a price. Lindy included. Hers was a dragon blade. Nadya had held on to the knife for a long time and knew it wasn’t worth much, but Lindy clearly liked shiny daggers with symbols etched into them. Nadya had gotten it from a corpse she’d encountered when she’d first met Anna and her daughter Dominika. Lindy didn’t ask any further questions, just agreed to the trade.
There was a thick cloud of white smoke in the air now, and Nadya stood. It wasn’t her job to be a savior, and she was disinclined to help. It wasn’t any of her business why the crazy lady had decided to go boom and blow everyone to kingdom come. Something’s not right. That was evident. The bomber had obviously been sent to kill Diamond and whoever else was within the blast radius. Again, not your concern.
But someone may need help, she reasoned. Her mind and her body in direct opposition to each other, she stood and walked to the opening of the room. She covered her face with her hood and lowered her goggles. She wasn’t about to go in not knowing if some chemicals had been dispersed in the air. She wouldn’t put it past the woman. If she were willing to blow herself up, then she’d be willing to do anything. Including chemical and biological warfare. There were rumors circulating about rebels possibly trying to overtake the Quarry. Were they crazy? They had to be. It was a bold and impulsive move. Whoever was behind the attack was getting sloppy, desperate. But the only way the Quarry and the Circuit could be destroyed was from the inside.
When Nadya crossed the threshold, she stopped short. There were body parts everywhere. Blood and what was left of somebody’s organs dripped from the ceiling, creating a splat sound as it hit the floor. As the dust cleared, Nadya could see Lindy and two other men hunched over behind a large desk. Both males protecting Lindy as if she were precious cargo.
One male had light brown eyes with a tattoo of a hawk in profile on the side of his neck. The black ink was thick, blending perfectly with his tawny skin. His brown hair was cut short in the back but long in the front and flopped over his right eye. She couldn’t see much else of him, but she knew he wasn’t Diamond. His face was too calm, too serene. There was no darkness there. There was, however, a cleverness about him. A hefty dose of intelligence. He was the strategist.
The other male had piercing hazel eyes and took in every detail surrounding him. Rich, reddish-brown skin molded over a perfect form. She could see ink peeking out of his shirt collar. He kept his hair in natural curls with a faded shave. He was rugged and hard-edged. Everything from the strong cut of his jaw to his sharp cheekbones exuded a rigidness—a bit of cruelty—that spoke of struggle and power. He was simply…flawless. The thick slash of his brows and his serious nose hinted at his arrogance. He was not a man people should try to blow up. His full lips were outlined perfectly by his disheveled stubble, but it took nothing away from his overall appearance; instead, it added to the air of danger that surrounded him. The diamonds in his ear were his signature and namesake. Lavarious Diamond, and he didn’t miss a thing. His angry gaze focused on Nadya.
Quick to approach, he walked over to her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Nadya Stroya. Just wanted to make sure no one got hurt.”
“Yeah, well, someone got dead, you here to help with that?” the other male asked.
“No, sir.”
The other male then turned to Diamond, a huge smile on his face. “Dude, totally like her, can I keep her? She called me sir.”
Diamond’s hazel eyes caught hers, and Nadya tried to look away but couldn’t. His gaze demanded attention and made sure the person he was focused on knew that.
“Why you wearing the get-up? Fuck, are you with that yahoo?” He gestured vaguely around the room to what was left of the bomber. “Is there a dispersing agent in the air?” Diamond stepped close, grabbing her by the arms. “I will end you before I die. You hear me, girl.” He shook her with such force she felt like a rag doll. It jarred her teeth, made her muscles tighten and her skin too tight. Hold it together. His grip still crushing, he stopped shaking her and waited for her response.
“You handle all your women this way? There is no agent that I know of, I was just being careful. And this is how I always dress.”
He didn’t respond to her first remark, just barked orders to the men who stood in the room, waiting.
“Someone get people in here to clean this shit up. Lindy, bring this one to the top floor. Lip, find out who’s behind this. I want you to keep it quiet, but at the same time, let people know we’re on high alert, and get the team here in twenty.”
“Got it, boss.”
Diamond let go of Nadya then stormed out and left the office without so much as a backward glance. Things were not going the way she’d planned. Quite the opposite. She’d been two seconds away from walking out herself. It was either that or break his fucking hands. Calm and steady. Nadya took a deep breath, held it in for ten seconds then released it, slowly. She did it twice more before Lindy’s voice broke through.
“You heard him, girl, follow me. Keep your breather handy. We’ll need it until we pass the fifth floor.”
Nadya followed Lindy out of what was left of the room to a stairwell.
“Elevators don’t work?”
Lindy looked back at her and grunted. “Haven’t you ever heard of conservation? If you can’t make it the twelve flights up, I can tell you right now, you’re not going to be worth much to Diamond. Now, are you coming, or do I need to let him know you’re disobeying a direct order?”
Nadya took a careful step toward Lindy. The other woman didn’t back down. Nadya hadn’t expected her to, but she wanted to clear the air before Lindy tried to take advantage of the situation. Lindy did not have the upper hand, she did. Nadya only needed to remind Lindy once.
“You can tell Diamond whatever you want, Lindy, contract will happen either way.”
“You don’t scare me.”
She didn’t want to scare the other woman. If she’d wanted that, the conversation would have gone down another away. Your spleen in my hand, bitch.
“Wasn’t trying to, just saying what I know to be true.”
“So the dirty girl has nails.”
No, she had daggers, but that was beside the point. Nadya chose to ignore Lindy’s jab and followed her into the stairwell.
She knew what was on the top floor. Lavarious Diamond’s living quarters. No one who worked on the lower levels ever went to the top floor. There used to be seventy-seven floors, but it was rumored that only the first through twelfth were used now. Beyond that, no one knew.
There’d been no negotiations regarding her employment at the Quarry, and Nadya wondered why he’d let her into his inner sanctum. She was in unfamiliar territory. It made her jumpy. Why would he want her on the top floor? Her hands started to sweat, not out of fear but adrenaline. She only knew what she’d heard about him and that was: he was straight up, not a good guy. At least not anymore. At one time, he might have been. Despite what he’d done for the Quarry, talk in the city made him out to be an oppressor. The neighboring boroughs were all in agreement. He gave decent Wave, but it wasn’t pure. He demanded respect from the people who worked for him; anything less, and you’d end up missing digits, or worse. Dead.
Lindy started up the stairs and tossed a quick ‘you’d better follow’ look over her shoulder at Nadya. Guess you’re going up, then. Looked that way. She had no other choice. There’s always a choice. You can turn around right now and leave. Never look back. But it wouldn’t be fair to Dominika and her mother, Anna.
Nadya didn’t mind the trek up the twelve flights. She took in everything she could as they went. Categorizing the differences from one floor to the next. The stairwell wasn’t in great shape, and walls were missing with only the structural support beams still standing. The farther up you walked, the cleaner the area became. The lower floors apparently housed the soldiers. The fifth floor held those in service to Diamond. They brought in the resources and Wave. They were dressed scantily, the males only wearing bottom briefs, their skin oiled to perfection, each having either a diamond in their nose or ear. The women wore see-through fabrics and everything that could hold a diamond did. Lavarious Diamond left nothing to the imagination when showcasing his products. That’s going to be me soon.
Her skin wasn’t smooth like theirs. Where she should have been soft and curvy, she was hard and muscular. However, Nadya was still confident her offer wouldn’t go unwanted. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors were living quarters. Then came the infirmary and medical facilities. There was art on the wall. Collected from places she knew were no longer stable. There was even a floor devoted just to books, it seemed. When they made it to the twelfth floor, she noticed a long hallway with lights hanging from the ceiling. There were doors all along the corridor. The last door was red. The irony was not lost on her. The Quarry wall was referred to as the Red Door.
“Wait here. I’ll come out and get you.” Lindy gave Nadya a swift look over, shaking her head as if the trip she’d just made up the stairs were worthless.
The floor was white marble with gold veins. More art adorned the walls. Some paintings hung, others were embossed etchings in the walls themselves. Nadya studied the art and the intricate detail. It wasn’t old, but new. Opposite where she stood, there was a mural of the city—the way it looked now, complete with dilapidated factories and abandoned buildings. Where the skyline would have been drawn, there was some sort of intricate grid. She’d never seen anything like it. Her eyes kept tracking the lines of the grid, over and over and over again until she’d committed it to memory. Five towers bulged from the mural, but Nadya knew there were truly six. Why wasn’t the sixth Tower depicted in the mural? What did it mean? The sixth Tower was a building that had once held representatives from all nations. It was now Marius’s domain. She’d had a run-in once or twice with a few of his Ragers. Maybe Diamond isn’t aware of its occupants. Or, maybe, he was and didn’t consider them part of the equation. Either way, it was information to hold on to for safekeeping.
The Towers were strongholds and a base of operation for each sector, with the council gathering every few months to discuss the city’s priorities. The inhabitants of each of the Towers were considered allies. Diamond was Sovereign of the city, but he had eyes and ears everywhere. There was the Quarry, Empyre, Blacke Tower, Parygon, and Genysis. Each one run by an Archial. They were the heads of each tower and sat on the governing council of the Magellans. The Magellans were the original founders. Along with Diamond, they mapped out the entire city from front to end.
Nadya knew that Diamond held the Quarry, but the other four Towers reported to him directly. Stitch controlled the Empyre and ran the only garment factory in the city. Eightball was a medical harvester and controlled the Blacke Tower. Ace controlled the Parygon, and he and Onyx—who was a part of Diamond’s tight-knit circle—took care of all items on the black market. And Gryphon held control of the Genysis tower; he mostly helped with the purification of Dark Water, turning it into drinkable Wave.
Yelling at the end of the hall alerted her to a situation on the other side of the door. She didn’t know when, but she’d gotten closer to the red monstrosity. She could hear Diamond talking to Lindy in his quarters.
“You gonna show the broad in or what, Lins? Fuck! I don’t have all day, I had a bitch try and blow me to pieces, you gotta know I’m not happy. Tell the others who were accepted they are on official lockdown. They go nowhere. Their ass is confined to the fifth floor. And make sure the ones I denied are kept ground level. Tell them we’re reconsidering their contracts. I want the entire building locked up tonight!”
Lindy stuck her head out of the door, motioning Nadya in. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside. This is it. The moment of either stupidity or good sense. There was a couch, some chairs, and even a table and… “Is that a kitchen?” Nadya was in shock. She hadn’t seen a functional kitchen in a very long time. Shiny and unmarred, there were even faucets. She could tell without testing them that they were fully functional. What left her curious, was whether it ran with Wave or Dark Water? If she had to guess, she would say either Dark Water or something in between. There was no way it was pure Wave.
“Yeah, girl, it’s a kitchen. Take off your boots, I don’t want you tracking any dirt inside my space.”
“Take off my boots? I don’t have any socks on my feet.” Not to mention, the boots were half a size smaller than her regular size. Her toes were cramped. If she removed her shoes, the smell alone would send him running. Could be a lot worse. He could ask her to take off her clothes, and then what would she do?
“Don’t make me ask you twice, I’m in a shit mood. Take off the fucking boots. Lindy, search her ass because, obviously, security today was not on point.”
Lindy took offense to his comment and grabbed Nadya by her shoulders, pushing her against the door. It took some effort, but Nadya allowed the manhandling. One of the inner voices inside her head—yes, there was more than one—told her to keep calm. Reminded her why she was here. Her other voice, the one that told her to remove fingers from Lindy’s hand piped up, as well. She weighed the pros and cons. Will you make it out of here alive if you cut off her fingers? That outlook was dim. Lindy made sure Nadya’s face became intimate with the wall but she didn’t struggle or fight. A woman strapped with bombs, or a bomb, had walked in and purposely tried to kill Diamond, killing herself in the process. His apprehension was warranted. Once Lindy felt she was free of harmful objects, she twisted Nadya to face front and removed her top garment, releasing her hair. The mass fell down her back in a thicket of braids. Lindy coughed. Nadya knew she smelled, but she couldn’t do anything about that. Most people nowadays smelled like something, unless they were drowning in excess Dark Water or Wave. Even then, the smell wasn’t guaranteed to leave. Nadya bent to the task of unlacing her boots until she was able to toe them off. She used her cloak to cover her feet.
“Damn, girl. You don’t own a pair of socks?”
No, she didn’t. Nadya glared at Lindy.
“If I owned a pair, I’d wear them.” Lindy was getting on her nerves.
Diamond sat in an overstuffed chair, his face hidden in shadow, his arms crossed.
“Lindy, you can come back in ten minutes. When you do return, it’d better be to tell me the others are on their way, and the shit downstairs has been neutralized.”
Lindy didn’t say another word; she sauntered out of his room, looked over her shoulder, and winked right before she left Nadya alone with Diamond.
“Do you mind if I sit?”
“Yeah, I do. You can stand. Don’t want you destroying my furniture with your filth. Tell me why you’re here?”
“I want to work at the Quarry.”
“Work at the Quarry doing what exactly?”
Fucking men. So literal. Was it necessary? People only came to Diamond for two things—sex and to offer their bodies for organ trade when their organs were no longer needed—in exchange for things for their loved ones. He was enjoying his attempt at making her uncomfortable. She’d bite.
“I wanted to work here, in the Quarry.”
He sat forward, his face creeping out of the shadows like a nightmare. Until he smiled. When he smiled, Nadya almost stopped breathing. No one should look so lethal and refined at the same time. He had sophistication and deadly down to a science.
“So you said.” There was sarcasm in his voice.
Nadya made sure to maintain eye contact as she nodded. Males had it stuck in their heads that females were only good for a handful of things. She may be ignorant when it came to intimate relationships, but if you put a knife in her hand, hell, a piece of wood, she could disembowel a man in thirty seconds or less and not even bat an eye.
“All right, tell me why you want to work at the Quarry.” He held up his hands to stop her from speaking. “No, wait, let me guess, you want a patron? Someone to take care of you because you’re lazy and don’t want to work. Or maybe your man died and left you with a brood of brats?”
Typical.
He thought she was incapable of caring for herself. She wasn’t without means. What she had to offer would take care of her friends. If not for them, this conversation most definitely would have gone differently.
“No, nothing like that. I’d like a patron eventually, but I mostly want to work here because my mother is ill and I don’t want my sister going to work at the salt factory.” Technically, they weren’t family, at least not blood, but he didn’t know that.
“Why don’t you work at the salt factory? Then your problem’s solved.”
Was he serious? Smug bastard. Like he had all the fucking answers to life’s problems.
“No, they’d be compounded. I’d get sick like my mother. It may not happen now, or even five or ten years from now, but if I lived long enough it’d happen. If I got ill, my sister would end up there. A never-ending cycle of sickness and death.” Though she never got sick, he didn’t need to know that. She’d tried the salt mines, but there was something about them that didn’t agree with her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the voice in her head had assured her that working in the mines was the worst possible thing for her.
“One less family member you’d have to be concerned with. People are lucky if they get five or ten years.”
He was a bastard, Nadya decided. A cold-hearted, beautiful, fucking bastard she wanted to castrate. Use his balls for punching bags, then. Don’t stop now, not while you’re ahead. The darker part of her rationalized all the ways she could end his life. Nadya checked her voice and tried to appeal to what she hoped was a merciful side of Diamond. Instead of doing that, she said, “Do you get some kind perverse pleasure from making people feel uncomfortable? Or are you waiting for me to beg? Why are you so cruel?”
“Because, little girl, everything is not happy and fun. Shit’s real outside, the Ragers are real, death is real. Hope is a false prophet who will only fuck you in the ass without the courtesy of lubrication or a reach around. It will leave you high and dry every single time, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get off with just being broken or receive the sublime mercy of death. If you stay the current course, well, I can’t be responsible for the fallout. Which is why I’m a cruel, callous bastard. Don’t look to me as if I’m your savior because I’m not. If your ass comes and works for me, I’m going to use everything you got, to get everything I need, and give you the leftovers I don’t want. Got it?”
All too clearly. But it wasn’t going to stop her. Nika and Anna had taken her in, shown her divine kindness. She would do the same for them. It was either come work for him, or work for Attia.
“Fine, I understand. Now, does that mean I have the job?”
“You still want to work here, girl?” He sounded surprised. Her nerves were frazzled, and trying to keep her anger in check was weighing her down.
“I told you my reasons, either you’re going to accept me or not.”
Diamond looked her up and down, and she knew what he saw. Weakness. That would be his mistake, not hers. She was far from weak. She was strong, resourceful, and once she told him what she had to offer, he wouldn’t refuse. A girl didn’t live in Inwood, she survived it. Every day. If you didn’t get gang-raped by the males—and sometimes women—then you had to worry about the population of Ragers that skulked on the opposite side of the marsh. Inwood was dead trees, and ravenous vines. Every day, there was something to be watchful of. That she’d remained intact and unharmed was a feat in itself. She knew she wasn’t like the others, but couldn’t remember who or possibly even what she was. You’re a survivor. End of story. True. But what had she survived? She’d woken, and the first person there to assist her had been Anna.
She was the first to admit, she was no beauty, but she had one thing to offer most women her age didn’t.
“I don’t think you’re cut out to work here. You can’t fight, what good are you?” Again, his mistake. “Working the Quarry takes gumption. You know what gumption is, girl. It takes brains as well as beauty. You need to be able to work the floor, use what you have to get what I want.”
Well if that were the case, she should be a shoe-in for the brains part because Iland and that other girl were far from smart.
“Yeah, I know what gumption is.” Asshole.
“All right, show me what you got, then. Disrobe.”
Nadya was startled by his request. It was the last thing she’d expected him to ask of her.
“You deaf or something? Take off your fucking clothes. I always see the merchandise before I put it up for sale.”
“So you’re saying I got the job, then?”
“No, I’m saying it’s a try before you buy type of deal.”
“But you didn’t do that with the others.”
“Didn’t have to, I could tell right off whether what they were offering was something my clients would want. You, I don’t know, you’re all covered up, and if your hair and the smell of your feet are anything to go by, I’d be lucky to get a half-ration of Dark Water for you or even a decent trade. I wouldn’t even give up a quarter of my stores to lay down with you.”
Now she was pissed. Once she got this gig, and her family was in the clear, she and Lavarious Diamond would have a heart to heart.
With jerky movements, Nadya went about taking off her garments. The first thing to come off was her top, it was the one she’d made out of curtains and string. Next were her pants. She barely had any breasts to speak of, and the hair on her skin wasn’t groomed. Living in Inwood didn’t afford her the luxury of taking regular showers, and the times she did get to bathe, she was only allotted ninety seconds, there was only so much one could do in such a short amount of time.
“Damn, I was right. Nothing to offer. No one would do much with that, girl. I’d be lucky if I could get you to tend bar and attract attention. You don’t have anything I can sell.”
“I have something.” Her voice was almost too confident. Diamond’s sharp gaze snapped to hers and he waited for her to say more. Almost seemed excited or expectant. Nadya dialed her tone down. She wasn’t going to challenge the male outright with open forcefulness.
“Spit it out, girl. What? I have a meeting that’s about to start in like five minutes.” He looked past her at the door as if it would magically open.
“I am clean.”
Diamond’s eyebrows rose just a bit before he burst into laughter.
“Honey, if you’re clean, then I am downright sanitized. Have you had a chance to look in a mirror? There is dirt caked on you in places I didn’t even know one could get dirty.”
“No, you idiot. I’m fucking clean, as in a virgin!” she roared. Hers hands fisted at her sides as her limbs shook with rage. He really knew how to get under her skin.
His laughter abruptly died, and the look in his eyes said it all. Jackpot. He saw the value. Most girls her age had already given up their virginity to someone for a price. Virgins were rare. Something else she wanted to keep Nika from giving up. Young girls were selling their bodies for far less. Diamond would make their lives comfortable after she was taken by the highest bidder.
“I see. We’ll need to come to some sort of arrangement. But mark my words, girl, you yell at me like that again and your ass is out.” The statement was whispered, and she heard the promise in his verdant chords. Could feel his threat trying to gain entrance into her psyche.
Diamond stood just as the door opened. He glared at the newcomer and yelled, “Get the fuck out! I’ll come and get you when I’m done here.”
“Sure thing, Diamond.”
His gaze zeroed in on her once more, holding her in place. She didn’t know why, but him staring at her made her feel exposed and raw to the bone. More so than standing in front of him without any clothing on. He eyed her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. A sound of disgust rumbled from the back of his throat when he eyed her clothes on the floor before going back to her eyes. He held her immobile with his glare as he spoke.
“You’ll stay here in this room until I come and get you. Don’t open the door, don’t sit on my shit. Matter of fact, you know how to work a shower?”
Nadya nodded.
Of course, she could operate a shower, probably knew a hell of a lot more than he did when it came to the intricacies of plumbing.
“Good, take one. Don’t come out until all that shit is peeled off your body. Use a towel from the closet, and use the robe on the back of the door. Park your ass on the couch and wait for me.”
He turned and walked out, leaving Nadya staring after him; his demeanor a thick cloud of arrogance.