In the middle of the night, I am awakened by the lights in my room being flipped on. I sit up, blinking, and shade my eyes.

Monster is in the doorway of my room. “Get dressed. Your surprise is waiting for you in the guest bedroom.”

My brain is too sleep-deprived to ask how I should dress. He vanishes down the hallway, and a few seconds later his office door slams. I get out of bed and pull a red silk robe on to cover my nakedness.

I don’t know what my surprise is, but it’s definitely untimely. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stifling a yawn, I pad out of my room and to the door of the guest bedroom.

Gripping the doorknob, I swing it wide open.

And then I freeze.

The room contains a figure lying down on a cot, a thin blanket drawn over their body. Sandy hair on the top of the figure’s head is all I can really make out, aside from the fact that the figure is shivering.

My first thought is, what the hell is going on? How is this my surprise?

I step toward the cot. “Hello?”

No answer. The figure shivers harder and curls in on itself a little more. Another step closer, and I can tell that the figure is a male. Taller than me, but thin. I can see a grubby set of fingers, so dirty that it’s impressive.

“Can you turn over, so I can see you?” I ask carefully.

Still, nothing.

I bite my lip. In order to see who it is, I’ll probably have to get right in his face. But Monster did leave me here alone, so obviously whoever the mystery man is, he’s not likely to be aggressive.

I edge closer. To my surprise, the man starts coughing violently and turns over. When he turns over, I swear my eyes are tricking me.

Underneath several layers of dirt and grime, as thin as I’ve ever seen him, is Tony. His sandy blond hair is disheveled, and he shivers against a cold that I don’t feel.

He cracks open his eyes and spots me. He speaks, but it’s extremely slurred. “Hey. It’ssss you.”

I fly over to him, kneeling on the ground and putting my hands on his too-thin frame. “Tony?” I whisper, tears blossoming in my eyes. “Is that really you?”

My heart swells and I can feel the tears leaking out the corners of my eyes. I thought I would never see him again!

He shivers again. “Sss me.” Then he closes his eyes, chuckling to himself.

“What are you on? What did they give you?” I demand, pulling back his blanket. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of decrepit boxers, but he doesn’t seem harmed in any way. “Tony, how did you get here?”

“Hey, leggo,” he pouts, jerking the blanket back. “The man found me. He said he’d give me a bag of China White if I… if I went easy. So, I did.”

“What? What’s China White?” I ask, my brow furrowing.

“Oh, man, lil sis. Oh, man.” He covers his face with his hand. “I’m glad you’re here, though. You know?”

“Can you sit up?” I ask. I’m wondering to myself how Monster came to have my brother. Also, how long has he known that Tony was still here in New Orleans? Any sane man would’ve fled by now.

But not an addict, I guess. And that what Tony is… shaking and so thin that I can probably count every one of his ribs, he’s definitely hooked on something. If I had to guess, I would think it was heroin, the same thing that killed our mother.

“Rather not,” he says. “I’m really tired.”

I lean closer and grab his face, exposing his front teeth. Tony lets me do it, passive in his intoxicated state. He’s missing two teeth, and the rest of them look scuzzy like he hasn’t brushed them in ages. The smell of his breath is just more proof.

“What happened here?” I ask, releasing his face with a disgusted sigh.

Tony shifts a little under the blanket, either ignoring me or not hearing me. “I’m cold, Kit Kat.”

“I’ll get you another blanket,” I promise. “Even better, what about a hot bath?”

“Maybe later,” he says, his brow furrowing as he burrows down into his blanket. “A blanket would be nice.”

“I don’t want you to get too comfortable,” I say, fretting. “If you fall asleep, I’m afraid that you could stop breathing.”

Tony opens his eyes a little to pull a face. “You’re no fun. Why don’t you get your boyfriend in here? He’s got the good stuff. He knows how to party, I bet.”

My eyes widen. “He gave you the heroin?”

“It’s from him. From one of his guards, but… I know what’s up. Your boyfriend runs all the drugs in this city. Or didn’t you know that?” My perfect look of surprise makes Tony chuckle.

“You mean, he’s a drug dealer?” I whisper, looking behind me to the door.

“I mean he’s the boss. He rules this city, in every aspect. Hell, there are rumors that he was the one who took out Dad and the others.” His eyes close again.

I pause. “What do you mean, took them out?”

“You know,” he says, flapping a hand at me. “He killed them. That’s the gossip, anyway. Or maybe not. Maybe they got wise and left town. But either way, they’re fucking gone.”

“Wait, they’re gone?” I ask, puzzled.

I’ve wondered what my family is up to, but the fact that they’re actually gone is cause for alarm. What if the rumors are true, and Monster actually killed them?

“That’s what I just said,” Tony mutters. “Word on the street is, it’s your boyfriend’s fault.

I shiver, not bothering to correct Tony calling Monster my boyfriend. A boyfriend is a choice; Monster barreled into my life and took it over, all without my consent.

I turn my mind back to my family. The whispers of Monster’s involvement are just a rumor, nothing more. If it’s true, it would probably destroy me. The men who betrayed me and set me on this path are many things, but at the end of it all, they’re still family.

I don’t know that Monster had anything to do with their disappearances for a fact, though.

Maybe it’s better this way. After all, in believing the whispers, I’d be siding with my drugged out traitorous brother over a man who… well, it’s not that Monster hasn’t done anything wrong. Or that he’s done anything wrong to me.

But he didn’t set this whole thing in motion. And I don’t want to take Tony’s word for anything.

After all, I haven’t forgotten how little Tony thinks of me.

I haven’t forgotten the stupid look on Tony’s face the last time I saw him, as the police hauled me off to some uncertain fate. It’s seared into my consciousness, stamped on my heart forever.

It isn’t really something I can just move on from or forgive just like that.

Feeling myself getting upset, I stand up. “I think… I need to go do something. Will you sit up for me, Tony?”

It’s a lie, and a bad one. Tony opens one eye and nods, pushing himself into an upright position. “You going to go confront your boyfriend?”

Gritting my teeth, it’s all I can do to hold my anger in and not lash out on Tony. He would probably not get it in the state he’s in right now, anyway.

“I’ll be back,” I mutter, forcing myself not to race as I leave the room.

I make it downstairs in seconds and burst outside into the backyard. It’s hot and dark outside, the yard lit only by the moon and stars. I’m not dressed enough to run anywhere. Even if I was, where would I go?

So, I walk the perimeter of the tall fence, hanging my head. Burdened by the shame of knowing that my family sold me, and that Monster might have killed them.

I sag into one of the chairs by the pool. I don’t know a word for what I feel… perhaps restlessness? Depression? All I know is that I am feeling worthless and low, and I feel trapped. I have nowhere to turn.

After all, it’s not like I had a lot of friends before I was kidnapped and bought by a psychopath. Monster made it more than clear that I’m not allowed to befriend the guards.

So, now I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. Monster, on one hand, a ruthless killer who was very clear that his only interest in me is for sex. And Tony, the brother who betrayed me. The person who probably thought twice about selling me and did it anyway.

Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

How can I be surrounded by these men, and yet so very alone?

I give myself a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself, just sitting outside alone. Then I drag myself up, wiping at my face with my fingertips, and head back inside.

One of my bodyguards is right inside the door as I return to the house. He makes no secret of the fact that he has been watching me like a hawk. Lifting my chin, I stride past him.

The climb back up the stairs seems like the longest of my life. I stop in my bedroom for an extra blanket, before I head back to the spare bedroom.

As I head back to Tony, I hear a door open. I glance down the long hallway to find Monster standing in the doorway of his office, watching me carefully with hooded eyes. He looks romantic with the lights turned off, in the mood lighting of the moonlight. Tall, trim, handsome. His collar unbuttoned, his shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his muscular forearms.

Slowing, I pause. Our gazes connect. Steel grey eyes pin me in place, and my mouth goes dry.

For a second, I’m drawn to him, feeling a magnetic pull. For a second, I forget what’s been done to me. I forget the past. I forget that there is a sickly young man waiting for me, or that I have an armful of blankets.

There is only Monster. His grey eyes, his dark facial hair, his big frame taking up all the space around him. His expression is oddly blank, betraying nothing.

I am starting to realize that when he knows he’s done something wrong and expects someone to lash out at him, he goes deadly calm like that. I hate that I know that about him, but there it is.

The question is, what has he done to atone for this time? Killed my family? Brought Tony here?

Kidnapped me in the first damn place?

A sound comes from the spare bedroom, a low groan that distracts me. I glance toward it. As soon as I look away, Monster turns and slams his door.

The sound makes me jump.

Gritting my teeth, I head back into the spare bedroom. Tony is in there, his figure keeled over. He’s face down, moaning softly.

I have so many questions for Tony. So many accusations to hurl at him.

Honestly, the same goes for Monster.

But tonight, my only task will be to take care of my brother. Keep him breathing, or from aspirating his own vomit in his sleep.

Tomorrow, though, there will be a reckoning.