rew me out of their

od at the door and watched as the butler tossed

said, her voice as cold as the No

e I was something he' d scraped off his shoe. Stella, the girl they r

ter, Stella. I was just a dirty secret from the pa

started. The foster system had spit me ou

g left. No reaso

r below looked dark and final. It seemed lik

halt beside me. The side door slid open. Before I could even pro

d shut, and the

e sense of relief washed over me. Maybe this

eld a phone. "We got her," he grunt

ds with a rough zip tie.

ant?" I asked,

y one snapped. "We wa

uncans would pay for me? That was th

nst the cold metal wall of the van. "Tell them you

then dialed a number

rogant voice a

is t

to sound tough. "Jocelyn Chavez. If you want to s

hen Andrew laughed.

e probably paid you to do this. Another pat

and poisonous. "Andrew, don' t be so harsh. Maybe

t back. "And we' re not paying a cent. Do w

ne wen

then at each other, then at me. Their fa

he was about to cry. "They

" I said w

g to kill me? Because if you are, you should p

te lack of fear, my actual desire for them to finish the job, had broken