by Mia Hoddell
She had been in a rush before and she was not going to make that mistake again.
The door on her side of the car opened and Nick gestured for her to get out. He made sure to keep the gun in plain sight all the way to Rogan’s office. As he paused outside the door, he placed it back inside the waistband of his jeans and proceeded to knock.
Cora was on her best behaviour. Normally she would have stormed into the room, demanding to be the centre of attention but this time was different. Until she knew what was awaiting her on the other side she was going to play the good little girl and comply with the standard procedure.
Rogan’s deep voice penetrated through the heavy, wooden door. She hadn’t even seen him yet and already he sounded enraged and tense.
Opening the door, Nick placed a hand on her back, pushing her into the room. She expected him to follow her in like last time but instead his fingers lingered for only a second. As she moved out of reach, they fell away and then she heard the click of the door shutting behind her. The sound made her think of someone cocking a gun that was about to execute her.
Rogan was sitting behind his desk, staring straight at her as she moved towards one of the chairs in front of it. Having not been there on her previous visit, she assumed they were for her. His hands were clasped on the wooden top, his knuckles white from the force he was applying.
As Cora lowered herself into the chair, the silence dragged on. She almost wanted Rogan to yell or lose it because at least he would be doing something and she would understand where she stood. The silence was intimidating, awkward and lengthy. It was having Rogan’s desired effect as he watched her squirm.
He forced the smile that was threatening to show on his face into submission. He was not going to break the tension by laughing at her nervousness. Instead, they remained in a staring contest, both fixated on the other’s bright green eyes as they dared the other to be the first to break it.
“You didn’t get very far then?” Rogan said finally, his tone full of mocking.
“I wasn’t running. I was going to come straight back after. I did tell you I wanted to be able to roam around when I signed up.” Cora had made the decision to try and defuse his anger through lies. She knew it wouldn’t be the wisest thing to be caught doing. However, she hadn’t planned on getting found out.
“Yes, you told me and I rejected the idea. No matter how much you want to persuade me that you were coming back, I think we both know better than to believe it. You see Cora, by running—well I mean trying to run away—you broke the terms of your contract. I now own you like I own every other employee.”
Cora’s heart started to increase at his words and what he was alluding to. Her mind flicked instantly to Misty and her safety but she tried to keep the emotions from surfacing.
“How did you even know where to find me? Your guys didn’t seem like they had been looking for very long when they caught up with me.” Cora tried to deflect his line of thought. She wanted to scream and fight back and could feel the anger building inside her. She wasn’t about to deliver him that kind of satisfaction. It would give Rogan something to hold over her head and control her with. Cora wasn’t going to let that happen yet, so playing it cool, she diverted the subject and situation so she was in control.
Rogan started to pull his hands apart. She could see the tension in his arms relax slightly as he reached into his pocket. With a swift turn of his wrist he flicked out an orange slip of paper, throwing it on to the desk so it slid in her direction.
Cora didn’t need to pick it up to know what it was and she cursed herself for the clumsy mistake. Staring at the slip of paper that had betrayed her secret, it looked like she was trying to make it burst into flames using only her mind.
“Where did you find that?” she asked as it was the only thing she could think of to break the silence.
“On your bed. Who sent it?” His tone sounded bored and he looked casual as he leaned back in his chair, but his eyes swirled with intrigue more than he knew. She could see he was hungry to find out who was working against him and he hated that he wasn’t aware of everything in his territory.
Shrugging, Cora muttered an ‘I don’t know’ before her gaze fell on her hands. She didn’t want to meet his eyes in case she saw something she feared.
“I thought we’d been over this? We both know you’re lying, so save us all the fucking questions and tell the truth from the start.”
Rogan was starting to lose his temper, his voice laced with restrained anger. It was close to snapping like a cane breaking and Cora didn’t want to be anywhere near him when that happened. She decided her best—and safest—course of action would be to give him enough information to satisfy him but not to give everything away. It wasn’t like she knew much.
“It’s an organisation focused on taking you down,” she admitted, making sure her voice sounded like it was reluctant to give up the information.
“Who are they and where are they? What have they got planned?” He was leaning forward once more at the thought of more information. He listed off questions in quick succession but Cora didn’t need to listen to them, she already knew she wasn’t going to say anymore.
“I don’t know. They weren’t stupid. I got no names, no locations and they didn’t tell me a plan. They refused to say anything more until I agreed to join them. That’s what they were after—my ability, though they wouldn’t say why.”
Although she had denied the request and hadn’t taken much of a shine to Jed, she wasn’t going to sell him out to Rogan yet. Maybe when she needed a bigger bargaining chip she would consider it.
“And before you ask, I declined. See? I really do like working for you,” she joked as her voice filled with sarcasm.
Rogan hummed dubiously as if he doubted her every word. “You’re still in breach of your contract so I hope that meeting was worth the sacrifice to your freedom. As I warned you, you’ll now have a round the clock group of personal guards keeping an eye on you. I have also ordered for your things to be set up in the basement. So I’d like to see you try and pull the same stunt a second time.” Finally Rogan let the sinister smirk he had been hiding reveal itself and Cora had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. Shouting was not going to get her out of the situation she had found herself in.
“Aren’t you curious as to how I got out in the first place?”
“I will admit, I’m slightly impressed you found the hidden exit so quickly and roped Kirby into helping you.” He kicked his feet up on to the desk, signalling for her to explain.
“The door to the family quarters was left open when I left here. I decided to look for a way out but after searching through every room, I found nothing. I walked in on Kirby accidentally and he…he threatened me.” Cora’s voice changed as she made sure to add a slight hint of vulnerability into it. An idea coming into her head.
“He said that he would make sure I was dead by morning if I didn’t leave. He said I was ruining his life.”
Cora saw Rogan tense at her words. He didn’t interrupt, but he looked wary and Cora couldn’t understand why.
“I told him I was trying to leave but couldn’t find a way to get out so he explained about the secret tunnels and then agreed to help me. He came to my room in the evening pretending to be under your orders and showed me where the tunnel was. I was just trying to survive. He seems to really hate me.” Cora shrugged and toyed with the edge of her shirt, a solemn expression on her face as she hoped to win him over by playing the weak-defenceless-girl card.
“WHAT?” Rogan roared, standing up instantly and slamming his hands down on to the desk. He assumed Kirby had helped her but not threatened her.
Despite Cora’s best efforts to control it, she flinched. She didn’t care that she was putting all of the blame on Kirby, he’d made his dislike evident from their first meeting so she wasn’t losing anything.
“Yes Rogan. Your son is the person who is working against you. I wouldn’t put it past him to be th
e one who helped the people get a note to me in the first place. I had nothing to do with it and therefore you cannot punish me,” Cora sneered, standing up to look him in the eye, her temper flaring.
“I can do what I want with you. You are mine to do with as I please,” he hissed, his words his words filed with venom.
Cora’s heart sank. She didn’t know how to she was going to get out of the situation.
“But, I am prepared to give you one more chance.”
Cora went to speak but he silenced her with a gesture and she shut up. She knew when she would be making things worse.
“There are a few conditions. Obviously if I put you back in the same room you will just run off again, so here’s what I’m going to do. If you reject this option I just go with the original plan of the basement, got it?”
Cora nodded uncertainly, not sure what he was about to suggest.
“I am prepared for you to go back to your old flat and live however you want. But, when I have a job for you, you will be back here and you will make it back to the house within twenty minutes. If you’re even a minute late, it’s the basement. If you fail to pick up your phone, my men will find you and you’ll be in the basement and if you argue and don’t drop whatever you are doing to come straight over—”
“I know, I’ll be in the basement.” Cora tried to sound bored and exasperated but inside she was jumping for joy. She was unsure to how she had done it and what changed Rogan’s mind, but somehow she had managed to get a semblance of her old life back.
“Glad to see something is finally sinking into that thick skull of yours. I guess that means you are accepting the terms then?”
“Of course,” she said casually.
Reaching down into a drawer behind his desk, Rogan pulled out a few items: a gun, mobile and a wad of cash.
“These are standard issue for all of my employees. I was going to issue you them this morning but that plan was derailed slightly. The cash is for electricity to charge this.” He pointed at the phone. “And for credit, not that you should be calling anyone but me with it. I’m guessing you know how to use one of these?” He held up the gun, throwing it from one hand to the other casually.
Cora nodded. “Mum taught me before. I have another back at the flat too.” She hadn’t wanted to bring up her mother, especially in front of the man that, in Cora’s eyes, caused her death but she had no other option. It was her mum who had taught her. She had made sure Cora knew every form of self-defence, and got to a high enough level. It was also her mum who took her out shooting in the park when things got bad. She never explained why, but it was slowly becoming clear that her mother was preparing her. Cora had only just turned eleven.
She hated the thought.
“Good. Nick will drive you to your flat and a selection of my men will meet you there this evening. They will follow your every move until I learn to trust you.”
Cora had picked up the items and was heading towards the door as he spoke but as her words registered she spun back around.
“What? That was not part of the deal!” she shouted, finally losing it.
“You’re forgetting that you aren’t the one in a position to negotiate, Cora. I will be quite happy with you in the basement. It’s your choice, take it or leave it.”
Chapter 14
Slamming the door on her way out, Cora stormed from the office making sure to show her anger. She was not a pet to be leashed and controlled but that’s how he was treating her. Cora had got more than she ever expected, but all it did was raise red flags in her mind. Something wasn’t right with his compromise.
The constant reminder that Rogan never did anything for someone without racking up their debt and expecting something in return had her on edge. As she moved towards the car that was parked at the front of the house, she tried to think what Rogan could need besides her ability. It was obvious that was not the key because he didn’t need to grant her semi-freedom to have that—he’d already won that battle.
Pulling the door shut on the car, Cora longed to walk home but she thought she had pushed her luck enough for one day when she saw Nick approaching.
* * *
Rogan watched through his window as Cora was driven off. She didn’t look too happy and Rogan smiled to himself as he thought about what he had planned for her. She wouldn’t see it coming and she would never expect it. A fact that only made his smile grow even wider. He was certain she knew more than she had revealed so far and it was his intention to extract it from her.
Shaking his head, he cleared his mind. It was not the time to be thinking about that. He had people to deal with and that started with his own, backstabbing son. Rogan had always known the boy didn’t have what it took to follow his leadership, but he never expected him to be traitorous.
Pressing the intercom button on his desk, he called up to Kirby’s room.
“If you’re not down here in one minute, my men will be using you for target practice again.” Rogan’s voice was low and dangerous as he spoke. His right hand was clenching and unclenching by his hip as he tried to find a way to release his anger without breaking something.
Unsurprisingly, the only response he got from Kirby, was a rustle of sheets. He assumed that meant he was moving but he would find out if he was correct in a few moments. Rogan and Kirby were polar opposites; Rogan’s work ethic was one of the reasons he had reached his position of power, and Kirby’s ability to spend most of his time plugged into a game console, eating or sleeping was incomprehensible and irritating. Very rarely did he lift a finger around the mansion, or venture out from his room but Rogan had long since given up trying.
To Rogan he was useless and a waste of space, time, and energy. However, his son had managed to surprise him. It wasn’t in the way he had hoped for, but perhaps there was a chance for him yet. After all, he had gone after what he wanted and if Cora hadn’t been so careless, he would have succeeded in getting rid of his opponent.
With less than a second to spare, Rogan’s door opened quickly to reveal a disgruntled looking Kirby. His hair was in disarray as if he had been tugging it out in frustration, there were dark circles under his eyes and a few orange crumbs stuck to his dirty, white T-shirt from the crisps he had been eating. He looked a mess but everything about his attitude said he didn’t care.
“You couldn’t have waited five more minutes? I was in the middle of an important mission on Assassin’s Creed. I died because of you and your bloody orders. You know I’m not one of your recruits, right? You don’t get to order me around like that and I don’t have to do your bidding. I’m not a child either, I’m twenty-one for Christ’s sake. I have a life of my own.” His voice was filled with spite and malice as he moved towards Rogan to collapse in the chair Cora had recently vacated. He had surprised himself with the ferocity of his words.
“No, Kirby, it couldn’t wait. This is more important than one of your old video games. And you may not be one of my recruits, but you are my son and you would do well to realise that is the only reason you’re still here. If any of my men were as useless as you then they would have been long gone. Also, being my son means I expect more. You are meant to be in training to take over this business. You have everything paid for, everything given to you. You have never lifted a finger and I’ve only ever asked one thing of you. Grow the hell up,” Rogan’s voice was as tight as his fists that were still clenched.
Kirby wasn’t fazed. He had been in front of Rogan many times before and his words had long since stopped having an effect on him. He had heard it all before: he was useless, not fit to breathe, a disgrace to the family, not fit to learn the business. The list went on and although Kirby hated him for it, the bigger part of him was disinterested. He didn’t want to rule a criminal organisation, he just wanted to inherit the money and play his video games in peace.
“You don’t need me, you—”
“I wouldn’t have had to find an alternative if my son had been worth something in the first place!” Roga
n shouted, leaning over the desk which caused Kirby to recoil slightly.
He may have been no use to his dad but that didn’t mean he was free from his wrath.
“That’s not what I called you down here about though. You already know how pathetic you are. What I really want to know is how you thought you could help Cora escape and that information wouldn’t make its way back to me?” Rogan steadied his voice as he lowered himself back into the seat.
“I didn’t.”
Rogan let out a cruel laugh, pretending to be amused by Kirby’s lies.
“I don’t need Cora here to tell me that you’re lying Kirby. Your face is an open book. You made it clear since you first saw her that you hated her. You couldn’t wait to help her leave, could you?”
Kirby’s dropped his stare and he picked at the crumbs on his shirt before reaching up to place them in his mouth.
“I only mentioned about the escape routes, she was the one who found it.”
“Keep lying Kirby, all you’re doing is backing yourself further into a corner.”
“Yeah that’s right, believe everyone else over your own son. He can’t possibly be telling the truth, can he?”
Kirby heaved himself out of the chair and started walking towards the door. “Just get on with your plan and leave me alone. I won’t interfere again,” he muttered under his breath as he slammed the door shut behind him. Kirby had no intention of letting the issue drop but he wasn’t going to let Rogan in on the plans he was already forming.
Let him think I’m weak and useless. He’ll be the one begging me to let him live when I’ve succeeded, he thought as he headed back to his room to take his anger out on some unsuspecting character who would be an easy kill.
Although Rogan was annoyed by his son’s disobedience, a part of him was proud he was finally standing up for himself. He was nowhere near ready and still had a long way to go, but Rogan hoped there was a hint of prospect in him. It wouldn’t matter either way though, Rogan had moved on with his plan and the new prodigy was already in training. Kirby wouldn’t be able to reach their level of determination even if he focused on nothing else until he died.
