*Some Notes:
- This is the only part of the book that will be in 3rd person, enjoy!
- Since this is an AU, and based in the real world (sorry) Sevika will have both her arms. But don't worry, they still serve the same purposes *wink*
- Some of your favorite characters will be characters in this story! With that being said, I did not create Arcane, let alone the characters. I will try my best to uphold their personalities and all that while still trying to have them contribute to the plot.
- Oh, and did I mention its dual POV? Hehe. (Not yet though)
***
Matty screamed, his voice hoarse from hours of agony, but the men around him didn't flinch. These people were professionals—they'd broken men twice his size with half the effort. The woman they worked for only wanted the best of course. He was tied to a steel chair, his ginger hair damp with sweat and streaked with blood.
One of them, a broad-shouldered man with a jagged scar placed on his cheek, crouched beside him. "You've got a debt to pay, Matty." His voice was almost bored. "And we need bodies to work it off."
Matty coughed, spitting blood onto the concrete floor. "I'll do anything," he rasped. "Just—just tell me what to do."
The man smirked. "You'd make a piss-poor seller. You're not smart enough to run jobs. And as for the only form of employment left... well." He gestured toward the tv in the corner of the room, showing off the live security footage of bottle girls waiting outside the club entrance. Their sleek outfits, practiced smiles, and confident posture said everything Matty wasn't.
Matty's stomach twisted. "Come on, man," he wheezed. "I'm a guy! You can't be serious."
"I don't joke about business. Either you wear the uniform or we find another way to collect."
Matty clenched his teeth. Panic clawed at his throat. Then an idea slithered into his mind, selfish and ugly. He exhaled sharply, forcing a smirk onto his busted lips. "What if I had someone for you? Could I do that?"
The man raised a brow. "Go on."
Matty's smirk widened, even as guilt barely registered under the weight of his own desperation. "I got a girl," he said. "She's got the looks. She's got the charm. She'd make you ten times what I ever could."
The room was silent for a moment. Then the man chuckled, standing up. "Now that's an offer worth considering." He nodded to the others. "You got two weeks to bring her in."
Matty slumped in the chair, relief washing over him. He wasn't free—not yet. But he'd bought himself time. And in the end, wasn't that all that mattered?
A/N - Isn't it silly how 'Matty' kind of sounds 'Maddie' and both characters happen to be ginger? Hm, funny.
