Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 271

Chapter 271

“What drug/”

“Every three months, Big Bryan forces all the girls and boys in the Phantom Circle to dergo a medical evaluation. They are told it is to keep them healthy, that they will be given IV medication to immunize them against diseases and sicknesses “Her eyes went dark, and the hatred in them was old than her years “I never received those injections, because those of us who joined of our own free will were not required to take the evaluation. It was Damon who told me the truth. The medication is poison A designer compound they call Hemovax Anyone who receives st must return for a fresh dose every three months, without fail. If they do not, their body breaks down from the inside until it bursts. That is why no one ever truly leaves the Phantom Circle. They always turn up dead”

I filed the name away. Hemovax. I would have my people trace it to its source, find the chemist who brewed it, and then I would pay him a visit of my own.

“I tried every means to find out what the drug was, how to get the antidote, who manufactured it.” She shook her head slowly.” Nothing. And inside the Phantom Circle, there are the caged birds. Girls like Tasha They are sold at auction to old rich men who enslave them, use them for pleasure until they grow bored, and then discard them like spoiled meat. Many of them do not survive it. Tasha was one of the caged birds. When I found out, I was desperate to get her out of there before her name ever reached an auction block.”

“So what happened?”

“Luckily, the caged birds are trained to please their masters before they are sold.” Her voice turned wry, self-mocking. “And I was very good at my job. I made Big Bryan a great deal of money. So he attached Tasha, Maya, and Jasmine to me, to learn from me, to become as good at pleasing men as I was. That was how I became friends with them. Jasmine and Maya had been captured recently, forced into the Circle. They had been sent out on a few missions, but they were not very good at it yet.”

She paused. “That is how we got our team of six. Four girls, two guys.”

“Meeting you like this, it is fate.” She shook her head slowly, as if she still could not believe it herself. “I was just going along with Julian’s plans, meeting Dominic Ford so Julian would let his guard down, so I could slip away and find you. Everyone knows Sparrow is never in one place for long. The only way to get an audience with you is if you agree to meet. I did not know how to reach you.” Her voice cracked. “But fate brought you to me.”

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