Chapters (52)
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Acknowledgments
- Read More from the Market of Monsters Series
- More Books from HMH Teen
- About the Author
- Connect with HMH on Social Media
Her mother smiled, sharp and hard. “The answer is yes, then. He’s roped you into trying to save him from something.”
“I volunteered. It was my idea.”
“Was it? Or were you made to think it was your idea?”
Nita thought about all the conversations about the list, Adair’s revelations about its origins, all the tumbling thoughts that had gone through her head, and the truth was, she couldn’t be sure if she’d been led into anything or if it was a natural consequence of the lives she and Kovit had been leading.
But she didn’t think Kovit was manipulating her.
Her mother, on the other hand, was notorious for manipulating Nita.
Nita rose. “Thank you for the story. It was very interesting. I’m leaving now. Don’t follow me.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“So what? It’s my mistake to make.”
“And it’s my job to protect you.” Her mother rose. “You’re my daughter, and I won’t let you fall into the same trap my friend did.” Her voice went low and sharp. “I will kill this monster before it has a chance to betray you.”
Goose bumps prickled along Nita’s skin. “I’ll never forgive you if you hurt him.”
“I don’t need your forgiveness, Nita. I need your survival.”
Nita didn’t know how to respond to that. Finally, she just whispered, “Please. Please leave him be. He’s not the monster that hurt your friend.”
“No, but monsters like that are all the same.” Her mother’s eyes were hard. “I know their type. And these things, they never change.”
“Please,” Nita whispered.
Her mother just smiled gently, as though Nita was a small child again. “Don’t worry, Nita. I’ll kill this monster before anything happens to you.”
Fourteen
NITA STUMBLED AWAY from the park as fast as her shaking legs could take her, glancing back every few steps to see if her mother was following—even though her mother had smiled when Nita fled, not moving, just watching with this mildly amused and utterly unconcerned expression, as though Nita running away wouldn’t change a single thing.
Nita’s lungs felt tight, like she couldn’t get enough air, and her head felt like it was full of helium, ready to float away and leave her bloody corpse behind.
She got on the first bus she saw, sitting down and fisting her hands in her lap to try and stop the shaking. Nita looked outside, almost expecting her mother to be standing on the sidewalk watching the bus leave, but no one was there. It didn’t calm Nita’s nerves at all. She wasn’t sure where this bus headed, but she knew she couldn’t go straight back to the recording studio. She had to make sure her mother couldn’t tail her.
She couldn’t let her mother find Kovit.