and

“Purple powder?”

“Some sort of amp, I think.”

“Okay, noted. And, thank you for telling me what you saw.”

“Ain’t a problem, Miss Douglas.”

“You can call me, Alex.”

“Pleasure, Miss Alex.”

“Just Alex is fine,” I say, almost managing the slightest smile. “Lou, how long have you been here?”

“Oh, less’n a day. Mussa been been sometime las’ night.”

Which meant that they may very well have brought him here for me. Which meant that I had to ask, “Lou, did they tell you anything about me?”

“Nothin’ comes ta mind. Though, they went on ‘bout their attack dog—all fangs and slobber,” he said making little fang gestures with his fingers that very clearly weren’t referring to an attack dog.

“And, you’re sure it’s a dog? Did you get a chance to see it? That seems like it would be something they would show prisoners to ensure they didn’t want to escape.”

“Huh, now ya mention it, no. They was sayin’ somethin’ about ‘la monstrua’ and ‘la vampiresa’ and I jus’ figured it was an attack dog.”

“How about others? At the auction, there were a bunch of girls, not just me. Did you see another girl that looks a little like me, but eighteen and skinnier?”

“Since I came here, you’s the only woman I saw.”

“Dammit!” I curse, unable to hold it in. The whole point of this had been to get taken to where Mira was. Now, I was who-knows-where without her.

“Sorry, ma’am, but it’s da truth. I ain’t seen those women here.”

I sighed and took a moment to compose myself. Then, I respond, “It’s okay, Lou. Well, not okay-okay, but I’m not blaming you. I just hoped that we’d be together, since my sister was…” I trailed off, realizing that I shouldn’t give away information about her to someone I’d know for a matter of minutes.

“They gots your sista, too? Lordy, that sucks somethin’ fierce.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, is there a bathroom and where do you sleep?”

“Yeah, da loo, tha’ is da other Lou, is in there,” he says chuckling at his own joke and pointing the joint at a side door, “and I was sleepin’ here—it bein’ comfortable an’ all. Unless’n you want company in that big bed o’ yours, I figure I’ll keep sleepin’ here.”

“I’d prefer the privacy, Lou.”

“No problem, Miss Alex.”