CONDEMNATION ✓

Chapter 11

"You can give up this pointless crusade for your freedom and accept your stance in my organization. The quicker you do that, the sooner you'll be released from your cage." 

It had been a full day since you heard that phrase, since the interrogation. No violent beating followed your defiant acts this time; maybe it was because Mono had been there. You had just been led back to your room and locked away. For an entire day, you did nothing. Sitting in solitude as you contemplated what to do. You didn't like being controlled, being confined; it felt as though your entire life, that's exactly what you had been. 

All you wanted was to break free from your family, to 'make it' on your own, whatever that meant. Granted, maybe you choose a less than a legal profession, but it was still your choice. You were building something, working toward something you could be proud of. Now... you were just a caged bitch in some jackasses world. Escape was quickly becoming impossible; the idea of being granted freedom was just a pipe dream. So, what were you to do? 

"Mono!" You yelled, seated in the corner of 'your' room on a cherry wood and red upholstered accent chair. You were draped in hand-picked clothes now; Mono gave you his phone to access his Amazon account so you could order some things. Needless to say, you didn't go cheap, just out of spite. 

You wore a pair of white and black camouflage pants that pinched at your calves. A pair of black and white Adidas on your feet. Your top was a designer sports bra black with a sheer long-sleeve shirt over the top. You had your electrified blue bobbed locks hanging freely, the ends brushing against the tops of your shoulders. You painted your face a dark black tinted gloss matched with alluring smokey eye make up. 

Despite your captivity, you still refused to let yourself wither away. You figured that's exactly what R would want, and you actively did the opposite for anything he wanted. At least you doubted doing this much would earn you another face-to-face confrontation with that dick. For now, it was just the little things that kept you sane.

The door to your bedroom pushed open, and Mono's bushy black hair hooded his eyes from sight. He was never one to keep himself well-groomed. He wore a grey sweatshirt, two sizes too big, and a pair of blue jeans. You could see the tattoos on his neck stretching across the skin. A rose on one side and a raven on the other; he's had those tattoos for as long as you could remember, getting them immediately after your parent's death. Not realizing he had them before then but hid them well. 

"I told you's I ain't going out to rent yo ass 'The Notebook.' Read a book or some shit, damn." Mono grumbled, raising his tattoed fingers to his hair as he scratched his head in irritation. You had only made that request because you knew it would bother him; you'd never even seen 'The Notebook' and had no interest in watching it. Anything to get on his nerves, though. 

"Shut up. That's not what this is about." You said, waving your decorated hand in his direction, trying to get him to drop the subject you no longer cared for. 

"What you want 'en?" Mono questioned as he stalked through the room and approached you, still seated lazily in the corner. His improper speech, his drawn way of talking, how he shorted almost everything to make the words come out faster. He was lazy right down to the way he moved his tongue. You felt sorry for the women he must have been with. 

There was a pause in your words, hesitation as your inner beast held strong onto the words you were going to speak and refused to let them come up your throat. This felt like a defeat. 

"I'm in." You clenched your jaw, the muscles tensing as a taste of disgust lingered on your tongue. Your gaze ripped from Mono and stared idly across the room, trying to make your appearance as nonchalant as possible. 

"You serious?" Mono's head dipped down, tilting to the side as he tried to gauge your expression. Likely, he assumed this was just another trick, and he'd be smart to assume so. His hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, hiding from sight as he stared you down. 

"I don't like it, but I don't see another choice here, do you?" You snapped your head back to him, narrowing your gaze to show your displeasure. "I either 'join the team' or stay locked in this room till I die." It had only been a day, but you were already getting stir-crazy. 

The idea of working for that dick-bag was the last thing you wanted to do but, like you said, what were your other options? Your gang was rededicated, you had nowhere to go back to, and you had no money, no pull. If you did escape, R was likely just as spiteful as you were and demolish whatever you managed to rebuild. Not to mention, it seemed as though this 'team' was the winning team, and there was a bigger fight they were going after that you weren't sure of yet. At the very least, you could gain information on them as an organization and figure out how to properly burn R's entire operation to the ground from within. 

"Ight." Mono said, nodding his head as his hair bounced with his movements. He took a step back, ready to leave the room and report the news before you called out to him to add one last thing. 

"Tell him don't give me any more bullshit assignments either." You barked, tilting your head as if to signal it was a threat. "Tell him, If he's going to use me, at least do it right." Your eyes rolled, shifting across the room again, signaling Mono to leave silently. 

You heard him scuff; you could tell by the sound that his lips were tugged into a smirk, but you didn't want to see it. He was on R's side another all; he couldn't be trusted either. You knew you couldn't trust anyone in this building, but at the very least, this might be a means to an end. 

"You got it, Lil' Sis." Mono headed for the door, opening it back up and letting himself saunter through. He closed it roughly behind himself with an audible click. 

You wondered, Exactly how R was going to use you. The thought caused you to chew at your lower lip, trying to contemplate the possible outcomes, as he had done to you. You needed to figure out how to stay one step ahead of him. Maybe the pawn could become the queen.