“Shhh!” Tori hisses, looking around as if our Daddies might appear out of nowhere any second. Which, in her defense, is entirely possible. “You’re going to get in trouble!”
“Oh, whatever.” Spinning around, Juju stomps toward the door and yanks it open.
Revealing all four of our Daddies on the other side. Uncle Jasper, who happens to be standing just behind my Daddy, sighs and shakes his head.
“Making trouble again, princess?”
“Umm…” Suddenly not sounding as sure of herself as she did just a moment ago, Juju takes a step back and all four Daddies file in, making the room feel very small as their very presence seems to take up every inch of available space. “No, Daddy. I was just, um, going to the bathroom.”
“Oh, well, that’s fine.” Uncle Jasper flashes her an encouraging smile. “Go ahead and potty, and Daddy will change you.”
Judging by the way the color drains from Juju’s face, she didn’t entirely think through her lie. And judging by the way Uncle Jasper folds his arms and stares her down, he knows she was lying.
“Never mind,” Juju mumbles. “I don’t gotta go anymore.”
“Uh-huh. Well, we can discuss your ‘potty break’ at home. Right now, we have something more pressing to talk about.”
As one, every head in the room swings toward me and I can’t help but audibly swallow.
I’m in so much fucking trouble.
Evander
Seated at the head of the same dining room table where I first claimed my naughty little kitten, I let my gaze roam over my family. Cat has joined us, looking regal as ever in a set of satin pajamas as she sips a glass of dark wine. For once, she doesn’t look the least bit amused by Natalie’s antics.
She looks furious.
And she isn’t the only one. Expressions of anger and betrayal are stamped on every face around the table, including Lucas.
Perched on my lap, trembling with fear as she tells the story of how she snuck out of bed to use my computer after hearing about how Victoria and Isabella ended up on the island, is my Natalie.
“So, um, I guess that’s it,” she says, her voice shaking a bit as she wraps up her story. “I’m really sorry, everyone.”
“You said you wouldn’t tell.” Sweet Victoria, who always has a smile for everyone she meets, glares at Natalie from her perch on her own Daddy’s lap, her eyes ablaze with fury. “Juliet said it was all off the record and you agreed and youlied.”
My chest aches with the desire to defend my babygirl. But I know if I step in now, I’ll only get in the way. The girls need this, they need to have this out without my interference if there’s any hope of them forgiving her anytime soon.
“I did.” Pride wells in my chest at Natalie’s simple admission. “I knew when I said it that I was going to try and find a way around it. I had every intention of getting you to tell your story on the record so I could write about it.”
“Butwhy? Why are you so determined to ruin our lives?”
Natalie hesitates, and I give into the urge to pull her closer, wrapping my arm tightly around her waist until the trembling stops.
“I had a lot of what I thought were really good reasons,” she says slowly. “I wanted the story, yes. But also, I’m a journalist. And the whole reason I became a journalist was to tell the truth. To share things with the world that they wouldn’t know otherwise. Tohelppeople by shining a light on those things done in the dark that nobody knows about. Because there are people in the world who prey on the most vulnerable among us and the thought of them being allowed to do that without consequence makes me sick to my stomach.”
“You thought you were helping us.” Isabella nods, understanding lighting her eyes. “I can’t really say I blame you, if I’m being honest. And if you’d been here when I first got to the island, I probably would have begged you to do exactly what you’d planned to do tonight.”
“So why the change of heart?” In stark contrast to Isabella’s calm acceptance, Juliet is all righteous fury. “If you think what they did is so wrong, why aren’t you fighting for us? Or are you just full of shit?”
“Juliet.” Jasper’s voice is full of warning. “I know you’re upset, princess, but that isn’t an excuse for naughty language.”
“Why not? It’s a valid question. If shereallybelieves what she’s saying then she should be fighting tooth and nail to get the truth out there. Instead, she just gave in after one measly spanking.”
“Well, first of all, it was a really hard spanking.” When Natalie’s joke is met with silent stares, she clears her throat and continues. “But that's not why I changed my mind.”
“Thenwhy?” Victoria presses, her eyes silently begging for an explanation, a reason for her to believe everything Natalie is telling her.
Glancing over her shoulder at me, Natalie smiles. “Because I realized you aren’t broken and brainwashed the way I assumed. If anyone tried to come for my Daddy, I’d put them in the ground. And since I’m pretty sure I’m not suffering from some kind of Stockholm Syndrome, maybe you guys aren’t either. I’m sorry I didn’t understand that sooner and that I hurt you all so much in the process of figuring everything out.”
