But… I don’t know that all of them actuallydodeserve to die horrible, painful deaths. I think some of them might be okay, even if they earn their living by taking human lives…
Max releases a low chuckle. It’s a raspy, pleasant sound that makes something in my chest twist. He’s easy to be around. Nothing like Monster, who’s default modes are angry, serious, or aroused. Max is actually pleasant, and even in the worst circumstances, he knows how to make me smile.
Maybe whatever girl he ends up tearing from her life and bringing here could actually find some happiness or peace with him. Despite what he does for a living, he seems like a good egg.
“What are these going to be?” Max walks up to the row of plant beds that I’ve just seeded and reaches out a finger, as if to poke at them.
“Don’t prod your fingers at them; you’re not a child. Act your age, not your shoe size.”
As soon as the words are out, I feel the blood drain from my face. Max might be friendlywith me, but that does not mean he’s my friend or ever will be. Right now, he’s a stand-in guard dog who’s babysitting me to ensure I don’t try to run away or find a way to kill Monster. I donothave the right to levy jokes and quips with him.
“I’m so s—”
Max roars with laughter, throwing his head back and cutting off my apology. He laughs so hard a tear falls from his eye. He wipes it away and grins at me. “That was a good one. Greyson was right; youarefunny.”
I blink. I’ve never really considered myself to have a sense of humor—but that might be because I’ve kept my social interactions pretty minimal. I didn’t have any friends growing up, and I avoided people as much as I could during college.
I feel my cheeks heat as I make my way over to the computers in the center of the room. The setup is high tech; three computer screens and several tablets monitor all the electrical systems in the greenhouse, from solar panels to misting arms to the probes inserted in every plant bed. I pull up PH levels on screen and look through them, making sure that all the beds are healthy and hale.
“You’re cute when you blush,” Max comments, leaning his hip against one of the working tables and folding his arms over his chest.
“You probably shouldn’t say that to me,” I murmur. We both know that I’ve been reduced to Monster’s property; if he finds out that Max has his eye on me, or that Max commented on a blush he brought to my cheeks, Monster might freak out and do something drastic.
“I’m not making a move on you—I know you aren’t available,” Max says. He glances around the room. “But… this is a tough place. Greyson’s a tough guy, and his obsession with you, how deeply he’s in love with you, could work against him. He doesn’t know how to be lighthearted or friendly—he’s an all-in kind of a man. I think you could use a friend.” Max’s voice gets a bit quieter. “I could use a friend, as well.”
“You’re surrounded by friends.”
“Not any female ones,” Max replies swiftly. “And… I’ll be up shortly in the lineup of guys who have to choose women to bring here and keep. Once I choose, I imagine whoever I pick up will also be in need of a friend.”
I swallow. “You know how wrong it is, right? You’ll be stealing someone’s life away. You’ll confine themhere,where they’ll effectively be your sex slave. It’s…” I trail off with a shudder. “I can’t explain what it’s like to be reduced to a plaything whose only value lies in the value herownerassigns her.” I reach up to tug at my necklace. “Collared, chained… turned into nothing and no one. It’s a desolate place to be.”
“I can see what you mean from your perspective,” Max says with a nod. “Now, take into consideration that Greyson built this entire place for you. Would you have had that in the outside world?”
My lips thin as I shake my head, conceding his point.
“Right. Would you have someone who puts at least fifty grand worth of diamonds around your neck?”
“No.”
“Exactly. I’ll be the first to agree that Grey’s a shit communicator, but for all his faults and everything he’s done wrong… he fuckingadoresyou. Trust me when I say he never would’ve hurt you if he wasn’t fooled into believing you led histwin brotherto his grave. The place you have here might be tied in with him, but you also have power and freedom that you never would’ve gotten out there in the wild. You could ask Grey for anything and he’d give it to you.”
“In return for being his sex slave.” I don’t like that Max’s words are making a little too much sense, hitting a bit too close to home, so I’m trying to ground myself in the harsh reality of my new life—not the sweet fantasy.
“In return for beinghis woman.”
I swallow thickly. Hit the power button on the tech system. “I think I’m done for the day here,” I say quietly.
“Think on what I said,” Max tells me. “And think on acquiring me as a friend. I’m a useful ally to have.”
He follows me out of the greenhouse and onto the dirt road that leads us back to the compound. We walk side by side in slightly awkward silence, both lost in our thoughts.
A loud noise cuts through my thoughts, furrowing my eyebrows and making me cast a look around. It almost sounds like a far away car engine rumbling, except a bit… different. Then, the noise comes again—louder—and I realize that it doesn’t come from a car. It comes from aplane.
I crane my neck upwards, squinting at the plane that’s flying overhead. It glides over the length of the field, then circles back around…
“Oh,fuck,” Max takes my arm in an iron grip. Confusion takes root in my chest, and I glance up at him to see his eyes wide, lips thinned, andfearin his expression. That’s when comprehension hits me; this plane is not supposed to be here. And its presence is making Max look pale as a sheet.
“We need to get to cover,” he says as the plane circles back once again and starts making a beeline straight toward us. “Fuck, we need cover—”
