"Of course. But you have to understand something. Once you've accepted, there's no going back. If I have the kind of power to get you out of here, imagine what I can do if you betray my trust. You don't want to do me dirty, do you, Miss Mayer?"
I shake my head, my hands coming to my legs and wrapping tightly around my thighs. "I won't," I say, my voice weak. "I won't go back on my word."
"Good." He smiles brightly. "Now let's get your story straight, alright?"
He sits back down.
And my life changes forever.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nyx
Pretty Little Devil – Shaya Zamora
My hands are shaking so badly that I have to keep holding my steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. The three men waiting where the dirt road meets the tree line are observing me, wondering if I'll follow orders or not. I get out on trembling legs and approach them.
"Good evening, Nyx. Thank you for coming." That's the man who spoke to me at the police station. Back then, he said he was an attorney, but I'm not sure that’s true now.
"What am I doing here?" I ask.
"Well, like I mentioned to you on the phone, it's time to repay the other half of that favor."
I only recognize one of the men next to him, Achilles's father, Eugene Duval, and I know what this means. It's certainly not safe for Achilles.
I scratch my throat, unsure where this is going exactly. "After tonight, I don't have to do anything for you anymore?"
Eugene is the one who smiles brightly. "After tonight, you won't owe us anything. Don't worry."
I don't think I like the way he phrased it, not confirming nor denying my words.
"What do I have to do?" I ask hesitantly.
"You barely have to worry about anything. Just give me your phone, darling," the attorney who helped me says.
I eye all of them, keeping my phone tightly in my grip.
"What are you going to do with my phone? Why… What’s happening?" I make sure to address Eugene. If someone’s coming after Achilles, it's him.
"Why are you so worried, Nyx?" he taunts me. "After all, you're the one who's been pretending to like him all along. You built your relationship with him because we told you to. Did you fall for him?"
I lick my trembling lips, trying to put my thoughts together. I know it’s not safe to spell out that I’ve fallen in love with his son. So I stick to smaller words. "I care for him. I don't want him to get hurt. And you…you've hurt him."
His wolfish grin is terrifying, like Achilles's is when he doesn’t care about someone's feelings.
"It's too late to worry about him getting hurt."
My phone is snatched out of my hand, and the second I go to grab it, a hand fists my hair, pulling me back.
"Let go!" I cry out. "I want out of this."
Eugene holds me still as the attorney scans my face to unlock my phone.
"There's no way out," Eugene purrs in my ear. "You owe a debt to the Silent Circle, and we always collect."
I didn't know who they were when I got into this. I just didn't want to get arrested.
"Don't hurt him," I plead, wrapping my fingers around Eugene's wrist to ease the pressure. "Hurt me all you want, but leave him alone, please."
