Conflicted relief floods through me for one heartbeat. Even if this is what I came for, I didn't want it to bethem.And of all the times I've dreamed about what it would be like if we met again, if I could ever stop being too terrified to find out if they even still remembered me, I never imagined it would be like this.
"But in return," Kade continues, his voice dripping with menace, "wewant something."
I wait, my heart pounding so loud I'm sure they can all hear it.
Of course they want something.
We're not kids playing Conquest in the dead grass in front of a rusted-out RV anymore. This is the real world, and nothing is free.
Not even the memories.
"What?" The word comes out strangled, but I consider getting anything out of my mouth a victory. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go.
This wasn't howanythingwas supposed to go.
"You. For one year. Starting tonight."
I freeze, staring blankly at Kade.
"What the hell does that mean?" I hear myself asking, but I already know the answer. I can see it in the way Kade's eyes track down my body, the way Jinx shifts in his peripheral vision, the way Cyrus's burning green eyes are locked on me.
Four predators surrounding their prey.
"Exactly what I said." Kade steps closer, and I have to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. "For one year, you belong to us, Princess. Body and soul. You're ours to keep, claim, fuck, and do whatever else we want to—without question or resistance—for one whole year. Starting tonight."
The word 'fuck' hits me like a slap, even though I should have expected it, and in a way, I was. These aren't the boys who blushed when our hands brushed on the playground. These are men who've probably had more women than I want to think about.
"And after that," Kade continues, like he's discussing a business contract instead of my body, "you're free to walk back into your pristine, perfect life. And considering the senator doesn't have any other brats—at least as far asweknow—you'll have plenty of years of freedom to enjoy your delicious inheritance."
Inheritance?
He thinks this is aboutmoney?
He thinks I want Todd dead so I can get my hands on his fortune and live the high life without having to play the perfect daughter anymore?
The accusation stings worse than everything else combined because it tells me exactly what he thinks of me now. I'm not their Ellie anymore. I'm just another rich bitch looking to cash in.
I could always deny it. Could tell them about the bruises Todd's careful to leave where they won't show. Could explain how he controls every aspect of our lives, how he drugs my mother into compliance, how he's threatened to have us both killed in an 'accident' if we ever try to leave or even just embarrass him in front of his constituents and all those flashing cameras that see everything and nothing all at once.
But what's the fucking point? They've already decided who I am. And maybe it's easier this way. Easier to be the villain in their story than to admit I'm just as broken as they are.
"I can't just go missing." My voice sounds steadier than I feel. "I have a life. School. Public appearances. People will notice, and they'll know I had something to do with his death if I vanish right before it happens. It might even tip him off."
Kade's sneer could strip paint. "Oh, we'll cut you a deal, Princess. You can go to school during the day. Let the senator parade you around like the good little doll you are at events." He leans in close enough that I can smell his dark, expensive cologne. He always did have rich taste. "But after hours? You're all ours."
"And then," Cyrus adds coldly, "after the senator's tragic and untimely demise, you'll drop out of university like the good littlegirl you are to comfort your mother. But really, you'll be staying with us until it all blows over. Can't take any chances of you getting a guilty conscience or trying to save your ass by throwing us under the bus."
I look between them, searching for any sign of the boys I used to know. Any sign at all they're still in there, in the bodies of these men.
Jinx won't meet my eyes, studying his rings like they're the most interesting things in the world.
Cyrus watches me like I'm an ant under a microscope.
Tank hasn't moved a muscle or made any kind of sound at all. He just stands there like a stone monument to everything I've lost. A ghost.
And Kade looks at me like I'm both his salvation and his damnation, and he can't decide which he wants more.
No.
