Maybe he really had meant everything he’d said to her about wanting her. Maybe it had nothing to do with her usefulness.
That was hard for her to believe because her whole life with her brother had been all about what use she offered to him, what he could get out of her. It made sense that she would see Steel the same way, especially given the reason she’d ended up in his clutches and the deal he’d made with her.
But she wanted to be more to someone than just something they could use.
She wanted to be seen just for herself. Wanted to be with someone who would help her figure out who she actually was and what she really wanted out of life.
“Yeah, you do, little ladybug,” Steel told her, but she could no longer remember what she’d said or what that meant.
“Ridge, is he …?”
“I can't see his body,” Lion replied from somewhere close by.
Before any of them could say anything else, the roar of a helicopter cut through the night, and Rose got a sinking feeling in her gut.
“Is that yours?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“No,” Steel replied, voice tight.
“Then it’s Ridge’s. He wasn't in the car when I woke up, he must have gotten away.”
If Ridge wasn't dead, then her deal with Delta Team wasn't over. She was still their prisoner.
Now that she’d betrayed her brother, he was never going to make another arrangement with her. She would be useless to Steel and his team, which meant she was looking at spending the rest of her life as their captive.
A sob burst free, and she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d cried like that.
“Rose.” Sounding panicked, Steel clutched at her as though that could fix whatever was making her cry.
But it couldn’t.
Nothing could.
“She’s just overwhelmed. She has a concussion, let me get an IV in her,” Voodoo said.
“No, she wouldn't cry because she was overwhelmed,” Steel snapped. “Tell me,” he ordered her. “Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it.”
“I f-failed,” she said through her tears. “Ridge isn’t d-dead. I d-didn't fulfil our d-deal so I’m s-still your c-captive.”
“No,” he barked, hard enough that she hiccupped on a sob and fell silent. “You aren't my captive. If you want to leave, then you tell me and I’ll call my boss and ask him to take custody ofyou. He’ll help you work out a plan where you’ll be safe from your brother but still be free to live your life. You are in charge of your own destiny, Rose. Always.”
“But you said I had to stay until we got Ridge.”
“That was before.”
“You said I was yours.”
“And you are. Always will be. But I only want you to stay if you want to stay. I want to own you, but not like that, only because it’s what you want as well. Only you can choose your future, Rose. Only you are the boss of your life, little ladybug.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
January 3rd
3:27 A.M.
Nine days.
