I looked away in embarrassment.
“Fuck, Prey, don’t tell me you think your pretty face is on the front page! Nah, they wouldn’t let that happen. This is a one-way ticket for you.”
I wanted to call him a liar, but I couldn’t find my voice.
*
I slept better than I had in weeks, deep enough to avoid being tormented by dreams. When I woke up in my new bed, still hurting, I felt a hand stroking my head from behind. I’d managed to make Bo wait earlier, but his patience had clearly run its course. I turned on my stomach with my eyes still closed, waiting for him to pull down my pants and underwear.
Another minute passed, and Bo continued to stroke my head and play with my curls. “If we’re not doing this, I’m going back to sleep.”
He moved closer, his warm breath on the back of my neck. “Ever so eager.”
My eyes shot open, but the rest of my body froze.
“It’s okay,” Eliot said. “Take your time.”
I tried to calm myself down, but all my fears and hopelessness came spilling out, reducing me to a sobbing mess.
Eliot waited quietly until I regained my composure. Once I felt stable enough to face him, I turned around. All I could see were his blue eyes. How many times had I wished to wake up next to him?
“I hate you.”
“I know you do. I wanted to give you time to adjust, but when I heard about your first successful shoot, I came right away.”
“To free me?”
He smiled sympathetically. “No, Jonah.”
“Why are you doing this?”
He sighed and touched my cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”
I wanted to slap his hand away, but his touch was the first gentle thing I’d felt in this place. “You lied to me from the start.”
“I never lied about how special you were to me—still are.”
“I don’t know what to say to you.” Which was ironic, since all I had been thinking about was what I’d tell him, and how I’d make him see reason and release me. Seeing the lack of remorse in his eyes made it clear my pleas would go unanswered. What little hope I still carried was reduced to dust.
“I had tea brought for us,” Eliot said in a lighter tone. “Would you join me?”
My anger ignited at his audacity, but I fought to hold it back. Kicking him out would not help me get more information, and I wouldn’t be able to escape without knowing more about what I was facing.
“Okay,” I said, noticing the faint scent of tea.
We got out of bed and sat by the small table. Eliot elegantly poured tea into our cups—an act of normality that felt ridiculous.
“There you go. It’s mint, just as you like it.”
“I like freedom more.” I took the cup, wanting his conscience to bleed, but I wondered if he even had one.
“I put a stack of books in the drawer next to your bed,” Eliot said. “You haven’t read them yet.”
That statement nearly made me throw the tea in his face. He knew me so well because he’d been studying me for months, gaining my trust until I followed him blindly to my doom.
We drank in silence. I couldn’t stomach looking at his face, but I wasn’t going to get information by staring at his hands. “Are you part of The Society?”
Eliot set down his cup after barely taking a sip. “In a way.”
