I wasn’t faking trembling in his arms or the single tear slipping past my lashes. His voice was hypnotic, his eyes full of cold darkness. Even now my nipples ached from his dominating tone.
“Yes, sir.”
Kendrick rubbed his jaw. “Go clean yourself up. You look like shit.”
“Restrooms are on the right down the hall,” Lucifer said.
Kendrick eyed me, knowing instantly that something was wrong. “And you will come right back, Star. I am not in the mood foryour insolence. Do not require me to find you, my lovely slave. You know what happens when you disobey me.”
“Yes, sir. I know.” The others were watching far too closely. I needed air, a little space to try to regroup.
“It took me almost two months to train my main slave,” Franklin stated even before I had a chance to move. His eyes bored into mine, as cold and calculated as I’d ever seen them.
I rushed from the room, bile forming in my throat. How in God’s name had this happened? It wasn’t possible that seeing Franklin was a coincidence. Did he lure my sister into slavery? I tried to piece together the last conversations I’d had with Briana.
What had she said about the modeling? Had she found the site on TikTok herself? My brain couldn’t remember all the details. Too fractured.
Once inside the bathroom, I took gasping breaths, close to hyperventilating. I couldn’t stop shaking, my throat almost completely closed off.
Think. Fucking think.
Just staring at the reflection of the girl in the mirror added to the terror. I was a long way from my classroom and quaint little house. In garish clothes and ridiculous makeup, I no longer recognized myself.
Wait a minute. Oh, my God. A conversation I’d overheard came crashing down on my mind. It had been something Briana had said months before. She had mentioned modeling. She’d been very excited because a powerful man had told her that she would make a perfect model. Not a girlfriend. A man.
When I’d asked, she’d just told me someone she could trust.
Oh. My. God.
Franklin had been grooming her. Had that been what he’d done with me? Only I’d seen through his bullshit, shoving him aside, telling him I’d… Tell my father. I turned on the water, splashing some onto my face. I’d always had a terrible feeling my father had suddenly retired because of what I’d threatened. Close to hyperventilating, I counted to ten, praying my heartrate would slow.
I needed to get control. If I was right, that motherfucker needed to pay. Anger swept through me, colliding with then crushing the fear.
By the time I glanced into the mirror again, the woman I remembered as having a backbone and resolve was staring back at me.
Laughing softly, I pointed my finger at the mirror. “All of you are going down.”
I shouldn’t have been shocked when the moment I opened the door I was dragged into the shadows of the corridor. Even before I was shoved against the wall, fingers were around my throat, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.
A face loomed over me and I didn’t need any light to tell me what I already knew.
Franklin was the monster attacking me.
As soon as he leaned in, I was repulsed by the stench of him. He was wearing the same goddamn aftershave he’d worn all those years ago. When I’d been too young and too naïve to realize what a prick he was.
I caught him off guard when I slammed my fist under his chin, knocking his head back by several inches. Yet his hold on my neck didn’t break.
Exhaling, he grabbed my wrist before I could punch him again. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Reese. You won’t like what happens. I don’t think we need to lean on pretense here. We know each other, but I believe you now fully understand what I’m capable of. Plus, you andDrakeare in a very precarious position. You have no idea how powerful I am.”
“Fuck you. You won’t get away with this.”
“I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. Believe it or not, I don’t want to see you hurt. That’s why I’m going to suggest you stay very quiet. You see, neither you nor Drake Cavanaugh understand the lengths these people will go to so the organization can be protected.”
“Which you’re a part of. Which means you’ll go to whatever lengths you need to keep your special place with the elite.”
He glanced away briefly, checking over his shoulder. “I should have known you’d get mixed up in this, but you need to stay away.”
“Is that a threat?” I touched my collar, taking another picture. When he flipped his gaze to what I was doing, I feared he’d caught me spying on him. He dragged the top of a finger across the edge.
