Troy and I have been acquaintances for a long time, and he’s never acted like this before. His pupils are blown, and his handshave a slight shake to them. It’s only in the past few months that he’s changed. Not hanging around as much and when he is, he’s been high on something or drunk, not looking like himself.
“Brielle would never want someone like you, Troy.” I can’t help but laugh, which pisses him off more. He moves until he’s standing toe-to-toe with me.
“She’s going to love me,” he says, voice low and crazed, like it’s already decided. “She wants me, Emris. I can tell by the way she looks at me. How she acts.” His smile stretches too wide, and his eyes are bright with something feverish. “And there’s only one way I’ll be able to keep her.”
He’s fucking lost it.
I step forward, crowding his space. “And how do you think that’s going to happen?” My face is only inches from his now. Troy chuckles, but it’s not full of humor.
“I’m going to do what she said would work,” he says. “But for that to happen, I need to deal with you first.”
It takes me a second to understand what he means. By the time my hand moves for the gun at my waistband, a sharp sting blooms at the side of my neck. I reach up and pull the needle out of my skin—one of mine from down in the basement. That’s why he wanted to help Carson and Raymond. To get to my stuff downstairs.
I look up at Troy, my vision already swimming from the effects of the drugs. Never did I think he’d do something like this. Are Ray and Ash a part of this also? He said he was going to do what she said, andshecan be anyone at this point.
I try to take a step forward, reaching for Troy. Brielle is downstairs and unprotected. I can’t let these drugs take over. I have to fight it, or he’s going to take her.
Troy steps to the side, and I crash to the ground. My hands come out in front of me, and I manage to barely catch myself before my face hits the hard floor.
“You’re pathetic, Emris. But you’ll be the perfect addition for Peter.” He gets down on his knee so he can look me in the eyes. “And this way you’ll be able to watch Brielle become a star for him—and for me. All because you didn’t let her go. You can suffer while you watch me, and countless other men, use her the way we want. You’ll get to watch as I become the hero in her eyes, and watch as I make her beg me to save her. And only then I will. I’ll buy her for myself and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
I can no longer get myself up. My vision goes blurry, and all I can hope for is that Archer or Killian heard his plan. But still, no one is here to protect Brielle. The thought of her being scared and alone is the last thing that goes through my mind as everything goes dark.
40
BRIELLE
I don’t recognizethe woman in front of me anymore. Maybe I never did. When I was all alone, she made herself be who I needed in that moment, but it was all leading up to her selling me.
How many women before Kristie has she done this to? The thought alone makes bile rise in my throat. Understanding washes through me as to why Emris and the guys do this, why it’s their life goal to break this shit up. I know there are personal reasons for each person, and maybe one day I’ll learn more, but for now, all I want to do is make Susie pay for everything she’s done.
I never imagined I’d kill someone, but letting her go free after this doesn’t feel right anymore. So I step back and walk over to Emris’s table, my eyes dragging over all the tools and weird instruments laid out. I have no idea how long he’s going to spend upstairs, but that logical part of my brain is gone, replaced with the need to make Susie hurt. The way all those girls hurt. But nothing on this table feels like enough. She deserves the worst, and my hands might be enough.
The dull light in the basement casts shadows over everything as Susie watches me step closer to her, closer than before.
“You deserve the worst. Far worse than the worst. Everything you did to however many women at this point. Death would be far too easy for you, Susie. So, for now, I’m fine with a little pain. Maybe something new every day. Which will give me the pleasure of watching you die down here slowly.”
When I’m standing in front of her, I watch fear creep into her eyes before she tries to mask it, but I saw it already. She’s scared, and she fucking should be.
I lift my boot-covered foot and slam it into her ribcage. She doesn’t scream, only grunts the first time. When she finally lets out a loud screech, I know I’ve broken something.
“You will pay for this, you dumb bitch!” Susie’s voice is shrill, and it’s as if a weight has lifted from my chest. She fucking deserves this.
“I won’t pay for fucking noth—” I stop mid-sentence as the door to the basement swings open.
Troy descends the steps one at a time, his eyes never breaking away from mine.
“Troy? What—” I begin, but he cuts me off as his feet hit the bottom step.
“Miss me, Brielle? It’s been a while since we’ve hung out. Considering that dumb fuck basically keeps you locked up.” There’s a newfound anger building in his eyes, and I don’t like it.
“Where’s Emris?” I take a step back, creating distance between us. By the look on his face, I don’t feel like he’s on my team anymore, and he confirms that with his next words.
“Knocked out in the back of my car, where you’ll soon join him.” His words hold a threat, but I can’t move past what he said. There’s no way Troy overpowered Emris. No way. But if that’s true, that means he’s not here to help me. It means his threat is real, and I’m in even more danger.
“What do you want, Troy?” I back up until my hands hit the table. I carefully wrap my hand around the handle of a knife.Troy closes the distance between us again, and this time, there’s nowhere for me to go. His strong fingers grip my chin, jerking my face back to his when I try to look away.
“You,” he says, his breath hitting my cheek, and it takes everything in me not to pull back. “You’re all I’ve wanted since the moment I saw you. But all that got fucked up when Peter laid eyes on you. Now he wants you for himself,” he whispers, almost as if talking to himself and not me. His eyes are bloodshot, and his grip on me gets tighter until I wince. “He knows you’ll sell for a pretty penny. But don’t worry, Brielle, I’d never let someone else beat me in a bidding war. I will win. No matter the cost.” When he pulls away, the back of his hand runs down the side of my face. “Then you’ll be mine.” He smiles sincerely. I’ve never given him a reason to think I was interested in him, but I don’t think he cares.
