She huffs, clearly debating whether her pride is worth her access to the outside world. I let her stew in it for a moment before moving toward her, tilting her chin up with two fingers.
“The police won’t help you,” I murmur, my voice a smooth, dark promise. “They already think you’re responsible for the overdoses. There are eyewitnesses who saw you at the party, and there’s enough evidence to sink you for good. If you try to run, you’ll be running straight into a prison cell.”
Her breath catches, and I see the exact moment the weight of my words crashes down on her.
“I, however,” I continue, my thumb brushing over her jaw, “am your best chance at walking away from this. So, accept that.”
Her lips part, as if she wants to argue, but she doesn’t.Smart girl.
I step back, pulling her phone from my pocket again and placing it on the dresser. “You can have this back now. Congratulations on being reasonable.”
She snatches it up immediately, gripping it like a lifeline, but she doesn’t speak.Who is she even going to tell? Her sister in the UK, who can’t do a damn thing from across the ocean? Or Cami, who might care but has no real power to help?She must realize this too as her shoulders sag, and she lets out a heavy sigh.
I grin, slow and satisfied. “Good girl.”
Then I turn and leave, shutting the door behind me with a quiet click, knowing damn well she’s cursing me under her breath.
Chapter 28
A Gilded Cage is Still a Cage
Violet
The second the door clicks shut behind him, I suck in a breath so hard it burns.
Like my lungs forgot how to work without him in the room.
My hand is clenched around my phone, knuckles white, and thumb hovering uselessly over the screen. I stare at it like it might explode. Or betray me. Or shake again if I look too closely.
Good girl.
The words crawl back up my spine, hot and invasive, settling low in my stomach where they don’t belong.
I hate him.I hate the way he said it—calm, controlled, deliberate. Like he knew. Like heplannedit.
Worse—I hate myself for the way my body reacted.
That traitorous shiver.That heat that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with something I refuse to name.
I shake my head hard, like I can rattle it loose.
Focus. Spiral later.
I pull up Cami’s messages and type fast, not letting myself think.
ME:I’ve been kidnapped.
Her reply hits instantly.
CAMI:WHAT.
Another one beforeI can blink.
CAMI:Where the fuck are you?? Who took you??
My thumbs hover. I glance at the door, half-expecting it to open again. It doesn’t. Still, my chest stays tight.
VIOLET:Asher. I don’t—It’s complicated.
