“That’s correct.”
I raise my hands the way Zia used to. “Mr. Parker kidnapped me and killed someone I love. Why can’t I know what’s happening?”
Eli’s gaze is steely. “Because I say so.”
“But that’s not fair!”
“I decide what’s fair. Go to your room.”
My mouth falls open. He’s sending me to bed like I’m a little girl. “No! I know important stuff. You shouldwantto talk with me.”
“And yet I don’t. Walk to the East Wing or be dragged to the cage,bella. That is your choice.”
I shift my weight sideways, dangerously close to stamping my foot. I don’t know why I can’t let this go, just be grateful that Eli is treating me nicely. But now that I’m here, standing at the steps of Velvet House, I’m furious at being dismissed like a helpless victim. Like the girl I was before. “Let me come to your meeting!”
Bobby winces. “Careful, JJ.”
I ignore him. “I’m not your prisoner anymore,” I tell Eli. “And you just kissed me.”
Eli’s nostrils flare. “And?”
“And you obviously still want to sleep with me. And if I’m old enough to sleep with, I’m old enough to talk to.”
“Je-sus,” Bobby mutters.
Doc gives a low whistle. “Give her to me, Morelli. I’ll deal with her.”
Eli doesn’t do that. Instead, his face relaxes into a smooth blankness that’s even scarier than anger.
He takes a step toward me and the bright morning sunshine seems to dim. “Get upstairs or what Parker planned to do to you will look like a trip to heaven in comparison.”
I should be afraid. Terrified. But up-close Eli’s skin is sallow, and he has shadows under his eyes. I don’t think he’s slept. I’m pretty sure he’s spent the night pacing Velvet House, worrying about the three of us and Adriano. My anger is still thrumming through me, but in the face of Eli’s worry, I give in and turn on my heels.
“Good girl,” Eli says in an icy voice. “Shower and dress appropriately for dinner.”
My anger resurges. I raise my middle finger over my shoulder.
Bobby groans and Doc makes a noise like an angry dog. “Disrespectful, spoiled little…”
“Enough,” Eli barks.
I expect him to come after me, push me to the ground and punish me. But I walk into Velvet House unimpeded, though the skin on the back of my neck tingles.
And what is wrong with all of them?
And what is wrong with me?
Chapter Six
Eli Morelli
The boardroom atVelvet House is located behind the employee quarters. Its fortified walls mean it doubles as a panic room and it’s regularly swept for bugs and recording equipment. I’m the first to arrive. Bobby and Doc requested time to change their clothes and considering their combined scent of cigarette ash, sweat, and fast food, I agreed.
The room has a coffee machine. I make myself a macchiato and find my hands still shaking with rage. Unlike Doc and Bobby, January Whitehall looked like a fresh-faced angel in the morning light, my rubies still around her neck. But the disrespect she showed me… she should have been weeping and begging for my forgiveness, not arguing with me and giving me the finger.
If there weren’t fifty messes to clean up, I’d have the brat in my bedroom and be spanking her until she bruised.
I down my espresso in one. I haven’t slept, I stayed up all night staring at a screen, ensuring the tracking device in the rubies around January’s neck was still live and that she was still safe. My eyes are grainy, and my temper is held back by a thread. True anger is a luxury I can rarely afford, but the last twenty-four hours have stretched me to my limits. When I learned January had been taken by Parker, I was sure she was dead. That man is spiteful to his bones, and I thought Adriano had fucked her before he betrayed us—rendering that beautiful girl worthless in Parker’s eyes. Yet she survived and her virtue is uncorrupted.
