“Help yourself, Grace,” Jonathan urges. “It will help shake off your lingering tiredness and depression from the day.”
“No, thank you.”
“Suit yourself,” he grinds out as I fail to follow his command.
Two suited figures emerge before the table, saving me from Jonathan’s games. The first one is the man from earlier. The second… Holy fuck. No. Eyes the same startling color as mine gaze back at me. A frown forms between his brows as he stares, his gaze dropping to my mouth, down my body, then jerking to the side of my face. What is he looking at? My heart thumps fast in my chest, like a hundred hoofbeats thundering through my body. My brother blinks. Once, twice, and I clock the exact moment it dawns on him who I am. My hand raises, touching the bite that left a permanent indentation at the top of my ear, and I drag my hair over my ear.Fuck.
I need to get out of here. Now.
Chapter Ten
Eleanor
Dark waters run deep.
“James,” Jonathan says. “Meet Grace. Isn’t she something? She’s here with Christopher, and he’s about to show her the wonders of the top floor.”
James swallows as he focuses on Jonathan. A decade might have passed, but I can still read my brother like an open book. Whatever happens on the top floor is bad.
“Do you want me to give her a tour before the main event?” James asks. His voice is neutral like he couldn’t give a rat’s ass if he gave me this tour.Oh, brother, what have they done to you?
Christopher’s hand lands on my thigh in a possessive move, and I grit my teeth as I fight the urge to break his fingers.
“Good idea. I have a little business to discuss with you,” Jonathan says over my head. “No need to bore her with our ramblings.”
I’m ninety-nine percent sure his ramblings are discussing my fate, but I simply glance at James and take another fake sip of champagne.
“Fine, but I am not feeling particularly generous,” Christopher replies. “I’ve not even begun to tire of my latest investment.”
I press my lips together. Lucky me. I’m interesting enough to not sell tonight.
“Everyone has a price,” Jonathan volleys as he slides out of the booth and offers me his hand. I go to grab my clutch, but Christopher snatches it from the seat with a grin as he wiggles it at me.
“I’ll look after this for you. If you want a drink, have them put it on my tab.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you,” I reply, swallowing my revulsion as I place my hand in Jonathan’s. He swipes his thumb over my knuckles as he helps me up. The bump-bump-bump against my bones makes me fight a flinch. Christopher thinks he can keep me here by holding my bag hostage. For most women, that might be enough to make them ignore the whisper of warning worming into their hearts. Me? I’m one hundred percent listening to those alarm bells, and now that I’ve been recognized, I’m on borrowed time. Exiting is the key here. The question is, is my brother about to lead me to my doom? He’s already let me go once, but that was over a decade ago.
A lot can change in that time.
I avoid eye contact with James as he hooks his arm through mine. “Where do you want to see first?” he asks loud enough for the pair of men who think they can toy with women’s lives like they are cattle.
“We didn’t really see the ground floor.”
A slight tremor runs through his body as I speak. He’s rattled, which gives me comfort he’s not about to lead me to my doom.Easy, James, we are still in plain sight.I send a silent prayer to the god I stopped believing in that I can get out of this unscathed. It’s hard to find peace and guidance in a systemthat robbed you of your childhood, your joy, and your mother. Logic tells me it was Jonathan’s twisted interpretation he used to control and dominate with fear and pain, not the actual religious practices of humanity, but distrust settles deep, and it takes a miracle to change the tide.
I can count on one hand the number of people I have some trust in. Uncle Steven, Gail, Fox, and Honor. But they only hold slices of my trust. You can only put your faith in one person in this life. Yourself. Everyone else has their own motivations, needs, twisted justifications, and selfish goals. I don’t think I am built to be with another person. Gail believes differently, hence the homework.
James guides me down the metal staircase toward the bar, saying nothing as the woman serving drinks nods at him.
“What are you having, boss?”
Boss? No fucking way. “Diet Coke for me, and a brandy Coke for the lady.”
She makes the drinks quickly before sliding them to us. Her gaze traces my features, and her jaw tics. She knows. She hates it, but she knows. Perhaps she’s as trapped here as the women being sold? She turns away and takes the next order. James’s shoulder bumps into mine, shielding us from the rest of the club as he swaps the identical glasses around, picking up the brandy and coke. Okay…
I grab his drink, then turn to the club to survey it more closely. I try focusing on the various exit points and analyze the most logical route out of here, but I’m too flustered with being dropped into Jonathan’s lap and seeing my brother.
“In a few minutes, I’m going to lead you clockwise around the edge of the club. The third hallway leads to an exit. Take it, grab a cab, get the fuck out of Florida, Eleanor, then fucking hide.”
