“Let me rephrase my original statement,” he said, voice dripping with dark amusement. “Almosteveryone has a weakness.”
My mind was whirling now. Julian was obviously putting on this macho ‘I’m too cool and alpha to have any weaknesses’act to intimidate me, but his original statement was actually correct. Everyone on this planet had a weakness. Even the coldest, hardest men. So whateverhiswas, I needed to figure it out. From there, I could figure out a way to use it against him in order to break free from captivity.
Unless he was lying about not killing me, in which case that strategy was pointless, because I'd be dead before I ever figured out his weakness.
“I looked into all your friends,” Julian went on. “And Ginny was the obvious choice to get on board. I knew she wouldn’t turn me down in the end.”
“That’s so fucking cruel,” I muttered. “Dangling hope for her sister over her head like that.”
“I’d hardly say I dangled it. I transferred the money the second I finished my conversation with her,” he replied. “Even if I was wrong—which I wasn’t—and she didn’t come through for me in the end, I would’ve let her keep it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“It’s a real fuck-around to get a transaction reversed,” he said, shrugging as if two hundred thousand dollars was no big deal. “Besides, I wasn’t wrong. She came through for me and practically delivered you to me on a silver platter. So I consider it money well spent.”
“I guess you’re used to paying for women, huh?” I muttered.
He glanced at me, brows knitting. “What do you mean?”
“You know I was at that initiation ceremony,” I replied. “I saw what those men do with the girls hired as so-called ‘entertainment’ by the Club.”
“Whatsomeof the men do,” he said. “Not me.”
A strange mix of relief and possessiveness flooded through me. “Really?”
Julian chuckled again. “Yeah, really. Why do you care, anyway? Are you jealous?”
Yes.
“No! Of course not,” I said, face flushing hot again. “I just… I don’t like the idea of women being exploited.”
“Those women aren’t exploited. They’re paid an entire year’s salary for one night of work, which they all consent to doing,” hereplied. “But like I said… it’s not work I’m interested in engaging with. There’s only one woman I’m interested in being eng—” He stopped abruptly and cleared his throat before finishing his sentence. “Engaging with.”
I frowned slightly, my foggy brain trying to catch what he'd almost said, but the thought slipped away before I could grasp it.
The next few minutes passed in silence. My feet hurt. My arms hurt. Everything hurt. But I forced myself to keep moving, to not give Julian the satisfaction of seeing me falter.
Finally, the trees began to thin. Up ahead, I could see the faint glow of headlights. We emerged onto a narrow dirt road where a black SUV sat with the engine running. The driver—a man in a dark suit—stood beside it, professional and expressionless.
“Sir,” he said with a slight nod when he saw us.
“Thanks for coming so promptly,” Julian replied, opening the back door. He looked at me. “Get in.”
I stared at the open door, at the leather interior, at the point of no return.
Once I got in that car, it was real. No more running. No more escaping. Just... whatever came next at the estate. Whatever happened to the captured girls.
“Violet,” Julian said, voice softer now. “Get in the car.”
I wasn’t sure why I obeyed. Maybe because I was too tired to fight anymore. Maybe because some part of me was actually curious about what happened next. Maybe because his hand on my arm was gentle, almost protective, and I was too confused to know what I wanted anymore.
I climbed awkwardly into the back seat, my bound hands making it difficult. Julian slid in beside me, and the driver closed the door behind us.
The interior was warm, quiet. The driver got in the front without a word and started the car. As we pulled away fromthe forest, I watched the trees disappear behind us through the tinted window. Somewhere back there were my friends. The cabin. My failed escape. My old life.
I felt Julian's hand find mine behind my back, his fingers threading through mine.
“I know you don't understand yet. But I promise you, you're going to understand eventually. Why I chose you.”
