“I believe the Club decided to have her removed.”
My blood ran cold. I had a feeling I knew exactly what that meant.
“How often are girls… removed?” I asked in a tremulous voice.
“Not very often. Like I said a minute ago, most adapt quite fast when they realize what they have here.” She gave me a faint smile and set the cake and cordial on the table. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy your treat.”
“Thanks.”
She turned to leave, but then quickly turned back to look at me again, brows knitted. “I, um…” She stopped and cleared her throat, gaze dropping to the table. Then her brows drew together, like she wanted to say something else but thought better of it. “I, er… I forgot to tell you the flavor of the cake. It’s red velvet.”
“Oh. Nice. I love red velvet,” I said softly.
Taisiya nodded once, the motion a little too brisk, and wheeled her cart back out of the room.
For a moment, I just sat there, staring at the neat little plate of cake and the pale purple cordial beside it. After the day I’d had, the idea of enjoying a sweet little treat felt almost surreal.
Finally, I picked up the fork, cutting off a small bite of cake. It was light, rich, and impossibly soft, and for a few seconds, the delicious taste of chocolate and cream cheese drowned everything else out.
I washed it down with a sip of cordial, curious about the flavor. It was floral and delicate, with something faintly citrusy I couldn’t quite place. I took another sip, and then another, letting the cool sweetness chase away the knot in my chest.
Before I was halfway through the glass, the edges of my vision started to blur.
I blinked hard, frowning, my fork clattering onto the plate. A strange heaviness was pressing down behind my eyes, and my limbs suddenly felt sluggish and distant, like they belonged to someone else.
“What the…” My voice came out thick, slurred. I pushed back from the table, gripping the edge to steady myself, but the room swayed violently.
Panic clawed through the fog rapidly setting in.
No.
No, no, no.
The world tilted again, and my shoulder hit the edge of the settee. Somewhere to my right, I heard the faint creak of the door opening yet again.
“Taisiya?” I tried to say, but it came out as a mumble. My head lolled toward the sound. “J-Julian?”
A dark silhouette stepped through the doorway, and a familiar masculine voice echoed through the haze in my mind. “Hello again, Violet. I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
It was Roman. He’d come back for me.
I tried to force my body to move, but my limbs wouldn’t respond. The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was his hazel eyes staring down at me, unblinking and full of intent.
Then everything went black.
29
Julian
I madeit to the estate in record time, my car eating up the road at speeds that would've gotten me arrested if any cops had been around to clock me.
Not that it would've mattered. We owned the local police anyway.
My hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel, my mind racing faster than the engine. Roman's expression after I’d thrown Calista in his face kept replaying in my head. The rage, the shock, the way he looked like I'd physically struck him.
I'd fucked up. Badly.
Now I needed to make sure Violet was safe while I figured out how to contain the situation. If Roman went to the Council before I could convince him otherwise, if he told them I'd been lying for months...
