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Atom’s words pull me out of my sullen thoughts, and a startled laugh comes out of me.

“Is this the part where you demand I service you now? Claim I owe you for the dress you bought and made me wear tonight?”

I didn’t want to come. I don’t want to go anywhere. But I didn’t get a choice, like always. And when Atom told me to get dressed, I had planned to wear the ugliest thing I could find in protest of the Hounds. Not Milly. I actually like her, but since she’s now more Hound than Leone, I dislike her as well by association.

But all my clothes were gone when I went to my room. Everything but this. And the shoes. I was very tempted to just wear what I had on, which was my pajamas, but I had another nightmare last night and sweated through them.

Atom must have cleaned out my shit when I was upstairs eating cereal and watching a Friends rerun.

Fucking bastard.

“Jesus,” he huffs and crosses his arms as if he’s exhausted by me. “You ever going to quit this shit?”

I put my hands on my hips and fire back, “You ever going to let me go?”

His face turns stoic, and he just shakes his head.

I throw my arms out. “Why not? What does having me here, held by you and them”—I gesture to the Hounds inside and no doubt the ones watching on some kind of video surveillance. They seem to be doing extra lately, especially where I’m concerned—“do for you? News flash: The Yakuza won’t pay for a kegare like me. I’m no one to them. And other than my stepsister, who’s only joy in life is fucking over the men in mine, they don’t give a rat’s ass about me.”

He shakes his head again. “Ain’t about them.”

“Then what? What’s it about? Are you guys worried I’ll talk about something I saw or heard with the Hounds? That I’ll spill some state-guarded secret? I promise I won’t. Let me go, and I’ll forget any of you even existed. The state of Kansas, and all of you, will never even cross my lips again.”

“No.”

“Fuck! What’s it going to take for you to let me go?” I pace for a moment, throwing my fingers through my hair as it swishes behind me. It feels odd to have it down for this long. It’s been up for almost three months straight now.

I pause as an idea hits me. I look at Atom and debate if it could be true. If it’s what’s keeping me here.

I walk to him slowly, getting close enough that our chests would bump together if not for his arms being crossed. Instead, my breasts press against his thick forearms. His jaw clenches, just once, and I think I’m on to something.

Carefully, I lift one hand and push his hair away from his face. He keeps it short mostly, but sometimes he goes too long between cuts and the top curls down just enough to get close to obscuring his view. I brush it aside and then keep my hand on his face, running it down his cheek, his throat, and finally resting just above his heart.

“Did you want something else?” I whisper. A shared secret between us, and only us.

I lean in close. He’s taller than me, but with the heels, I only need to arch my neck to kiss his jawline before going up higher on his neck till I reach his ear and the tip of my tongue touches the outside.

“Something you didn’t know how to ask for?” I say huskily into his ear, then pull back to look at his face.

“You can have it.” I get close and kiss his lips. “Just set me free,” I say before kissing him again. I run my tongue along the seam of his lips, but they don’t open. They don’t even kiss me back.

He takes a step back instead.

His anger is clear on his face, but at what, I don’t know. I’m giving him everything I have, which isn’t much, and it’s still not enough to get my freedom.

“You’re impossible,” I say as I push past him and go back inside, anger and embarrassment fueling my movements. A man stepping away after being offered exactly what he wanted… doesn’t make sense.

I get to the bar and order a shot, then another once I toss that one back. I tell the bartender to leave the bottle, and he does.

But I don’t pour myself another one.

Instead, I let the tears slide down my face as I look at the empty glass and listen to the laughter around me and the sounds of happiness. Happiness for everyone but me.

I’m stuck here. Trapped. And I can’t seem to get away.

No one is coming to rescue me. No one even wants me.

Unwillingly, my eyes search for Atom. I know he came back inside, following me as always.