by Sadie Carter
“What happened?” Dex asked.
“I was at Maxwell’s home. It was this large estate out of the city. Normally, he would visit me at my apartment. Well, his apartment, since he paid for it. God, I was so naïve not to realize I was his mistress.”
“Mistress?” Dex asked.
“Uh, it doesn’t matter.” She wasn’t going to explain what a mistress was if they didn’t know. Not that they couldn’t easily find out, but she didn’t have to be the one to lay it out for them.
“Because you were too sweet to realize what a jerk he was. He lied and manipulated you, Sophie,” Rich told her.
“Only because I let him. Because I was too weak. Too trusting. Saffron is right. I’m naïve. I need to harden up. Be tougher.”
Toriq reached over and placed his hand over hers. She turned to him, surprised. “Remember what I said about speaking badly of yourself.”
“Am I putting myself down if I’m telling the truth?” she replied bitterly. “I was a fool to believe him.”
“I am not him.”
No. He wasn’t. And it wasn’t his fault that Maxwell had been such an asshole to her. It wasn’t fair to tar him with the same brush.
“No, you certainly aren’t. Um, sorry,” she said, remembering they had an audience. “Where was I? Oh yep, I was at his estate. Like a small weekend break. His grandfather turned up, which was pretty unusual. As I was walking down the passage, I overhead them talking in Maxwell’s office. The door was slightly ajar. I heard Rich’s name, so I moved closer to eavesdrop.” She licked her dry lips.
“The high-councillor was saying that Rich was becoming a nuisance and that he was getting too close to discovering the truth about the money. That’s all he said, so I don’t know what money or what he was doing with it. Maxwell offered to have him killed. I was so shocked by those words, how casually they both talked about taking Rich’s life. Suddenly I didn’t even know who Maxwell was. He certainly wasn’t the man I first met. The man who bought me flowers and went for walks on the beach with me. Who told me he wanted to take his time and get to know me before we moved on to sleeping together. He wasn’t the man who was so gentle and kind and understanding. He was a killer. And I didn’t know when he’d changed. Or maybe he never did. Maybe he was always that man, and I never saw it.”
“What did you do after you heard that?” Dex asked.
“I turned to walk away. I knew I had to warn Rich. I was kind of in a panic. Then I heard my name.” She glanced down at her lap, feeling the old familiar feelings of shame rise. “His grandfather asked Maxwell what he was going to do about me now that he was seeing Alicia. That Maxwell should get rid of me before Alicia or her family found out. Maxwell argued that Alicia would never find out about me. That I was happy to just stay at home and wait around for him to come fuck me.”
She laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “I almost couldn’t move, I was so shocked. I thought he was going to marry me. When all he wanted was…”
“Did you confront him?” Dex asked.
“No.” She fought back the tears. “Confrontations aren’t really my thing. I’m a wimp at heart. I prefer to keep everyone happy. So I ran to my room. I was hyperventilating, panicking. I didn’t know what to do. Then I thought about what they’d said about Rich. I had Rich’s number saved on my phone, so I called him and told him what I overheard. Warned him that they were planning on killing them.”
“When I received Sophie’s call, I thought they wouldn’t dare to have me killed. Then I remembered my father. My very healthy, robust father who supposedly died of a heart attack on his way to confront High-Councillor Duncan about embezzling council funds.” Rich tightened his hands into fists. “I’m sure my father must have had proof, but I never found it.”
“You think High-Councillor Duncan killed him?” Dex asked.
“Yes.” Rich turned away again.
Sophie stared at him for a moment before turning back to Dex. “I told Maxwell I wasn’t feeling well. That I had some sort of stomach bug and perhaps it was best I left before I passed the illness onto him. He was kind of a germaphobe so he couldn’t wait to get away.”
“He let you leave, on your own, while you were ill?” Toriq asked.
“Well, I wasn’t actually ill. But yes, he did. He never stuck around when I was sick, why?” she asked Toriq.
“He should have cared for you. He should have been there to take care of you.”
“Taking care of others isn’t his thing. That’s what he had me for, to take care of him. When I got home, I called Saffron and told her what I’d heard. She was spitting mad. She wanted to come and get me immediately, but she lived five hours away. I calmed her down, told her to finish out her day at work that I’d come to her. I started packing my bags. I didn’t take much. Some clothes and toiletries. I hired a car and drove to where Saffron lived.
“I never guessed that he’d follow me.”
“Asshole,” Rich muttered, turning back to look at them. “I’d been growing concerned about Annabel, so I decided it might be a good idea to get away for a bit and check up on her. I asked Sophie to come with me.”
Sophie shook her head. “I couldn’t leave. My sister is the only family I have. Maxwell called me a few times, but I didn’t answer, I got a new phone, I stayed inside and kept to myself. I was starting to think that he might just let me go when he turned up a few weeks after I left. Saffron was at work. I opened the door without looking who it was. So stupid. He stormed inside. He was so mad.” She shook at the memory.
“You do not have to speak of this if you do not wish to,” Toriq told her. She gazed up into his face, he looked so stern and unreadable, but she could see the tension in his jaw, the way he held himself tightly.
“Thanks, but it kind of feeds into why I’m here. He told me I was coming back with him. I told him no. You should have seen his face. You’d think no one had told him no before.”
“They probably hadn’t. Spoiled bastard,” Rich said.
“No. I guess not. When I told him no, he erupted. He slapped me.” She could still feel the shock, the way her skin had stung. But it wasn’t the physical pain that hurt most, it was the surprise that someone could hurt her that way. Someone who had told her they loved her.
“He hurt you?” Toriq’s voice was a low rumble. She could almost feel the deadly menace roll across her skin.
“He struck me a few times when I refused to leave with him. He told me that he owned me. That he’d bought and paid for me. Like I was a thing. I told him it was over. I knew about Alicia. I wasn’t going to be his mistress . He said I already was.”
“How did you get away?” Dex asked.
“Saffron. She came home to have lunch with me, saw his car outside, and snuck up behind him and hit him on the head with the spade she’d grabbed from the garage. He collapsed, we quickly packed up some stuff and left. I knew we couldn’t run forever, though, so I called Rich again. Told him we needed help, that I’d do whatever he wanted if he helped us. He arranged for protection and a hiding spot until the next transporter left for Zerconia. Rich wanted us to keep our relationship with him a secret, so I never told Alice, even when I found out they were cousins.
“We stuck to ourselves for the trip, too scared to spend much time with the other women in case one of them knew Maxwell or us. I mean, that was a long shot, but we were feeling paranoid. I stayed in our room most of the trip. Well, I spent most of my time worshipping the porcelain god.”
“Who? One of your gods?” Toriq asked.
“Oh, no, it’s another name for a toilet.”
“You were ill?” he asked with a frown
“Morning sickness. Except it was all day sickness. Man, I was glad when that first trimester ended and the morning sickness disappeared. It was not fun.”
“Maxwell is the father of your baby?” Dex asked.
She tensed. “Yes. But he doesn’t know about the baby. I didn’t discover I was pregnant until I was on the transporter
and my morning sickness started. I thought I’d missed a period due to stress. Saff managed to sneak a pregnancy test out of medical for me. He can’t ever know.”
“You think he would hurt you? The baby?” Toriq asked.
“I think he would eliminate anyone he considered a threat to his life. His father died when he was young, and his grandfather raised him and his sisters. Maxwell is ambitious, and he’s ruthless. I have to protect my baby from him.”
“No,” Toriq said.
No? He thought she should tell Maxwell about the baby? Maybe give him the baby? Toriq hadn’t mentioned how he felt about her pregnancy and she’d been too much of a wimp to ask. But she should have. Because mate or not, she couldn’t be with him if he couldn’t accept her baby.
He studied her. “You do not protect the baby. I do. I protect you and him.”
“Really? You’re not upset that I’m carrying another man’s baby?”
His eyes softened as he stared down at her belly. Warmth filled her. “He is mine. He became mine when I mated you.”
She blinked away tears. It wasn’t every man who would accept another man’s baby as his own. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Rich snorted. “Sweet. Right. These guys are about as sweet as salty licorice. That stuff always makes me vomit.”
“What exactly is it that Rich gets from your arrangement?” Dex asked.
“You do not owe him anything,” Moroco added. “He helped you, but you also warned him that they planned to murder him.”
Rich glared at them all.
“Rich helped me. I’m going to help him.”
“Only if helping him does not put you at risk,” Toriq warned.
She bit back her argument. She intended to help Rich, no matter what anyone else thought. Toriq and her sister included. But perhaps here was not the best place to argue that point.
“My people have been gathering information about Maxwell and Duncan. As soon as all my ducks are in a row, I’m going to go back, and I’m going to crucify those bastards.”
“And how does Sophie help with this?” Toriq asked.
“Rich needs me to testify against Maxwell.”
“No.”
She glanced up at Toriq. “That’s it? Just no?”
“Yes. No.”
“Um, Toriq, I already promised to do it.”
“You will not. You are not leaving Zerconia. You are pregnant, you need rest. You need a calm environment. Even if you were not pregnant, the answer would be no. It is too dangerous.”
She dared lean over and rest her face against his arm. He stiffened but didn’t shift away or push her off him. They were making progress. She got the feeling he wasn’t used to being touched, or maybe he didn’t like it much.
Sophie needed touch, she craved it—especially from Toriq. She blushed. And she wasn’t just talking about a hug. She wouldn’t mind him touching her elsewhere. Her nipples tingled, her clit throbbed at the thought of having him kiss and caress her sensitive skin.
“Thanks for worrying about me, but I don’t have to go anywhere to testify. I can do it from here.”
“I do not like it. He will know where you are.”
“Maxwell can’t get to me here. Besides, we can probably keep him from knowing where I am.”
Rich shook his head. “You’ll need to give an address to the assembly. And you cannot lie.”
Nerves tightened her stomach. But it would be okay. He was a long way away.
“I will not let him touch you again,” Toriq vowed.
She smiled at him. “I know you won’t. I’m safe here. For someone like me, that’s an amazing feeling.”
“Someone like you?”
She bit her lip, not wanting to reveal more. Not here. Exhaustion washed over her, and she closed her eyes briefly.
“So you see, Sophie isn’t part of Humans for Humans,” Rich stated. “She was on that transporter because of me. I told her and Saffron that it would be best if they didn’t mention they knew me. I knew you guys weren’t that fond of me and I wasn’t sure you’d let them come here if they weren’t searching for mates.”
She opened her eyes to find Dex tapping his fingers against his thigh, looking thoughtful. God, she’d almost forgotten why they’d all gathered here. They thought her a spy.
“I’ve never spied on you. I wouldn’t. I’m so grateful to you for giving Saffron and me somewhere to escape to. And I care about Zoey. I couldn’t be a part of anything that might hurt her.”
Dex’s eyes darkened. “I believe you. Which means the person that accused you is lying. The question is, why.”
“Maybe it’s a pre-emptive strike,” Rich suggested. “They’re actually the guilty party and were worried you guys would find out, so they decided to set Sophie up.”
“Why me?” Sophie groaned, rubbing at her temples.
“I wish to question them,” Toriq suddenly demanded.
Dex studied him then Sophie. “I think you would be better served caring for your mate. She looks tired. And pale.”
Moroco stood and moved over to her, taking her hand in his. Sharp pricks, like needles, raced up her skin. “Ouch.” She snapped her hand back. “That hurt.”
Moroco looked over at Toriq. “You have not completed the mating?” There was disbelief and something else in his voice, a reprimand maybe?
Had he seriously just asked Toriq if they’d had sex? Holy hell.
“We only mated yesterday. She is human. And pregnant.”
Sheesh, if they kept saying pregnant like it was some sort of disease then she was totally going to lose her shit.
“If I found my mate, I would mate her immediately so there would be no doubt she was mine,” Moroco told him. “And so that neither of us would suffer.”
“Is that why your touch hurts? Because we haven’t…ahh…” she trailed off, knowing her cheeks were bright red.
Dex leaned forward. “Your bodies want you to complete the mating. To join. The longer you leave the mating, the worse the symptoms grow. The more your body becomes aroused, the more another’s touch will give you pain.”
Oh hell, why had she let this conversation continue on? This was beyond embarrassing.
“And Toriq will become more volatile. Less able to control his temper,” Koran added.
Toriq? Volatile? Seriously?
Toriq scowled at Koran. “You will not scare her.”
Koran shook his head. “She needs to know.”
“She needs time. Come, Sophie. You need to rest. The questions are over.”
“I don’t know why you will not take a command role permanently,” Koran sighed. “You certainly enjoy giving orders, even when you should not.”
Was he threatening Toriq? Sophie stood and moved in front of her mate. “He is only defending me.”
Koran stared at her with those cold eyes of his. “It seems you have a champion, Toriq.”
“Sophie.” He eased her gently behind him. “You do not stand in front of me, mate.”
Hurt filled her. But he turned and gave her a small smile. “Come. It is time to go. You are tired.”
“Have you taken your vitamin drink?” Moroco asked.
“Yes. It tastes disgusting. Did you make it so awful on purpose?” She eyed him.
“Of course not,” he replied. “It is good for you.”
“It tastes like compost.”
“I do not know what this compost is, but I am happy to put it into suppository form for you to take. Perhaps Toriq could help with that. It could be a bonding experience.”
“You’re a real sadist, you know that, right?”
Moroco just smiled. It only made him look more evil.
Chapter Eleven
Toriq was fighting his protective needs, which screamed at him to grab Sophie and take her somewhere safe, somewhere they’d never be found.
He breathed deeply, trying to get himself under control.
As they entered his living accommodatio
ns, she turned to him. Her shoulders were tense, her face pale. None of this stress was healthy for her or the baby.
“Toriq, I just wanted to say, I guess, well, I’m sorry you had to hear all of that in front of everybody else.”
“That was not your fault.” He would admit, he had not liked having everyone there as a witness as she spoke of her past.
“No, but, it can’t have been easy. I wouldn’t like to hear about your ex-girlfriend in front of other people.”
“I have no ex-girlfriend.”
“Oh, you guys don’t do the whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing I guess? But what aboutoh, never mind.”
He wondered at her bright cheeks. “Sometimes we engage in relationships with females who are not our mates. But I have not.”
“Why not?”
Because females were too scared of him. The only females he’d had sex with were at the academy.
“I had no wish to.” He felt bad about the lie but did not wish Sophie to think badly of him. “You should lie down.”
“I’m too wired. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Then lie down and just rest.”
“I’m not an invalid, you know. I’m not sick.” There was temper in her voice. Had he offended her? “Sorry, I don’t mean to snap. It’s just the way you guys talk about pregnancy, it’s like it’s a disease. I’m not weak. I may have made terrible decisions, but I’m determined to be better. Stronger.”
“I do not see you as weak.” No, he saw her strength. But being pregnant meant she needed greater care.
“No? Then how did I end up with Maxwell? I mean, I knew something was wrong with our relationship, but I didn’t get up the nerve to leave until it was shoved in my face.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, sensing her need to speak of it. Toriq could not speak of the demons that haunted him, but he could help Sophie expel hers.
“There were signs. Warnings I should have taken heed of. Like the way he never wanted to take me anywhere. He used to say he wanted me to himself. But it wasn’t the way a normal relationship is conducted. If you’re in a relationship with someone, if you care about them, you want other people to know you’re with them, right?”
