“Why were you allowed to get to know them if their father was so protective?” There was a closeness between Kayla and Ethan, and I cared to understand. I didn’t really know why I cared beyond wanting to make sure he knew to stay away from what was mine.
“Because he knew my father. This isn’t important to understanding her.” Ethan glanced toward the doorway.
His denial made it important. “I didn’t ask you to decide what was important. I asked you to tell me everything.”
“I already told you, we grew up together. Her dad liked me for her because she liked me.”
“Yet you left.” I might have been throwing salt on a wound, but he’d left for a reason. He hadn’t truly wanted her. If he had he would have waited. “And her sister is really her sister? Her mother had two children? Two girls?”
“Yes. And a boy.” Ethan nodded. “They have a younger brother. He’s still a kid really.”
“Three children? That’s impossible.” Three children. That was unheard of.
“Not for her family,” he mumbled.
“What are you implying?” A stray thought crossed my mind. Could Kayla be even more valuable than I imagined? And in more danger?
“I’m not implying anything.” Ethan looked away.
“You are.” I strode over to where he sat. “Out with it.”
He looked up and met my eyes. “Did she tell you the truth about her sister yet?”
“The truth?” Pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place, but I needed to know for sure.
“Forget it. I’ll let her tell you.” Ethan sighed. “This is a mess already.”
“No.” I sent him a look I hoped served as enough of a warning. I didn’t particularly want to resort to violence again. “You will tell me. And you will tell me now.”
He buried his head in his hand. “I’m only hurting her more. I never wanted to hurt her.”
“You hurt her the moment you left the Rurals. You know that. Your regret has nothing to do with the hurt you caused though, so don’t pretend.” The sooner he accepted that the better for all of us. I wasn’t going to allow him to wallow in self-pity. Not in my club.
He looked up at me. “You’re a bastard, you know that?”
“Of course I’m a bastard. Who the hell isn’t anymore?” I knew he didn’t mean it literally, but it was true. Then I realized something. “Besides you. You had a family. You had a family, and you had the chance for a wife yet you walked away. You’re an idiot.”
“I’m well aware of that.” He looked down at the floor.
“I’ll never understand your decision.” Even if he didn’t truly care for her, how could he have give up the chance most men would have given anything for?
“Does it matter?” He composed himself.
“No.” I shook my head. “So tell me. What hasn’t she told me about her sister?”
“It’s where she is.” He stretched out his legs.
“She wasn’t kidnapped by the Reine?” Was any of Kayla’s story true? I knew she was hiding something, but I hadn’t sensed outright lies. I was good at sensing them. It was part of my job.
Ethan straightened in his chair. “She was taken by traders—but. I might as well tell you. I told Kayla she was crazy to think you could help.”
“Tell me.” And I could help. Possibly. I might not have cared before, but I did now.
“The traders sold her sister to Central.”
“To Central? But there’s only one reason to do that.” My hunch had been right. Kayla was worth more and in a whole lot more danger.
“Exactly.” He met my eye, telling me I was right.
“They assume she’s a breeder?” Then why hadn’t they taken Kayla there too? I couldn’t imagine she’d escaped.
“They know it.” Ethan looked up at the ceiling. “And that is why there is no chance you can help her. Quinn isn’t getting out.”
They knew she was a breeder? That could only mean one thing. Her sister had a child. That explained so much. “So her son is in the system now?” That was a plight I knew.
“Looks like it, and Kayla is crazy enough to think she can get Quinn and the kid out.”
“That’s not crazy. It’s desperate.” Though desperation and craziness looked very similar.
“Are they really all that different?”
I shook my head. “Not in this case. Not in this case at all.”
“What are you going to do?” Ethan wrung his hands. “What are you going to do with Kayla?”
“I’m not going to do anything with her. The problem is I can’t help her.”
“And that’s going to be a real problem. Kayla isn’t going to take it well.”
“I’m not giving up yet.” I hesitated before leaving the room. “And it goes without saying all of this stays in this room.”
“Of course.” He nodded.
“I may need to speak with you on this again.”
“You’re the boss, Mason.”
“And it would be good for you to remember that.” I left the room without glancing behind me.
Chapter 16
Kayla
“Kayla.” A male voice spoke my name lightly.
The voice broke into the end of a good dream I was holding onto, and it took me a minute to realize someone was shaking me.
I opened my eyes and sat up. “Mason?” I blinked, trying to get used to the dark room.
He sat next to me on the edge of the bed. “Sorry to wake you, but I didn’t want the food to get cold.” He was being nice, but I knew it could be a trap. Everyone wanted something, and there was no way he was going to help me without expecting something in return.
“Oh. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Like the rest of the club, Mason’s room had no windows. There were plenty of lights, but they were all artificial. I longed for the rays of the sun or the moon. Anything real.
“It’s not a bad thing. Besides, what else could I have expected keeping you in here all day?” There was a note of apology in his voice that surprised me.
If he was feeling bad, I might as well use it to my advantage. “When do I start my job?” I needed to get out of that room. Whether he was ready to talk about Quinn or not, I needed to move around. And if he wasn’t going to help me, I needed an escape route. I wasn’t giving up on helping Quinn and Bailey. I’d never give up on that.
“You don’t have to work.” He rested a hand on my arm right over the Cording. The long sleeve shirt covered the markings, but he knew exactly where they were.
I’d never changed. I hoped he didn’t read into it. None of the other clothes appeared as comfortable as the oversized shirt. The materials were also so different from what I was used to. I missed the simplicity of cotton. “All members of the club work. I’m a member now.”
“I know you are.” He shifted closer to me. “But you don’t have to work.”
“I want to.” I needed to. I couldn’t sit there any longer. It only reminded me that I was a prisoner.
“Are you still interested in the Hydros?” He watched me, studying my face more than warranted by his question.
I nodded. “Yes. I know a lot about farming. I’m not used to the advanced methods you use here, but I’m a fast learner.”
“You really want to work down on the Hydros floor?” He studied my face as if searching for a punchline to a joke.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“You can start tomorrow. I’ll take you down there after breakfast.” He nodded.
I put a hand to my chest, surprised by his reply. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He returned his hand to my arm. “Are you ready for dinner?”
“Are you ready to talk about my sister?” I accepted the outstretched hand he offered and stood up. If he was so willing to give in on the work, maybe he’d be more willing to talk about our deal.
“Yes. But I want to show you something first, and then we need to eat.” His tone left little
room to argue. He pushed open the doors that separated the bedroom from the other rooms in the suite. He led me into the small office he’d pointed out on my first day.
“I’m not sure if you’ve read these, but they’re what I could find.” He gestured to a pile of paperback books.
“You got me books?” I flipped through the pile of unfamiliar titles. By the color illustrations on the covers, these were far sexier than the ones my mom left us.
“You made it sound like books were important to you.”
“That was…” I trailed off, still trying to understand his motivation. Why did it matter what I wanted? Making me happy wasn’t part of the deal. Unless… “You aren’t trying to distract me, are you?”
“Of course not.” He flipped through the books. “I want to make you happy.”
I asked the obvious question. “Why?”
“I don’t know.” His honest words resonated with me.
“You know what you can do to really make me happy.” I looked right into his eyes, needing him to know how important it was to me.
“I’m going to do what I said I would. You have to give me time; let me do it my way.”
“You promised—”
“We have a deal, Kayla. You uphold your end. I’ll uphold mine.” He put his hands on his hips. “But we need to be honest with one another.”
“Ok.” I bit my lip. Was he implying something with his words?
“Have you been completely honest with me?” His eyes bore into mine. “Please tell me the truth, Kayla.”
I hated the way he said my name. It was too velvety. Too possessive. I looked down.
“Kayla.” He removed his hand from my hip and instead cupped my chin. “Have you told me everything?”
He knew something. He knew something he hadn’t known when he left that morning, and there was only one way he would have.
“You’ve spoken with Ethan.” I shouldn’t have been surprised Ethan had given the information up. His loyalty lay with Mason and the club. It didn’t lie with me. And to be fair neither did mine. I wasn’t at the club because I wanted Ethan. I was there because he was my only hope. A last resort. With that realization I swallowed my hurt. I had no right to it.
Mason nodded. “I have.”
“So you already know the answer to your question.” I waited nervously. Why did he bring me books if he was mad about me hiding the truth?
“I want to hear it from you.” He moved his hands to my shoulders. “I run this club, Kayla, and I expect complete obedience from everyone. I am willing to overlook this one occasion because I understand you came here under significant stress.”
“Did Ethan tell you?” I needed to know. Did he still plan to help me?
“I want you to tell me. I want you to tell me everything, or all bets are off.” He tightened his hold on my shoulders.
“But you told me if I upheld my end of—”
“How can I be expected to uphold anything if you lie to me?” He ran his hand down my neck. “Tell me that, Kayla.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“Tell me now. Tell me before I have to drag it out of you.” His eyes were kind despite his darker tone.
He already knew. I had no doubt about that, so it was time to come clean. “My sister has been sold to Central.”
“Isn’t there something else you want to say?” His hand slipped down my arm.
“My sister and her child.”
“Your sister and her son. Isn’t that important information to have given me?”
Her son. Of course, that was all Ethan knew. I had to make a split second decision. “You told me to tell you everything.”
“Yes.” He leaned in.
“Then you should know the truth about her child.”
“What about him?”
“That’s the thing.” I struggled to swallow. My throat felt like it was closing in.
“What is?”
I let out a slow deep breath. “It’s not a him. It’s a her.”
His eyes widened.. “Kayla… are you telling me that your sister has a…”
“A daughter, yes.”
He said nothing for a moment. He just stared at me. “There is absolutely no way we’re getting her out of Central. No amount of money I could offer would have them giving up a breeder like that. She had a girl all on her own?”
“Well, not on her own.” I felt a blush crawl up to her cheeks.
“I realize how procreation works, Kayla.” His hand returned to my hip. “I mean without the aid of Central. She is so rare. She’s so important. She should stay there. Even if I could get her out… she needs to survive.”
“She can survive elsewhere. She would be better off,” I pleaded.
“And all of this means you may be a breeder too. You may hold the same abilities.” His voice lilted.
“Then you plan to sell me to them too?” Maybe that was my only way in. He’d sell me in, and I’d find Quinn and Bailey. It could work. At least we’d be together again.
He shook his head. “Not a chance. You belong to me.”
“Then what does this mean?” I stayed as calm as I could even though my impulse was to run.
“I don’t know yet.” He tightened his hold on my hips. “But I assure you that it doesn’t change our arrangement.”
“So you’ll still try to save them?”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure that’s possible.”
“Then how does our arrangement still stand?” I mustered all the confidence I could. “I only agreed to the Cording so you would help my sister.”
“But you lied to me, Kayla.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t lie.”
“You led me to believe your sister was sold to the Reine. Instead she’d being held by Central because she’s a breeder. A breeder of girls.”
“She’s still in danger.” I shivered.
“No. She’s safe. They wouldn’t hurt her.”
“Of course they’ll hurt her.” I wasn’t being careful anymore. What else did I have to lose? “They don’t view her as a person. They view her as a breeder. Just like you, huh? You view girls the same way. You don’t think of me as a person either.”
“Why would you say that?’ Mason’s eyes darkened. “Have I done anything to show you that?”
“I’m only here to help them. I don’t care about anything else. If you can’t help, I beg of you, please let me leave.”
“Let you leave?” Mason startled. “Why? So you can be kidnapped? Why should I give you up?”
“Because you don’t want me anyhow. You can let me go, and blame it on me. You can Cord another.”
“I don’t want you?” His lips twisted into a frightening smile. “Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know what to think. All I care about is saving my sister and niece.”
“Do you realize how hard last night was for me?” Mason’s arms slipped around me. “How hard it was to sleep beside you and leave you to rest?”
“How would I know how hard it was? You did it.”
“I did it to be respectful. I did it because you were afraid, and I didn’t want you to look at me with fear in your eyes. Maybe I was naive, but I hoped. I hoped I could make you want to be with me.” I forced myself to maintain eye contact even though his stare frightened me. “But I get it now. That would be impossible. You are single-minded in your wants.”
“You say that as though it were bad. I am on a quest to save my family. What could be more important?”
“You are allowed to want for yourself.”
“And you think I could want this?” I gestured at the room.
“Is there more you want?” He narrowed his eyes. “Luxuries not available?”
“No.” I tried to pull away from his arms, but he held on tight. “I want freedom. I want the right to live the way I want to live. I’m tired of hiding.”
“You don’t have to hide here.”
“Yet I’
ve spent the entire day hiding.” Maybe I wasn’t afraid of traders, but I was afraid of everything else. And I was afraid for my family.
“You may start in the Hydros tomorrow.”
“And what of my sister? And Bailey?” I knew there was desperation in my voice, and I didn’t care.
His lips pressed into a firm line. “I need time to come up with a plan.”
“You are going to try?”
“Despite how idiotic I am to do so, I will.”
“Why?” I asked with genuine curiosity. I didn’t understand the man before me.
“Because I gave my word.” He ran his hand down my back.
“Oh.”
His eyes locked on mine. “You’re not afraid of me right now.”
“I’m done being afraid. Fear has never helped me.”
“Good.” He leaned forward and crushed his lips into mine. I froze, unsure of what to do. I couldn’t push him away—and I found I didn’t want to. The sensation was hard, foreign, but also exciting and pleasurable. I closed my eyes.
He stepped back and released me. “Our dinner will be getting cold.”
“You still wish to eat?” I struggled to push away the kiss. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Yes. And I want you to as well. I’ve gotten rid of the fear from your eyes, but you’re still unhappy.”
“I’m going to be unhappy until I have Quinn and Bailey.”
“I’ll be working on it.” He walked out of the room, and I followed, still trying to make sense of what had just transpired between us.
Chapter 17
Mason
I had lost my mind. If I wasn’t careful I was going to lose everything else I’d worked for, but the girl had the ability to make me do and say things I normally never would. I was in charge for a reason. I was ruthless when I needed to be. I kept everyone in their place to ensure things ran smoothly. I commanded respect from everyone—yet this girl—this beautiful girl with the haunting eyes had the ability to completely unnerve me.
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