by Ella Miles
I stare at Beckett as panic consumes me. “I’m sorry.”
He frowns. “Ri?”
And then I jump up and run toward the house. I run from Beckett. I run from my fear.
But in a second, both have caught up to me.
16
Beckett
“Ri?!”
She jumps up and starts running down the dock away from me.
What the hell?
I thought we finally had a breakthrough. I thought she was ready to talk. I was sure after spending the night with Caius that his good heart and stories of Odette would have softened her. Once she knew it wasn’t just me that missed Odette, I thought Ri would want to make a deal with me.
What changed her mind?
I start running after her while searching for any signs of someone who might have spooked Ri, but I don’t hear or see anyone.
“Ri!” I shout as I catch up to her.
She stops and turns to face me like she doesn’t even know what she’s doing.
“What’s going on? What happened back there?” I point over my shoulder with my thumb, completely not following her actions.
She purses her lips as her chest rises and falls hard like she just ran a marathon instead of fifty feet.
I feel my rage rising, but I push it back down. I have to be gentle with her.
“Tell me what’s going on…please,” my voice breaks when I say please. Every second that Odette is gone is another second I might not get her back. As much as I’m not sure where my relationship with Odette stands, I know one thing hasn’t changed—I love her. I can’t lose her.
Ri looks at the fear of losing Odette in my eyes, and I see tears in her own. I reach my hand out to her. She takes it without thinking. This is it—the moment when she finally tells me.
But she doesn’t speak. She just gasps like there isn’t enough oxygen in the world.
“I’ll protect you from your father. I’ll protect you from everyone. I’ll owe you the rest of my life if you help me get Odette back. I’ll kill for you. I’ll make sure you’re safe, forever.” This time I mean my promise.
Ri opens her mouth, and I nod my head, encouraging her to speak. She glances down at our hands, and in that moment, something changes. She releases my hand.
“I’m sorry.” Once again, she’s running.
“Dammit.” I run after her.
I expect her to dart into the woods, to try to find a way to escape, but instead, she heads back into the cabin. Maybe she thinks Caius or one of the other guys will help her like they did before?
I chase her inside, and Ri stops suddenly in the living room. She seems to have no idea what her next move is, just that she has to get away from me.
I’m not letting her get away again. I’m tired of games.
I jump, tackling her onto the couch.
“What are you doing?! Get off of me!” Ri shouts, wiggling beneath me as I fight to pin her hands over her head. Finally, I succeed.
She snarls at me.
“There she is. I thought Ri left and a ghost must have entered your body, but there’s the fight I expect. I thought we could do this in a civilized way with a mutual agreement that works for both of us. But if you prefer the hard way, that’s fine with me.”
She tries to buck me off of her while trying to get her wrists out of my grasp, but I’m not letting her go until she tells me what she knows.
“You know something. Were you in on the plan to kidnap Odette? Is that why you’re afraid?”
“Go to hell!”
“Tell me where Odette is!” I growl.
She looks at me with defiance. Finally, I realize what I’ve refused to believe this entire time. Ri won’t tell me anything with gentle persuasion, not to save her own life, not to avoid torture.
This isn’t the way. I have to find another.
I need to find out if she loves someone I can threaten. Or I need to figure out how to get her father to make a trade with me.
I grip her wrists harder, and my body pushes harder into hers until I know her back is crushing into the couch.
She winces only slightly.
“Do you hate your father?”
She frowns.
“Answer me.” I jerk into her body.
“Yes, I hate my father.”
“Why?”
“He’s a cruel man.”
I nod. “But you’re not. Tell me…” my lips linger over hers, trying everything possible to get her to tell me how to save my wife.
She licks her lips and continues to breathe harder, her throat tightening as she swallows. My body hardens over hers, but it must be because I’m incredibly angry. I’m fucking furious; this is my body’s response. I’m not attracted to her.
“I can’t. I’m sorry,” she says.
“I’ll blame you if anything happens to Odette.”
I release her wrists and begin to ease off of her.
I hear some of the guys walking in behind me.
“Lennox is right. You are hiding something. I’m going to figure out what it is.”
I stand up.
Ri doesn’t move, not even to ease the sting of her back.
I start to walk away but stop.
“I truly thought you would tell me. I thought you were a better person than me, than your father, than all of us. Turns out I should have been calling you Devil instead of Princess all along.”
I glance to my right and see Caius standing, wanting to jump in but unsure of what to do. I look back to Ri. “Talk to Caius if you want to live, and if you don’t want me to figure out what you’re hiding. You have until I get back if you don’t want me to turn you over to your father.”
Then I force myself to leave the room before I kill her and lose the only lead I have.
17
Ri
I tremble watching Beckett walk out of the room. I feel the other guys’ gazes on me as I shake. I run my hand down my face feeling sweat on my brow. My entire body is raging hot—my core aching with fiery desire or maybe searing anger. I can’t decide if I want to go after Beckett to jump his bones or murder him.
I decide I’d regret either decision as I sit up on the couch in a daze. Caius is moving toward me, and I’m pretty sure Lennox and Hayes are also staring, but I don’t look at any of them. Despite the intense moment I just had with Beckett, I need time to figure my own shit out.
I run upstairs wordlessly, my mind barely working.
“Ri!” Caius shouts after me.
I ignore him and keep running up the stairs. I consider turning into Caius’s room where I slept last night, but instead, I head into the master. I slam the door just as Caius reaches the top step. I turn the lock and stare at the door, waiting for him to break it down.
After a few seconds, I remember Caius isn’t Beckett and realize he’s not going to break the door down. I sigh and turn to the room, not sure what I should do next. I run my hand through my long hair, parting it to one side. I close my eyes and beg my brain to remember, but I draw a blank. There isn’t even a tingling of a memory before I met Beckett.
That can’t be a coincidence, can it?
What happened to me? It had to be the drugs. How else would I have lost all my memories?
I consider heading back out and telling them the truth. I can’t remember, that’s why I can’t help them. Caius might believe me, but Beckett wouldn’t. He’d try to torture it out of me. I’m surprised he hasn’t already. Maybe Beckett didn’t think I was worth his time, and he went to find his wife on his own. The only good I am to him now is a bartering chip with my father. He’s going to send me back.
No, I have to get out of here. I always knew I couldn’t stay. These guys don’t actually care about me, not even Caius. He’s trying to get me to spill as much as Beckett is; both of them would do anything to get Odette back. And the other guys will do whatever Caius and Beckett say.
I could try lying to them, but I wouldn’t even know how to fake giving them information.
My only chance at surviving is if I can escape now before Beckett strikes a deal with my father to exchange me for Odette. After I’m free, I can figure out what the hell is fucked up with me.
I head into the closet and pull out a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a leather jacket. I start getting dressed and realize the clothes are maybe a size too small, but I manage to squeeze into them. I slip on some heeled boots that are actually my size. I’d be better off with tennis shoes for running, but there are none that fit in the closet.
Getting dressed was the easy part. Now I have to figure out how to get out of here without being noticed.
I wait until the middle of the night to sneak out, or what I hope is the middle of the night. There is no clock in the room, but it’s been dark for several hours, and I don’t hear anyone moving in the house, so hopefully, everyone is asleep.
I push the bedroom door open and listen, still nothing. I head down the stairs, careful to not make a sound. One of the men snores softly on the couch—Gage, I realize. I tiptoe past him. Then, I head toward the garage. I flick the lights on and let out a sigh.
There are two cars in the garage. I pick what looks like the fastest and open the door. It takes me a full two seconds to realize the key is already in the ignition. I pop open the center console and find a burner phone, a wad of cash, and credit cards.
I grin.
Thank god they needed a quick getaway car and kept everything needed to escape in the cars. I hit the garage door open, and then I floor it, hoping none of the guys are light sleepers.
The road is rocky, but I make it, only to find a large iron gate about a mile down the road.
Shit.
I look around the center console, the visor, the seat next to me, anywhere a button could be that would open the gate. But I can’t find anything.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hit the steering wheel over and over. If I have to go on foot, I won’t make it through the night before the guys catch me.
But as I slow in front of the gate, it starts to swing open automatically. I gun it as soon as a wide enough gap appears.
My heart beats wildly as I drive this incredibly fast, expensive car. I need to head into the city to find a train or plane to take me out of here. I’m sure this car has some sort of tracking device on it, so I need to ditch it as soon as possible.
I find the main road and drive almost an hour to get back to the city. I park the car on a random sidestreet and climb out, running my hand over the hood of the car. Apparently, I’m a car girl. I leave the keys in the car, hoping it gets stolen. It would just lead the guys on a wild goose chase and give me more time to run.
I walk five blocks to the nearest subway station, ride for eight stops, and climb off quickly. I don’t know where I am, but that’s kind of the point.
It’s close to midnight as I walk down the street, but it’s a weekend, so Chicago is still very much alive. I consider my options. I could find a hotel room, but I don’t want to waste my cash on anything but a flight out of here. Instead, I decide to wait in a bar for a couple of hours before heading to the airport and catching the first flight out in the morning. I duck into a nightclub with a group of women, without having to flash an ID.
Lights blind me as music pulses through my body. I don’t bother to take in much of my surroundings. It’s crowded and unlikely that I’ll be found by anyone. I can drown my sorrows and think through my plan.
“Cheapest beer you have,” I say, slapping a five down on the bar.
The bartender nods at me stiffly, taking my five and returning with a bottle a moment later. He pops the top off and slides it to me. I tilt it back, not caring what it is.
As I drink, someone bumps into me.
I wince.
I forgot until now that my back and side are still sore. Earlier, all I could feel was Beckett. Now, reality is setting in again. I’m on the run for my life from multiple dangerous men with a shredded back, stitches barely holding me together, no memory, maybe five hundred dollars, a burner phone, and the clothes on my back. I’m totally screwed.
I down the beer, and the bartender immediately brings me another. I get to my third beer before something changes. I feel the shift in the air and intense stares without turning around.
“Where’s the tracker?” I ask when Caius sits down on the stool on my left, Hayes on my right, Lennox and Gage behind me.
“Now, why would we tell you that, Princess?” Hayes asks, waving down the bartender and getting everyone a round of beers.
I continue to stare straight ahead as I sip my beer, thinking of where it could be.
“You shoved it down my throat when you drugged me,” I conclude, realizing I have no scars unaccounted for and I’m not wearing any jewelry they could be tracking.
“Definitely not just a pretty face,” Gage says from behind me.
I shoot daggers back.
“You can’t run from us, Princess,” Caius says.
“I don’t really have another option, Charming.”
“You could talk to us. We can help you, but only if you help us find Odette. She’s my sister. I love her.” Caius puts his finger under my chin and turns my head toward him, so I can see his emotional plea.
“Please, Ri, I’m lost without her. And I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. We all will, to get her back.”
I feel tension oozing from the guys. They are each furious with me in their own way. Lennox has pure hatred that I’ve never been worth saving. Gage is annoyed that I slipped through his security. Hayes is frustrated that he has to torture me, which will ruin his shot at getting to fuck me. And Caius is hurt that I won’t help him find his sister. None of their emotions make me spill the truth any faster.
“Ri, please,” Caius says as I feel the guys moving in. They have a plan, and I’m sure the cuts on my back will be nothing compared to what they do to me.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, just tell us. No one wants to torture you,” Hayes says, turning me toward him.
Lennox grunts.
“Okay, maybe Knox does a bit. But he’s just fucked up in the head, that’s all,” Hayes grins at his friend.
“No, I mean, I literally can’t tell you, not that I won’t.”
Hayes cocks his head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I mean, I can’t remember.”
Caius grabs my face then, drawing me back to him and his musky scent. “Talk to me, Princess. What do you mean you can’t remember? You can’t remember the night that Odette went missing?”
I shake my head. “I mean, I can’t remember any of it. That night, my childhood, my teenage years—nothing before being covered in blood and running into Beckett in the hotel lobby that night—long after whatever happened to Odette happened.” Tears start flowing—for myself, for Odette, for this whole fucked up situation.
Caius’s eyes drift up, and he silently exchanges conversations with all the guys.
“Do you believe me?” I ask.
“We believe you.”
“Even you, Len?”
Lennox frowns. “I believe you’re scared, Princess, and it’s not of us.” He flicks my ear, trying to prove that I am, in fact, scared of them. I refuse to shiver like he wants, though.
“Why can’t I remember?” I ask, hoping one of the guys has an idea or will admit that it’s a side effect of the drugs they gave me.
Gage drinks his beer, ignoring my stare. Lennox shrugs like he doesn’t really care. Hayes taps the bottom of his beer bottle. And Caius freezes with his eyes dazed.
“Thanks for the help, guys. I really appreciate it,” I say snarkily.
“Why didn’t you tell Beckett?” Gage asks.
I look up at him. “He wouldn’t believe me if I did.”
Gage frowns and then nods his head, agreeing, as he sips his beer. Music blares around us with people dancing and drinking, carrying on not knowing that this is a crossroads in my life. What happens next will change the course of ev
erything.
The guys now believe I have no information to help them, so there is no reason to torture me, but they can’t just let me go either. They want Odette, not me. They still think my father is likely the one who took her, and if he didn’t, he’s the most powerful man in the city. He could figure out where she is in a heartbeat for them.
They only have one option—trade me to my father for Odette or for information they need to find her.
These guys were never my friends. Any kindness they showed was to manipulate me into talking. Now they’re going to screw me over, and honestly, I want them to. I’m not a monster. An innocent woman shouldn’t die. My life was always destined to end this way. No amount of running would save me.
But maybe something else could save me…
“Fuck me, Caius.”
“Wait…what?” He blinks rapidly like he doesn’t think he heard me correctly.
“You’re going to return me to my father to get Odette back. I understand, but fuck me first.”
Caius tilts his head, his eyebrow raising. “I don’t understand how that would help anything.”
I turn to face Hayes. “Fuck me, Heartbreaker.”
“My pleasure, Princess.” Hayes takes my hand and kisses it.
“Wait,” Caius grabs my other hand and turns me toward him.
I smirk.
“Why?” Caius asks again, glaring at where Hayes is still gripping my hand.
“My father wants to marry off his virgin daughter to the highest bidder. I’ve known of my fate since I was thirteen. It’s a miracle I’ve managed to stay free this long. I can’t change the arranged marriage part, but I can piss him off by losing my virginity, limiting the guys he can sell me to.”
“You’re really a virgin?” Caius asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know, I don’t remember. But I know one thing—I won’t be one when I go back to my father.”
“If Caius fucks you, he’ll be signing his death warrant. Corsi won’t let him live. The rest of those motherfuckers thought if they fucked you or married you, your father would honor it, but all he would have done is kill them. Caius can’t fuck you, Princess,” Gage says.
