by Sam Crescent
“That’s not protecting me. What do you know that I don’t?” she asked. “Does this affect me?”
“It affects your father.”
I frowned. “What does he have to do with this?”
Vadik sighed and looked around the party. People were staring, but only to admire him. I’d caught sight of some men looking at me, but I didn’t care for their stares.
“Your dad has a few deals that our dads are investigating. Certain rumors are running around, and we need to clarify them. This man who has come, he’s of particular interest. For Crane to arrange a certain kind of deal, the fact our parents were kept in the dark, it allows suspicion.”
Fear traveled down my spine. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what he was saying without saying it.
“Do you suspect he’s betraying your families?”
“I don’t know, Emily. We all don’t know. There’s only so much we can find out.” He glanced over my shoulder and I followed his gaze to see Caleb nodding toward him. He gave me a smile but then it was gone within the next second.
“Don’t go too far. I’ll be back.” He kissed my cheek and walked away.
I stayed frozen on the dance floor, nerves rushing through my body. I wouldn’t put it past my dad to do something so fucking stupid that it would get him killed. I didn’t like any of this.
I hated it.
“May I have this dance?” a man said, holding out his hand.
“Sorry, I’m just leaving.” I stepped off the dance floor and made my way toward the drinks stand. I didn’t go for the alcohol, but I certainly took a large gulp of soda mixed with sparkling water. I didn’t know why they had decided to mess up drinks, but whatever.
I felt sick to my stomach.
Something was going on, and I didn’t know what, or why, or how. None of it made any sense to me.
I stepped toward the edge of the dance floor, holding my drink, all the time looking in the direction of where Caleb and Vadik had disappeared.
This party unnerved me. Bad things could happen. All it took was the right problem.
I tensed up as I felt someone stand behind me. I went to step away when a hand caught my hip.
“I have to say you’re far more ravishing in person than in any of the photos I’ve seen.”
The voice was dark, husky. It didn’t belong to any of my guys.
Wait, my guys? They didn’t belong to me. I had no hold on them.
I tried to move, but the hand lay flat against my stomach, keeping me in place. Years of training about not creating a scene had been instilled in me. All I wanted to do was kick this bastard in the balls. He knew me and yet I didn’t know him. I stayed perfectly still.
His finger traced down my arm. “I have to wonder if I should wait until graduation.” His lips grazed my shoulder, and I wanted to scream at him to get the fuck off me. “You don’t know who I am?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So you do speak. That’s okay. I look forward to hearing you scream my name as I pop that precious cherry I’ve spent a fortune keeping intact.”
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you don’t get to have any part of me.”
“But that’s where you’re wrong.”
He spun me around and the movement caused me to drop my cup. The man in question was large, muscular in all the right places. He had a scar down his face, but I’d never found them repulsive. He was handsome, but I didn’t like him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said. “Your dad offered to get you to lose weight, but I like my women with some meat on them.” His hand cupped my hip and as I went to go for his balls, he stopped me. The stupid dress didn’t help either. “You have no idea who I am?”
“No, I don’t.”
He put his hands on my back and even as I pressed against his chest, it was useless. I couldn’t move. He held all the power. I was so fucking frustrated with all of this, and angry.
“I’m the man who’s going to marry you. Your father and I arranged the deal a year ago. You will belong to me, and I do expect you to be a virgin, sweet Emily. I can’t wait until I get to pop it.”
I stared at him in horror.
My father had sold me to this man.
“I’ve paid a lot of money for you, and I expect to get it. Until then, this will have to do.” He didn’t force me to kiss him. His lips brushed against my cheek.
In the next second, he was gone.
I looked around the party, believing I had gone mad, but I knew I hadn’t.
I was going to be married.
My body wasn’t my own. It was why I was constantly pressed to do those stupid tests. All of it.
Tears filled my eyes, and I felt sick, so ready to vomit.
I moved away from the dance floor, needing space. I had to get away, and so I went toward the tree line, wanting to be so far away from all this falseness that I couldn’t stand.
None of this was real. I needed the fresh air.
The tears slid down my cheeks and I swiped them away. The mascara I wore was supposed to be waterproof. I hoped it was right.
I passed the safety of the party, walking by multiple trees, climbing over a fallen one, and when I came to a stop, I pressed my back against the bark. I took several deep breaths, trying to gain my composure. My heart raced.
River was wrong.
I never had control. It was an illusion.
I was nothing to these people. Just a thing to be bought and sold like I meant nothing. Closing my eyes, I clenched my hands, and hit behind me, impacting the tree. I needed to vent my anger. I didn’t have a death wish, not tonight. My first time had already been negotiated. How much was my virginity worth? My sanity? My life? In our world, a life always had a price. What was mine going for?
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb
“You could have asked Emily for a dance before pulling me away,” Vadik said.
“There will be time for dancing soon.” I grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the party, going to the beach house where we’d get some semblance of quiet. I knew it wouldn’t be long before people ended up here and fucked.
These parties were no different than high school ones. Only, the guests were older and appeared far more sophisticated with their champagne and canapes. It was all bullshit.
Gael leaned up against one of the sofas, and River had his blade out and flipped it between his fingers. He’d already cut his finger and blood dripped onto the floor. He showed no sign of pain though. River never did.
Closing the door, I turned toward my friends.
“What’s he like?” Gael asked.
“We don’t have time to talk about that now. I got confirmation that Bernard Crane hired the MC to take us out.”
This had Gael sitting up.
“Our dads know this information and have for a week,” I said.
River held the blade in his palm. More blood seeped out, dripping down. “Why haven’t they done anything?”
“If Crane organized our murder, then I don’t see why they’re sitting on their asses. What do we do about Emily? She could be a target,” Gael said.
“She will be a target,” River said. “The entire family, remember?”
“We can’t let her die. I won’t let them,” Gael said.
I shouldn’t have fucking said anything. Gael panicked and all he could think about was going to war. Only, we’d be going to war with the wrong men.
“I don’t know why they’re holding off, but we’ve got to deal with this. They’ve already brought Earl Valentine here. We need to know what they’re doing.” I had to get my friends to focus. This was the first time our dads could take from us. We’d always been on their sides, and tonight, once I realized the truth, it scared me.
I’d never felt fear before.
“They’re playing,” Vadik said, and I turned to look at him.
“What?” Gael asked.
“Think about it. They deal in rats and traitors all the time. This is a wa
lk in the park for them. Bernard has become a challenge. One they want to play with.”
Gael shook his head. “No. They don’t do shit like that.”
River laughed. “Come on, it makes sense. Everyone else goes to the cops or tries to steal from them. Crane’s got balls. Not only is he making deals behind their backs, but now he’s organizing to have their sons killed. This is going to get ugly. We all know it is.”
“I don’t like this,” I said.
“Agreed,” Vadik said. “Because no matter which way you look at this, Emily’s going to die.”
I couldn’t stand this. I grabbed the vase nearest me and threw it across the room. I hated Bernard, but I’d hoped my suspicions were wrong. I’d hoped he’d just been a greedy bastard who had seen an opportunity to make some good money using his daughter. This went beyond that.
“What about Ashley and her mother?” River asked. “Will they be targets as well?”
“They’re still news to our dads,” I said.
Gael started to laugh. “Are you for fucking real right now?” He ran his fingers through his hair. “There’s no way they don’t know about her. Don’t you fucking see, they know everything. We’ve got to face the reality here, boys. Our woman, the girl we all fucking love, is going to die and we can’t do anything about it. None of us can.”
Silence met Gael’s words.
I didn’t want to accept it, but he was right.
There was no way we could save her. She was gone to us.
River shook his head. “No!” He threw the blade across the room. “I don’t. No, we’ve only just got her. I’m not going to let her go. I can’t … we’re not going to let her die. She hasn’t even fucking lived. She’s been trapped and we offered her a life, a chance.”
I agreed with River, but right now, I didn’t know how we were expected to win this.
“You could be wrong,” Vadik said.
“I’m not wrong. Do you think I’d bring this shit to you if I had any doubt? I swear to you, none of this is fake. It’s all fucking real.” I paced the length of the beach house.
“Then we need to get her out of here,” Gael said.
“We’d be the betrayers,” River said.
“Our dads can’t kill us. Think about it, we’re the ones who are set to inherit.”
“But they can have more sons,” I said, contradicting Gael’s theory.
“For fuck’s sake, I don’t give a shit what you guys are thinking right now. I’m not going to stand by and allow this to happen. I can’t.” Gael made for the door and I reached out, putting a hand on his arm, stopping him.
Gael could take me.
In fact, I didn’t have a fucking clue who was the strongest one out of us all. We were all evenly matched, always had been.
“Ger your hand off me.”
“No. I’m not going to let you do anything stupid and believe me, this is stupid.”
“I suggest you back away,” Gael said.
“Enough!” Vadik’s voice echoed around the room. “We are not going to be pulled apart by this. We’ve come too far.”
“There’s no way we can let this happen. I’m not letting some old bastard win her over and I’m not going to let her die. I can’t.”
“None of us are going to willingly let her die.” I was insulted that he’d believe I would let that happen. Far fucking from it.
“What exactly are we going to do then? Because from where it looks to me, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“Gael’s right. We can’t let her die,” River said.
“I’m not going to let her die.”
“We need to know what our dads are working on. We’ve got to start there.” River looked at me. “And you’ve got to be the one to do it.”
“Why me?” I didn’t like the way this was going.
“You’re the favorite,” Vadik said.
“That is such fucking bullshit. None of you know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s the truth,” River said. “You’re a direct connection to the woman they all loved. Not just one, but all. You have to consider the fact you’ve always been the favorite.”
This time, I laughed, but it was a forced sound. I pointed at my chest. “I killed her. She died giving birth to me.”
“And if that was such a big problem, they’d have killed you already. You need to figure this out.”
“Either way, I can’t let them take her from me,” Gael said. “I won’t.”
The sudden pounding on the door had us all freezing into place. Some of what we’d threatened could get us killed.
“It’s me, guys. Come on, let me in.”
It was Ashley.
“What the fuck do you want?” Gael asked, shoving me out of the way to get to the door. He tugged it open with some force.
Ashley’s face had lost color. “Er, I think you guys need to go and find Emily. I saw her making for the tree line. She looked upset.”
“What?”
“Some guy was talking to her. I don’t know his name, but it seemed pretty intimate. I tried to follow her, but I lost sight of her and well, I don’t know this area and I figured you guys would know.”
“Fuck!” Vadik said. “Earl’s talked to her. I bet it’s him.”
“Split up,” I said.
None of us waited. We left the beach house and Ashley followed me.
“No, you stay here.”
“I want to help.”
“You’ve helped by letting us know where to look, but you’ve got to stay here in case anyone asks for us.”
“What do I tell them?”
“Lie, think of something.”
“But I’m a really bad liar.”
“Just fucking do it.” I was tired. The others had already started to look, and I was left behind to deal with our current little problem. I got that Emily had taken her under her wing, but seriously, this girl was so far out of place, it was hilarious.
Heading into the woods, I glanced around. There was only so much light provided from the party.
My father had once said the woods or any forest was a good place to have an accident. A lot of damage could occur and it was all by nature’s design. I wasn’t interested in what nature could do.
Walking around the trees, I followed the path, not going too deep, but enough for some privacy. If Earl had finally confronted Emily, then there was a chance he’d told her what her father has done, and I didn’t think that would have gone down well.
I paused as I heard a sniffle and I turned, catching sight of the purple.
I stepped closer and saw it was Emily and she was hitting the trunk of a tree.
“Emily,” I said, capturing her attention.
“Don’t you dare,” she said.
She pulled away from the tree just as Vadik, Gael, and River arrived. She stormed up to me and I didn’t try to stop her as she slapped me hard across the face. I must have deserved it if she was dishing it out.
“You knew, didn’t you? All of you.” She spun around in a circle. I noticed her hands were bloody from punching the trunk of a tree. I tried to reach for her, but she pulled away. “No,” she said. “Don’t you touch me.”
“Damn it, Emily. Your hand.”
“I don’t care. You all knew, didn’t you? None of you were going to tell me!” She looked at each of us, but we didn’t respond. What was there to say? It was the truth. None of us had any intention of telling her everything we knew. It made us the Monsters, but it was the truth.
She shook her head. “Why? Why wouldn’t you tell me? Is this your game? A joke? I’m the punch line?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Then why wouldn’t you warn me?” She laughed. “That’s why you never went too far, isn’t it? You couldn’t. You weren’t allowed because daddy told you not to.” She shook her head. “The fierce Monsters’ Crew. The ones who bring death and pain, kept in line by their daddy.”
“Emily?”
“No. Yo
u’re not going to make this better. None of this can ever get any better. This is my life. It’s not yours. It’s mine. I can’t believe…” She stopped and took several deep breaths. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. This was way too good to be true. Even your parents are waiting to see if this deal is worth it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do this.” Her gaze landed on Gael. “You could have at least told me. I saved your life.”
She grabbed her dress and took off, heading toward the party. I watched her go, about to follow her.
“I’ll go,” Vadik said. “She’s… I’ll make sure she’s okay. You’ve got to find out what shit is going down, and you, keep Earl away from her,” he said, pointing at Gael.
“No fucking problem. Do I get to break bones?”
“No, you get to bore the living shit out of him,” Vadik said. “And you, tail Crane, see what the fuck is going on.”
“Tell her I love her,” I said. “I never wanted her to go through this. Never.”
Vadik nodded and I had no choice but to watch him leave.
“Do our words matter anymore?” River asked. “We can’t save her. We know this.”
“We’ve got to do what we can.” I turned on my heel and decided to go and see my father first. I’d work my way into their confidences, and then I’d save Emily for us.
****
Vadik
Ashley was proving useful for one thing, keeping an eye on Emily. Our girl brushed past her friend, heading into my house. I knew this place like the back of my hand, and so I entered the room and followed the path of dirty shoes. There was already a maid cleaning up the mess.
Partway up the stairs, Emily had taken them off, but I decided to go to the first bedroom. Closing the door, I flicked the lock into place. There was no sign of her, but I heard the water running in the bathroom.
I got to the door and looked inside. Sure enough, there she was.
She was pulling out the flowers that were woven in her hair. She’d also splashed water on her face.
“Emily,” I said.
She lifted her head, turning off the tap.
“You didn’t need to follow me,” she said.
“I did. All of us would follow you. You know that.”