“How long was he supposed to wait?”
“Three years at most.”
“Man. I thought he was smart, but he’s dumb as a doornail,” Jarrett ran a hand through his hair.
I smiled. “I think he realized that pretty quickly after arriving.”
“Sray is a great club, but choosing this over a guaranteed woman? How many would he have had to share you with?”
“None. My father was firm on that.”
“What?” He slammed the glass down so hard it broke. A number of people turned to look at us. If Jarrett noticed, he didn’t show it. “Imbecile. And you thought a guy that dumb could help you?”
I shrugged. “I thought he’d care.”
“This life isn’t easy on any of us, but it’s worse for outsiders that come in. It’s better than the system, but probably not better than farm life.”
“Boys where I’m from want more. Life’s too boring, monotonous I guess.” Not for all. Bolton didn’t want city life. Neither did Thomas. I hoped Thomas was doing all right. He was strong.
The music faded out, and the crowd quieted down. “Show time,” Jarrett whispered.
I held onto the sides of the stool. Without Jarrett’s distracting chattering my nerves kicked in again.
“Gentleman, ladies.” Mason’s deep voice carried through the room.
No one spoke, and I watched as more men moved into the room. I caught sight of Ethan, and our eyes locked for a brief moment. He looked empty. There was no sign of the boy I’d known before.
“Tonight is a momentous one for the Sray, as we welcome in our newest member. Kayla comes straight from the Rurals. We can thank Ethan for her presence.” The crowd turned to look at Ethan. He looked down, but I could tell he was muttering to himself. I guess he hadn’t lost all of his old habits.
“For his contribution to the club, Ethan will be getting a reward he’s been waiting a long time for.”
Ethan glanced up.
“Ethan will be entering the elite when Daniel’s term ends next week.” Mason looked right at him. “The Cording with occur soon, but for now make her feel at home.”
Mason nodded to me before disappearing into the crowd.
“You doing all right still?” Jarrett leaned over.
“Fine.” I looked down, not sure if I wanted to see anything or anyone.
“You’re going to make it through this.” Jarrett patted my back. “I’m certain of it.”
I wished I were as sure as him.
Nine
When I got back from the lounge, I had a room. The same size and setup as everyone else’s, the only thing distinguishing it as mine was my name written on a small sign to the right of the doorway. My bedspread was purple, the same color as Addison’s.
There were only three of us in the suite. I was almost positive it was because the others were spending the night with men. I wondered how often the girls actually spent the evening in their own beds. I guessed it wasn’t often. As eager as I was to find Quinn and Bailey, I needed sleep. I had already gone days without it. Getting the opportunity for sleep was the one good thing about having to wait for Allen, whoever he was.
I found a set of soft pajamas lying on my bed. I happily slipped out my dress and into the warmer and more comfortable clothing before heading down the hall to the bathroom. I washed my face, trying to get off all the make-up, but some of it remained. After a while I gave up, brushed my teeth, used the bathroom, and went back to my room.
It was strange sleeping alone like that. I had my own room at home once Quinn moved in with Benjamin, but Thomas was right next door. The first night Quinn was gone I’d been unable to sleep. In so many ways she was my other half. Lying in a strange bed now I missed her even more. What was happening to her? Was she allowed to keep Bailey with her?
I turned off the lights and closed my eyes. I needed rest. I couldn’t be certain I was safe, but I wouldn’t be any safer after the Cording when I was expected to share a bed with a man. I tried to clear my mind, but I knew it wouldn’t be restful sleep. I’d probably never get restful sleep again, at least not until I saved my family.
The nightmares started early in the night, and by the time I heard the girls returning in the morning, I was covered in sweat and even more exhausted than when I’d first laid down. My dreams alternated between chasing after Quinn and watching my father’s death.
I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep as the girls got washed up and ready for the day. When it sounded like they were done, I headed down the hall to the bathroom.
“Hey, wait up!” Addison called. She was wearing a pair of loose pants and a purple sweater.
“Hey.”
“Did you find something to wear yet?”
“No. Where would I find more clothes?”
“Down here.” She took off toward the giant closet room, and I followed. Instead of opening the door from the night before she opened the door next to it. She opened a few drawers and pulled out an outfit similar to hers. “These are really comfortable.”
“They look it. Where do you get all these?”
She blushed. “I actually designed these. I work in the textiles sector.”
“You can choose what to do?”
“Sure. You should come with me. It’s mostly some of the older women and me, but Kimmie is there too.” She turned giving me privacy to change.
“Really? What do the other girls do?” I slipped on the new shirt and pants. The pants were a little long, but otherwise they fit perfectly.
“All sorts of things. We can work anywhere we want.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I pretty much did a little bit of everything on the farm.”
“I can’t imagine what that’s like.” She walked out of the room.
I followed. “We always had to worry about raids, but otherwise it was nice enough, especially when my sister was around.”
“You have a sister?” Her eyes widened.
“Yeah. Quinn. That’s why I’m here.”
“What do you mean?” She grabbed her toothbrush from the rack.
I did the same, and I used the time brushing to help me come up with a good way to describe my situation.
I lowered my voice to close to a whisper. “She was kidnapped by traders and sold to Central. I need to get her back.” The words flowed out naturally. Addison was trustworthy. I knew it instinctively.
Addison rinsed out her mouth. “Yes. Who knows what they’ll do to her to try to make her a breeder.” She shuddered.
“Did you grow up in the city?”
“Yeah. My mom was in Reine. She escaped before they could sell her to Central. We hid out for a while, but the Reine found her and took her back.”
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“I was supposed to go to Central to wait until I was old enough to be of use, but instead Johanna found me. She convinced the current leader here to let me stay.”
“Really? What happened to him?”
“Mason took over.” She didn’t say anything more about the power shift, and I assumed that was intentional. I’d have to find out more later.
“Mason will get your sister, and then she can join too.” Addison smiled, and I didn’t like having to keep the truth from her. Quinn had Bailey, which meant we had to leave. Unless. Johanna had been allowed to keep Addison, maybe we could keep Bailey too?
I brushed out my hair and found a new pair of shoes. They were also comfortable and nothing like the heels I’d worn the night before.
“It really is night and day. They don’t care what we wear to work or around here. We have to dress up at night, but that’s not so bad.”
“Do you have to go home with someone every night?” I hated asking, but I needed to know.
“Not every night. Nothing’s forced, it’s expected though. Although we all take breaks.”
“By the Circle?”
“Mostly. Every man hopes to get his spot one day.”
“Why are five spots permanent?�
��
“They’re the most elite. It’s Mason, Jarrett, Giles, Allen, and Greer.”
“Jarrett seems nice.”
Addison smiled. “He is. He’s the closest thing to a friend Mason has.”
“Wouldn’t Mason have lots of friends? He is the leader.”
“You don’t get to his position by being anyone’s friend.” She shivered. “Mason’s not a bad man, but he’s ruthless. You don’t even want to get on his bad side.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“I saw the way he watched you last night.” She gave me a knowing look. “I’d worry more about getting on his good side.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s what the girls said last night. He’s not the easiest man to be with. And he’s also in charge. We all do what he says, but so far he hasn’t taken too much interest in any of us. I wouldn’t want to spend multiple nights with him. Once every month or so is enough.”
“He was watching me because I’m new. That’s all.” I tried to keep my expression neutral even though panic was starting to set in.
“Maybe… Giles was asking about you last night though.”
“Were you with him?”
“Uh huh. I think I’m his favorite, but don’t tell Mora, she has a thing for him.”
“Does anyone just stay with one man?” I asked as casually as possible.
“That would be pretty hard. There aren’t enough girls to make that fair.”
“I guess not.” It was all too foreign for me. Sleeping with one man seemed scary enough.
A knock at the door made us both fall silent.
The door opened, and Mason stepped in. “Hello, girls.”
“Hi,” we both said nervously. I was glad I wasn’t the only one who he made nervous.
“Addison, shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I stayed back to make sure Kayla had everything.” She folded her hands in front of her. “I’ll stay late to make up the time.”
“That won’t be necessary. I appreciate you taking the time to help out. “
She nodded.
“I’m going to be taking Kayla on a tour of the club. Maybe you’d like to walk down with us. We’ll split off after we leave textiles.”
“Absolutely. We’re ready to go.” She shot me a look. I was supposed to agree.
Mason held open the door for us, and we left. He walked right over to the elevator and pressed a button. “We’ll start on the bottom and work our way up.”
“Thanks for giving me the tour.”
“Of course. You need to know your way around. This is your new home now.” He watched me closely as he spoke.
I made sure to keep my face clear of my real thoughts. He was testing me. He wanted to make sure I planned to uphold my end of the deal. I was—but only until I got Quinn back. The only exception was if they’d take Bailey in. And Thomas. I had to think about him too.
The elevator doors opened, and Mason gestured for us to get off. “This is the hydro floor. It’s where we grow our food.”
I’d heard it wasn’t safe to grow anything outside in the cities anymore. Keeping the necessary security to protect crops was impossible except for even the largest clubs, but even they couldn’t keep all the animals out, or fend off the waves of pilferers.
“We have one of the most advanced hydroponics systems anywhere. We grow fruits and vegetables year-round as well as keeping a constant stock of wheat and flour.”
“We don’t have the biggest variety, but having our hydros is the more cost effective way.” He looked up at the ceiling which had large lights that seemed to be mimicking the sun.
A few of the men tilling the fields turned to look at us. A few smiled. This was where I wanted to be. It was what I knew. I didn’t see any girls down there, but Addison hadn’t made it seem like that mattered.
The next floor was the distillery.
I learned that the Sray made their money selling their potent liquors. Even rival clubs stocked their four different varieties of whiskey. Mora and Annabelle both worked in the distillery. Neither gave us much more than a cursory nod when we walked through.
The third floor was textiles. Addison’s face lit up where she showed me where she worked. She’d started working there as a kid and never stopped. It turned out she’d even made the dress I wore the night before.
Kimmie was already at work, but she smiled in greeting. Textiles would probably be a nice place to spend time. Too bad I was horrible at sewing. Quinn used to make fun of my sloppy stitch work.
“Well it’s time for me to work. I’ll see you for lunch maybe?” Addison asked hopefully.
“Kayla will be eating lunch with me today, but you’ll see her later.” Mason nodded at her before leading me back out.
“What do you think so far?” He asked as soon as the elevator doors closed on us again.
“Impressive. It’s hard to believe you have so much underground.”
“We had almost none of this when I took over. Things were a mess.”
“Then you’ve done a great job.” I’d been around enough men to know playing to their ego was a powerful tool.
He saw right through me. “Kissing up to me isn’t going to get your sister back any sooner.”
I tried denial. I remembered Addison’s warning about getting on his bad side. “I’m not kissing up. It’s the truth.”
“It is the truth, but you said it for a reason.” He pressed a button, and the elevator stopped moving. “I don’t mind your flattery, but I want you to speak the truth with me. He moved toward me, backing me up to the back wall of the elevator.
“Okay.”
He ran his hand through my hair. “I want to Cord you now. I want you in my bed tonight.”
“Is there a reason you’re waiting?” I tried to ignore his warm breath on my face.
“I need the whole Circle here, but Allen is away. I’ve sent word to bring him back sooner.” He brushed his lips against my neck.
I wanted to ask about Quinn, but it wasn’t the time. His eyes were hungry. He wasn’t thinking about helping me. “Is there more to see?”
He stepped back and pushed a button. “Yes. Plenty more.” The elevator started moving again.
“These are the general living quarters.” The floor was made up of suites much like the one we lived in. The big difference is their rooms had doors.
We returned to the elevator and went up another few floors. We got off again. “This floor is general entertainment and dining.” He took my hand for the first time, running his fingers over my skin. “So soft,” he murmured to himself.
“Dining rooms are all located here. We have a main one for the men, a smaller one for the women, and a third one for the Circle.”
“Why all separate?”
He smiled. “We aim to make this a comfortable environment for everyone.”
“I see.” If everyone else could use that expression, so could I.
“This wing is for fitness. You have your own fitness area on the women’s floor. This pool is for the general population’s use.” He gestured to a set of glass doors.
“A pool? You have a pool?” I couldn’t imagine they had space for something like that inside.
“We have several. I’ll show you the one you’d use.”
“Do all the women live on the same floor?” I knew it was a small number, but I hadn’t discovered where Johanna and the handful of middle aged women I’d seen lived.
“Yes. There are two other suites on the other end of the floor.” He dropped my hand when he opened to door to a room with a large screen. “This is for film viewings for the whole club. We have a private viewing room on the floor above the lounge. The top floor.”
“Oh.”
“We’ll go there next. You already saw the lounge floor last night.”
We skipped the women’s floor and the lounge floor. The elevator stopped, and we stepped out.
“This is the elite floor.” He slipped a hand around my
waist. “We have a more private viewing room, a second pool, and our own bar. The Circle lives on this floor.”
“Both the permanent and the rotating?”
He smiled. “Someone’s been filling you in?”
I hesitated.
“Addison? She’s not in trouble. It’s good that she’s making sure you understand how things work.”
“She’s been so nice.” I didn’t tell him Jarrett had shared the information with me too. If Mason wasn’t mad at Addison, it didn’t matter.
“She grew up here. She knows it well.”
I wondered what it was like for him after being intimate repeatedly with every girl.
“But yes, we are all up here. My quarters are separate, through this door.”
My chest tightened. He was showing me where he slept?
He used a key to open a double set of doors. “This is where I live. My bedroom is through there.” He pointed to another set of double doors. “I have an office in here, but I primarily use the one outside the circle common room.”
“Extensive.”
He smiled. “I work hard, Kayla. I deserve a decent place to come home to.”
I nodded.
“I think that’s everything. Do you have any questions?” He gestured for me to take a seat on a small love seat.
I sat down, and just like the day before, he sat right next to me. “May I select any job I want?”
“Yes, but you are not required to until the Cording. For now you are our guest.”
“I’d like to work in the hydros.”
A smile crossed his face. “It reminds you of home.” It was a statement and not a question.
“Yes. It does.”
“Then you can start working there after the Cording.” He put a hand on my arm. “It’s nearly lunch time. Afterward, the girls usually take some free time. The nights are long around here.”
“I can imagine.”
“Did you enjoy the lounge last night?” He put his arm behind me on the love seat.
“It was a new experience.” A frightening and uncomfortable one I wasn’t sure if I would ever fully get used to.
“I hope to see you there again tonight.”
“I didn’t think my presence was optional.”
Corded (The Corded Saga Book 1) Page 7