Now I simply need to get access to a phone and call them.
I turn the corner and stop short at the sight of a blond white woman striding toward me. She’s wearing tiny jean shorts, a white crop top that shows off a toned stomach, and a pair of red-tinted heart-shaped glasses that match her bright red lips. I’ve read that, in certain parts of the world, frogs and some insects are brightly colored to warn predators that they’re poisonous. I don’t know if Monroe intentionally mimics the effect, but some part of my brain shouts danger every time I have to deal with her.
Her lips curve when she sees me, but her green eyes behind the glasses don’t warm. “Eli. Just the man I’m looking for.”
I slide my hands into my pockets and give her an absent smile. It’s hard to pull my chosen shield around me, much harder than normal. “Monroe.”
She laughs and gives a little wiggle. Her white shirt is just thin enough that I can see the outline of her nipples through it. The wiggle just confirms that she’s not wearing a bra. She takes my arm and pivots to walk next to me. “We really need to talk about our mutual Paine problem.”
The hallway is empty except for us, but that doesn’t mean we’re not being observed. I shoot her a look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t. That’s not Abel Paine back there, giving it to your woman so good that she’s screaming for him.” When I miss my step, she snorts. “Come on, Eli. Drop the act. This goes beyond factions. We’re all in the same boat.”
Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I can trust her. I start to untangle my arm from her grasp when footsteps signal someone approaching. A pretty, white woman with brunette hair and the kind of sweet expression that has no place here comes around the corner and stops short. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and the way she looks at Monroe is exasperated. “There you are.”
“Just getting a good look around and telling Eli what a pretty cage he’s created for us.” She pats my chest, her nails digging in through my shirt.
“Monroe, you’re going to give Broderick a stroke, and it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”
“One can only hope,” Monroe murmurs.
“I heard that.” The woman grabs Monroe’s hand, heedless of the danger she’s in by keeping the Amazon heir so close, and tugs her away from me. “Come on. It’s my job to keep you out of trouble.”
Monroe gives me a long look over her shoulder, a clear promise that our conversation isn’t over, and smiles wide. “Baby, why stay out of trouble when it’s so fun to get into trouble?” She leans against the other woman. “I have a few ideas if you’re game.”
The woman is still stammering when they round the corner and disappear down the hall. I stare after them for a long moment. There is a possibility that Monroe is serious about allying together against the Paines, but I can’t risk it. Not until I have no other options. The Amazons and Mystics and I might not have been in an all-out war leading into this, but that doesn’t mean there’s trust between the factions. Monroe might decide to take out two birds with one stone—me and the Paine brothers. If anyone can do it, she and her family can. And there are three of them under this roof.
I shudder. Better to get moving before someone else comes along.
The thought barely crosses my mind when a man stalks into view. He doesn’t look much like Abel, aside from the similar body type of a brawler, but I instantly recognize Cohen, the third oldest brother. Their mother named them alphabetically, which amused plenty of people as she kept popping out children, but there’s nothing amusing about the barely restrained violence on Cohen’s face as he catches sight of me and picks up his pace. “You.”
I don’t take a step back, but it’s a near thing. “Cohen.” He’s a few inches shorter than me, but he’s wider through the shoulders and chest. He catches me around the throat, and I do nothing to stop it. I let him bear me back to the wall and pin me there. I merely raise my brows. “Your brother’s put in a lot of work for you to kill me now.”
“Don’t tempt me.” His voice is low and as gravelly as if he’s been gargling rocks. “You deserve worse than death for what you did.”
“What my father did,” I gently correct.
His eyes are amber, and the color should make them warm, but they’re as icy as Abel’s turn every time he looks at me. “You don’t get to pull that card, Eli. You were twenty-eight. Hardly a babe in arms.” His fingers tighten around my throat ever so slightly.
“Not a babe in arms,” I repeat. I force myself to smile as if none of this matters. “Unlike your little Bride. How old is Winry? Twenty-three? She was barely fifteen when your father was killed. Hardly a responsible party.”
“She’s an Amazon.” Just like that, he drops his hand. “She’ll pay the price, just like you will.” He grabs my upper arm and yanks me away from the wall. “I don’t know where my brother is, but you don’t have free rein to wander the halls as you like. Get the fuck back to your room.”
Frustration sinks its teeth into me, but if I dig in my heels now, it will raise all sorts of alarms. Not to mention that Cohen is just looking for an excuse to beat the shit out of me. Of all the Paine brothers, he’s the most dangerous one. Abel might be the leader, but Cohen was always the knife in the dark. Their enemies never saw him coming. After eight years away from Sabine Valley, anything can be true now, but I doubt that’s changed. I can’t take him in a one-on-one fight. And even if I could, it serves no purpose now.
I smile, fighting down a wince when the expression pulls at my cut lip. “Sure.”
He marches me down the hall. As we pass Harlow’s room, another loud moan emerges. Cohen glances at the door, his expression inscrutable. I half expect him to rub my nose in the fact that Abel is fucking Harlow the same way Monroe did, but he stays silent until I motion that we’ve reached our destination. Only then does he release my arm.
Cohen gives me a long look. “If I had my way, Abel would have cut you down and put your head on a spike in the middle of that goddamn amphitheater.”
Once upon a time, I considered this man a brother just like I considered the rest of the Paine boys brothers. Cohen and I were never close, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve known him his entire life. None of that matters. It wasn’t enough to alter my father’s plans, and it’s not enough to change what I have to do now. “That’s why Abel’s the one in charge.” That’s also why he’s dangerous in a way completely different than Cohen. “You’re just a dog on a leash.”
Cohen starts to turn away. “I’m on his leash. Never forget that. The second he says the word, I’ll happily rip out your throat.” He glances over his shoulder at me. “Give me a reason, Eli. Just give me a fucking reason.”
It’s not a bluff. The Paines don’t bluff. They never have.
I make myself turn away, presenting him with my back, and walk through the door. It takes everything I have to close the door softly behind me, to not engage the lock. To not show a single bit of weakness.
Fuck.
I drag my hand over my face and wince at the pain the motion causes. This isn’t going to work. My people will wait to hear from me, but the sooner I get into contact with them, the better. It will prevent them from acting on their own and potentially fucking this situation up worse.
A soft sound has me spinning around. The mirror swings forward, and a familiar face comes into view. I don’t exhale in relief, but it’s a near thing. “You know I don’t want the passageways used, Marie.” Not until there’s no other choice. I have no doubt Abel will find them at some point—he’s too savvy not to figure out that the rooms don’t quite line up where they should—but I want to keep them as a last resort until then.
Marie’s expression takes on a stubborn set. “There was no other way to get access to you. We weren’t sure you’d be able to get a line out.” She tosses me a cell phone. “Now you can.”
I catch it. It’s a generic model that’s no doubt pre-paid. “Thank you.” I won’t need to use
it now. Not with her standing right in front of me. “Gather our people at the rendezvous point, and stay out of sight. Don’t cause any problems. Don’t engage with any of the Paines’ people. Don’t do anything until you hear from me.” We’ll only get one chance at this, and it has to be timed perfectly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Make sure no one sees you on your way out.”
Marie hesitates. “We’re with you, Eli. As long as it takes, no matter what it takes.”
“I know.” I glance at the door. “Now go.” I stride to the mirror and ease it shut. It barely makes a click, but it feels particularly loud in the silence of the room.
Well, the problem of the phone is solved. I expect Marie will be able to escape the grounds again without being caught. All my people have been trained on moving through the compound without being seen. The events from eight years ago hang heavy overhead, even after my father died. I guess part of me always knew that Abel would be returning, but even if he didn’t, there was always the chance that one of the other factions would move against us.
I should have planned better.
I should have done a lot of things.
Regrets won’t help me now. I can’t go back into the past and change things. I can only look to the future and find a way forward.
13
Harlow
I don’t mean to fall asleep. I really don’t. But the events of the last twenty-four hours catch up with me and suck me under. I wake in slow waves, registering the heavy arm over my stomach, the thick leg between mine, the soft rasp of breathing against my neck. Not Eli. Abel.
I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. There’s no going back now. There wasn’t from the moment Eli’s champion lost that last fight. There sure as hell wasn’t once Eli lost his fight.
As much as I tell myself that I’m making the best of a bad situation, that’s not all this is. I’m self-aware enough to realize that. There’s something about Abel that brings out a part of me I’ve kept buried since I put my father in the ground. She’s nothing like the woman I’ve become at Eli’s side, the one who will smile and politick and manipulate with soft words and softer actions. No, she’s dark and brutal and only too willing to cut down anyone between her and her goal.
The only difference between me now and then is that my goal has changed. It’s not as simple as survival. Of course I want to survive, but the weight of the faction hangs heavy around my neck. I can’t trust either Abel or Eli to put the people first. They have too much history, too much rage between them. They’d fight each other until the entire city burned, no matter how many casualties they'd cause.
I have to ensure it doesn’t come to that.
It might be possible if it were only those two I have to juggle, but Abel bit off a whole mess with the people his brothers chose for Brides. He’s alienated both Amazons and Mystics. Given half a chance, they’ll crush our faction between them for the insult he offered.
I exhale slowly. One thing at a time. First I have to get control of myself and my reactions. I can’t let something as mundane as a broken heart get in the way of the greater good.
Which means I have to patch things up with Eli, at least superficially.
Fuck.
“Morning,” Abel growls against my skin.
I shiver. I’m deliciously sore, and I don’t know if I can go another round, but part of me wants to despite everything. “What time are we doing the parade through Old Town today?”
He props himself up on his hand and looks down at me. “Straight to business this morning, then?”
My gaze drops to his mouth before I jerk it back to his eyes. There’s no reprieve there, though. I’ve already realized that he’s just as much a master manipulator as Eli; he just goes about things with a different style. For all his talk of charging right through obstacles, Abel has a knack for finding his opponents’ pressure points and using them to trigger the actions he wants. He’s doing it right now.
I stretch, and Abel drags his gaze down my body as if he can’t quite help himself. Not so unaffected, are you? He’s offered me everything I’ve ever wanted, but I’m not fool enough to ignore the trap it is. I push down everything, bottling it up until there’s nothing for him to work with except cool confidence. “That’s all this is, Abel. Business.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches, but he smiles slowly. “You weren’t saying that when you were coming all over my cock.”
“We’ve already laid down parameters for that, and you know it. Sex might be enjoyable and might serve whatever petty purpose we require, but it has nothing to do with business.” I sit up and start to slide out from beneath him. His arm tenses around me for the briefest moment, and I wonder if he’ll let me go, but he rolls onto his back, releasing me.
I ignore the little twinge in my chest at the loss of his touch and head for the shower. I can feel his eyes on me, but he doesn’t follow me into the bathroom. It’s just as well. The last thing I need is to be further distracted by his body. There’s too much to do today in order to minimize the damage to the faction. Abel’s plan to parade through Old Town won’t do a damn thing on its own. He must know that, but no doubt he’s trying to tempt anyone willing to fight for Eli and remove them. It’s what I would do in his situation.
It takes me about an hour to get ready. I curl my hair into gentle waves, give my eyes a subtle smoky look, and paint my lips red. I don’t bother with a towel as I walk out of the bathroom. Abel lounges on my bed as if it’s his, his big body taking up far too much space. He watches me the way I imagine a wolf would study a rabbit that’s wandered into his den.
No matter what Abel thinks, I’m no rabbit.
I pointedly ignore him and head into the closest. After careful consideration, I pull on a pair of dark jeans and a black top that hugs my body and does impressive things for my breasts. Boots complete the image. I’ll be able to move, to fight, but I look put together. Good enough.
Abel’s finally moved by the time I walk back into the bedroom. He sits at the edge of the bed, wearing jeans and nothing else. His dark eyes take me in, and he nods slowly. “That’ll do.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Still can’t take anything for granted.” He leans forward and props his elbows on his knees then levels a severe look in my direction. “You going to knife me today, Harlow?”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
He doesn’t smile. “Trying to stab me in the back is going to be a fucking mistake. You’re smart enough to know that, so don’t let your temper get the best of you when I invariably piss you off. We both want the same thing. Remember that.”
I prop my hands on my hips. “Is there a point to this fun little lecture?”
“We need to get the Brides in line. All of them. They’re a pack of vipers, and they’re going to be fucking things up every chance they get.”
I blink. “Gee, that’s so surprising. It’s almost as if they were given away as prizes to their enemies and they’re now handfasted to said enemies. Not to mention they’re all attached to the most dangerous and powerful people in Sabine Valley. I’m shocked that you’re expecting trouble with them.”
Abel doesn’t move. “You got that out of your system?”
Damn, his tone doesn’t even change. Everyone’s a critic. I clear my throat. “Yes, I’m finished.”
“As I was saying, the Brides are going to be a problem. They’ll all be scheming and sharpening their knives and getting in the way. I need you to convince them that’s not in their best interests.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Very funny.”
“Who’s laughing?”
Does he think I was born yesterday? I frown. “To review, you have two of the Amazon queen’s daughters and her younger brother, two of the Mystic leader’s children and his newest wife. Both of those numbers include the heirs. You don’t need to convince them to do shit. You have the collateral in place to use them against each other. All you have to do is threat
en one of their family members within your control and you have a decent chance of ensuring they’re on their best behavior.”
“Yes.” Something like admiration warms his eyes. “But threats have a way of pissing people off. That’s a last resort. I’d prefer they act like good little Brides of their own account.”
It would simplify his life considerably if the Brides decided to play along. I get that. I do. But… “You’re overestimating what I’m capable of. It doesn’t matter that we’re all Brides, which technically puts us in the same boat. They are enemy factions. They’re not going to listen to me.”
“You’ll figure it out.” He grabs his shirt off the floor and pulls it on. “We’ll do Old Town at four. You have until then.” Abel pushes to his feet. “You have full run of the house unless you prove you can’t be trusted with it.”
“Wow, what a gift.”
He grabs me around the waist and hauls me against his chest. Abel tips my chin up and drops his gaze to my lips. “Keep mouthing off and I’m liable to ruin your lipstick.”
Heat surges through me, but I push it down. There’s a time for fucking, and there’s time for business. I can’t let him use his giant cock to distract me. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Because apparently I do.”
He chuckles, an almost rusty sound. I get the impression that Abel Paine doesn’t laugh often, though this hardly qualifies. He gives my ass a squeeze and releases me. “The Brides will be gathered in the library.”
I tense. “If they fuck up my books, I’m going to skin you.”
“You always say the sweetest things, Harlow.” He strides out of the room before I can find something to toss at his head. I find myself smiling a little and shake my head. Liking Abel was never part of the plan, but I can’t deny that he’s got a certain roguish charm.
I walk back into the bathroom to check my lipstick. To give myself time for the ground to steady beneath my feet again. Liking Abel can only get me mired in more trouble than I already am. There’s no guarantee that he will follow through on any promises that reach past the end of the handfasting. It’s just as likely that he plans to use me for the duration and then kick my ass to the curb and take all the power for himself once the faction is stabilized.
Abel: A Sabine Valley Novel Page 9