by K. B. Saint
I can barely keep up with him as we move through the house, but Hollis doesn’t pick me back up and I guess it has a lot to do with Preston. We come to a big set of double doors at the back of a long dark hallway and Hollis pulls one of them open. The wood is heavy and pulls against the muscles in his forearm as I walk in ahead of him.
Preston is waiting for us in the middle of the room, but he isn’t the only thing in here catching my attention. There is an eerie feeling in the space because it’s huge and completely empty save for some dark blue mats on the floor and Preston himself. It’s square and the ceilings are high, like in a school gym, but it looks more like a European museum than a gym.
The wood is dark to match the rest of the house, but the carvings and pictures on the ceiling are a bit different.
“You’ll learn quickly. I can be the most patient man,” Preston starts, turning his eyes to me, “when I am given the reason to be.”
I watch him as we all get closer and I think back to the words Hollis said in the shower. Preston hadn’t fooled me before like they think he did. I can see the darkness looming over him but if I want last night to go away, I’ll have to play his game and hope whatever he asks me to do won’t break me anymore than I already am.
“When I don’t have a reason to be,” he goes on when we’re closer, “I’m not very patient.”
“So I’ve heard,” I tell him, keeping my eyes on his. He’s smiling, but it isn’t like Hollis’s smile. It isn’t inviting or warm at all, but it turns me the hell on, nonetheless. I am so fucked.
“That’s good then,” he tells me, his tone clipped. “Because I’m done waiting for your answer. Tell me now if you’ll let me help you or the offer is off the table.”
My eyes are slits and I know I look ungrateful, but it takes just about everything I have in me not to haul off and hit him. He’s so manipulative and it’s only because he knows he has me by my metaphorical balls. He’s smart enough to know I’ve already decided and it’s written all over his smug ass face. He just wants to hear me say it and my pride is making my hate for him grow even more.
“I need you to help me. I don’t like cops,” I admit, swallowing my pride just long enough to spit the words out fast.
“Well, now, was asking me so hard?” he taunts, but doesn’t give me the chance to actually answer him before he continues. “You made the right choice and tonight it will all be official. For now, I think lunch will be good while we wait on everyone to be back.”
My stomach lurches at the thought of eating with so many people and Preston’s stare shifts telling me he notices. He doesn’t say anything, but I feel exposed for some reason and his smirk isn’t fucking helping.
“When will everyone be back?” Hollis asks from behind me.
“Eli called before I called you. They found the guy pretty quickly and they’ll be back soon. They left him where he should be and left a guard behind,” he tells us all and I look up at Hollis. His eyes are trained on Preston instead. “We’ll all go visit him later. Salem and Nicholai should be back any time now.”
Chapter Eighteen
MESSIAH—PRESENT
The dude spreading the rumor about the tiny girl made the giant fall wasn’t hard to find and even though I have nothing to do with any of this it was fun to beat his ass before Elijah and I tied him up. As we leave the house on Lombardy I know when we come back later I’ll have a whole other mess to clean up and the mess is what I’m most excited for.
As we get into the car I get a text to my phone. It’s Hollis telling me Ruby accepted Preston’s offer and we are expected to be back at the compound sooner than later. I sigh as I lock my phone, not bothering to respond. I have nothing good to say at this point, but Elijah being Elijah picks up on my annoyance and starts picking with me.
“What? She accepted?” he asks with a brow raised.
“I don’t care she accepted,” I lie.
“Yes, you do,” he says, pulling out into traffic. “You care and I know why.”
I look over at him quickly and he side eyes me before looking back to the road. He could be baiting me, but the confident look in his stare tells me he does remember her. Not that he ever met her back then, but I spent all of my time with her and Crystina when I wasn’t with them and it was Elijah who always seemed to find me randomly. I knew it was never random, but I never said anything about it.
“She’s your girl from when you were a kid,” he states, not drawing the conversation out more than it needs to be. “Ain’t she?”
He doesn’t look over at me and I don’t move to look at him either. He remembers and now no matter how hard I tried to protect her from them back then it doesn’t matter now. She just signed a deal with the devil, and he doesn’t issue refunds. She has no idea what she just agreed to, but I’m sure she’ll realize it before long.
“You don’t even have to tell me. I didn’t even remember her at first but the more she talked the more she reminded me of the smart mouth little girl who used to hang out with your sister,” he tells me, and I glare at him, making it clear I don’t want to talk about Ruby or my sister. which includes his involvement with either of them. Thinking back to those time sucks and I don’t do it often. No part of me wants to rehash what my life used to be like before my sister died.
I don’t respond to Elijah because Hollis says not responding pisses him off the most and is the quickest way to get him to shut the fuck up. He takes the hint I’m giving him and cuts the music up loud and I chuckle under my breath as he changes the song to Don Toliver’s “Talk No More”. He’s petty like a child when he wants to be but he’s still my family.
Elijah has always been the one to give me the most shit, but he’s easily been one of the most influential people in my life. He’s my complete opposite with his serious moods and lack of laughing, but after his initial hazing of me when I was sixteen, we’ve actually worked well together.
The windows are down and the hair on the top of my head is starting to get longer again and it’s whipping all over the place as Elijah pulls onto the interstate to head back to the compound. We bob our heads to the music together and I just fucking let go of all stupid shit and decide no matter what happens because of Benzo’s death I’ll still remain me. I won’t let her take anything else away from me again.
When we’re closer to the compound we pull off the highway he turns the music down and looks over at me as we sit at a red light. “You didn’t want her to choose to stay because you think she’s responsible for your sister’s death.”
It’s not a question but he’s wrong. I do think she’s responsible for Crystina’s death but my thoughts are not why I don’t want her to stay. I don’t want her to stay because no matter how angry I could ever be at Ruby, I’ll never wish Preston on her. At this point in my life I’m not sure I’d wish Preston on anyone.
“I don’t think it. I know it, but what does it matter? it’s not why I didn’t want her to stay.”
“Then you still care,” he says more to himself than to me and I can’t even argue with him. I don’t argue with him. He’s right.
I do still care about her and I fucking hate it.
Nothing else is said and I’m glad because I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t even want to go back to the compound and deal with any of this. I want to be headed to Hollis’s to chill at his apartment or even to go chop a body to pieces, but not any of this.
None of what I want matters though, I’ll do what I’m paid to do, and I guess when I think about it I’m lucky he even pays me. We all are. Preston has the power to hold us all here and force our hands without paying us anything. Giving us money to spend just allows his pets to look their best and keeps the speculating eyes off of what he is.
We all say it’s the money keeping us here, but there’s no doubt in my mind he has so many things to dangle over our heads. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s kept track of everything we’ve ever done just to hit us with if we ever try to leave. Preston is a tan
gled web we’re all caught in and he’s found his next victim. No one can save her now.
We get to the compound and a smile tugs on my lips when I see Salem getting out of her car. She has always been off limits for me and I respected it because Nicolai is a crazy ass mother fucker and would probably grill me alive if I even looked at her wrong, but no one can deny her beauty. Especially not me.
When I get out of the car Salem meets me at my door with a hug. “Hey, Si.”
“Hey, Say,” I grin as she pulls away.
Elijah walks to the front of the car and Salem turns to him. “Hey Salem, where is Nic?”
She runs to him and jumps on his back before responding. “I don’t know. He just dropped me off at my car and peeled off.”
“He in a mood?” Elijah asks as we all walk towards the gardens.
“Always,” she says laughing, holding on tightly to Elijah because he’s not holding her up at all, just letting her hang on him. “The plans kind of changed but I’ll let him tell y’all about it.”
“Yeah let's hurry up and get in here, Hollis said Ruby is pushing all kinds of buttons and I don’t want to miss this.” I chuckle, looking up from my phone.
“Who’s Ruby?” Salem asks, looking over at me but Elijah answers for me.
“You’re about to see for yourself.”
Salem accepts the answer well enough and as we make our way through the gardens I can only imagine the kind of trouble Salem and Ruby are going to get into together once they get to know each other.
Chapter Nineteen
HOLLIS—PRESENT
I’m not a readable person ever, even when I was young I didn’t open up to anyone and I’m glad as I sit with Ruby and Preston. I am raging under the surface, but forcing myself to eat the food prepared is helping keep my emotions at bay. It smells good but as I quietly watch the scene in front of me I can’t seem to taste a damn thing I put in my mouth.
Ruby hasn’t touched her food at all, and I can see in the way Preston is chewing he’s losing his patience with her already. I almost wish I’d never brought her to the compound in the first place because I want her as far from him as possible but it’s already too late for her. He has her right where he wants her and if she doesn’t start eating, he’s going to lose his shit on her, no doubt.
“Is there something wrong with the food?” Preston asks Ruby as he finishes chewing the steak he just cut. He has his fork and knife in his hands still and they hover over his plate and his forearms resting against the edge of the table. Definitely losing patience.
“No, I’m just not hungry,” she tells him definitely, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Eat.”
She frowns at him from across the table, but he holds firm.
“Eat,” he repeats when she doesn’t move to even take a small bite.
I keep my face stoic but I’m more than amused with this little smart ass at our table.
“I said I wasn’t hungry,” she says again, the boldness in her voice not lost at all. His stare did nothing to sway her and this is all very clearly new to Preston. He likes us bold, but Ruby is an entire new level of bold.
“I didn’t ask if you were hungry,” Preston snarls. “Take a bite of something on your fucking plate or I will force it down your throat.”
I clench my teeth to stop myself from saying anything to him or worse, stopping him when she forces his hand. I know she will.
She does.
“If you try to shove anything down my throat, I’ll bite your fingers off and spit them on the table and still not eat a damn thing,” she tells him and for such a small woman, I have to give her credit, she has some giant balls.
Preston laughs, but it isn’t because anything is funny. He is pissed and all I can do is watch what’s about to happen unfold. If I try to stop him he’ll make an example out of me, I’m sure. And he would enjoy doing it. He sets his silverware down on his plate, clanking loudly as it lands, and his chair screeches back as he stands.
His walk to where Ruby is sitting is slow and he has a smile on his face the entire way to her. It’s gone when he gets to her though, and he glares down at her but she just stares straight, pissing him off even more. His breathing is still calm but there’s a storm in his eyes and Ruby holds her ground and doesn’t even spare him a side glance.
Preston looks up to me, his mouth hanging open with a sarcastic smile playing across his lips but I can see determination in his stare as his tongue runs over his teeth. He’s not going to stop until he breaks her, I know it better than anyone. It’s only a matter of time before she’ll realize it too.
“Ruby,” he croons, danger laced into his voice. “Why don’t you tell us why you feel like you can refuse food from me.”
“I just threw up and I am not hungry,” she tells him, her eyes never leaving the cup in front of her. Damn, is she a stubborn one.
“Didn’t your parents teach you it’s rude to not look at a person when they talk to you,” Preston asks, his frown getting deeper with every passing second Ruby doesn’t look at him.
She lazily drags her eyes up to meet his, her face turning up into a snarl as she speaks. “My parents didn’t teach me shit.”
“Ah,” Preston laughs, “a touchy subject, I see. We’ll have to sort those mommy and daddy issues out first, good to know.”
She frowns at him, not understanding what he means or just not liking what he’s saying, but she doesn’t smart off again.
“Here’s lesson one,” he starts, gripping her chin and forcing her to look back at him. “When I speak to you, your eyes better be on mine, you little brat, or I’ll teach you, real quick, where your smart ass attitude will get you.”
She rips her face from his grasp and her hand comes up to rub her sore chin, but she doesn’t say a thing or take her eyes off of his. She learns quickly. He watches her for a few seconds, his eyes hard and his brows furrowed together. I’m not sure what he’s going to say but I know it can only go a few ways. I hope for Ruby’s sake she just cooperates and follows his rules, it will be easier for everyone this way.
“Now we’ve got rule one down, tell me again why you refuse the food I had prepared for you,” he orders, his hand gripping the back of her hair, wrapping his hand into her hair some making it impossible for her to rip away from him again.
“Let me go,” she spits out angrily, her frown just as deep as his, but he doesn’t let her go.
“Answer my question and I’ll let you go,” he tells her. “This only will be as hard as you decide to make it.”
“You’re hurting me,” she grits out, but he only grips her hair tighter, making her head tilt up even more than it already was. I watch her swallow back a sob and squint her eyes closed tightly and the urge to get up and knock his hand away from her is so strong.
I don’t get up. I’m no one's hero.
Ruby has to learn, for her own sake. She can be whoever she wants with us, but with Preston she has to learn.
“The logical thing to do when someone is hurting you is to give them what they want,” Preston explains to her calmly, the bass in his voice trying to sound reasonable.
Her eyes peel open, but she keeps them squinted as he holds onto her hair tightly. “I don’t even remember the question anymore.”
He laughs at her honesty, and this time it sounds a lot more like a real laugh but he isn’t fooling me. “You probably weren’t even listening the first time.”
“I wasn’t,” she admits, never taking her eyes off of him. His hand tightens in her hair, but she doesn’t flinch this time.
“Why won’t you eat the goddamn food sitting in front of you?” he growls out, only inches from her face as he leans over her. She doesn’t flinch then either. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“Eating in front of people isn’t my thing,” she finally confesses, and her eyes fall so she’s no longer looking at him, but her head is still tilted up thanks to the grip he has on her hair. “And I do feel sick still. I dr
ank a lot last night and if you haven’t fucking noticed, a lot has happened in the last twelve hours.”
Fucking hell, I think to myself because for half a second it almost seemed like she was getting it. Her smart ass mouth is going to get her into so much unnecessary bullshit.
I’m surprised when Preston lets go of her hair and pats the back of her head gently, looking to the door of the dining room. “You’re right, Ruby,” he says firmly, but anyone in the room can sense his sarcasm. “You have had it rough, but you know what?”
“What?” she asks, looking back to him again. He meets her eyes.
“It’s about to get a whole lot worse. My help isn’t free and the past twelve hours are going to seem like nothing when I’m finished with you. Your grit is cute, but I can bet it won’t last long,” he assures her before looking back behind us again. I turn my head to see Messiah and Elijah at the door and they brought a treat back with them.
Chapter Twenty
RUBY—PRESENT
I am fuming, humiliated, absolutely pissed. I don’t know who the fuck Preston thinks he was talking to, like he would actually be able to make me eat. He can fucking kick rocks for all I care, because I am not going to eat in front of all of them.
I don’t care what he does.
When his eyes don’t meet mine again I follow his line of sight to see what he’s looking at and I quickly notice Messiah and Elijah standing by the door and they aren’t alone.
The girl with them is tall and looks like she could be a model on some runway somewhere. Her lips are full and her long blonde hair falls down her back and chest and is a little messy. Like she’s been in a car with the windows down.