I wondered if Winter would look good in white.
But of course she would. That girl would look good in anything.
15
Winter
I didn’t remember much about the drive back to Servant Manor.
Darren didn’t ride with me. He was in a different car dealing with business. I sat with a quiet guard that stared out the window the whole time, probably thinking about the attack earlier that day and how close we’d all come to getting killed.
Probably wondering if any of this was worth his life.
It wasn’t. I knew that now.
But I was too far gone to care.
I told the Oligarchs that I’d marry Darren. Maeve thought it was a good idea—not for Darren, but for me.
I’d have access unlike anything I’d ever dreamed about.
I didn’t want it. Didn’t want any of it. Not the nice house, the family, the money, the control.
I wanted my freedom.
But that wasn’t an option.
I drifted up into my room when we got back. Darren let me take off the GPS tracker and said nothing when I shut my door in his face.
I collapsed into bed and tried to sleep, but as soon as I began to drift, a knock at my door pulled me back.
“What do you want?” I groaned. “Can you just leave me alone?”
“If this is a bad time, I can come back.” Penny’s voice.
I sat up on my elbow. I should ignore her. I knew the rules.
Screw the rules and screw Darren.
He needed me now, which meant I had some sway.
“Come in.”
Penny slipped inside and shut the door behind her. She looked concerned, lips tugged down. “I heard what happened.”
I wasn’t sure which part she meant. “It’s been a weird day.”
She sat at the end of the bed. “I know it probably doesn’t help, but getting ambushed in the middle of the road isn’t exactly a normal thing around here.”
“I hoped not. I figured you’d all be dead by now if it were.”
She didn’t smile. Only looked down at the comforter and awkwardly pulled at it. “I haven’t left the manor in a couple years.”
I sat up straighter and tried to process that. “Seriously? You haven’t left here in two years?”
“I’ve been around town. Little local trips, but never for long. Darren doesn’t want any of us straying far. He says everything we need is right here, and in some ways, he’s right.”
“What about your friends?”
She laughed and blinked at me. Her eyes were wet with tears. “Friends? I don’t have friends.”
“Oh, Penny.”
She waved me away and wiped her face. “Sorry, I’m being so selfish and dramatic. It’s just that, Darren’s obsessed with keeping everyone safe, but sometimes he takes it too far. I don’t want that to happen to you, too.”
“Can’t you talk to him about it? I mean, he’s your brother. He doesn’t own you.”
“But he runs the family. It’s hard to do anything without his approval, not when everyone around me looks to him for approval.” She stood up and paced back and forth. “It’s not as bad as I’m making it seem. I could go places if I wanted to, but I really don’t. What happened with Liv scarred all of us and I don’t think anyone ever got over it.”
“Liv was your sister?”
She stopped walking and looked toward the windows. “Older sister. We were close though. She was my best friend.”
“What happened to her?”
“She died. It’s funny though, we all blames ourselves, but I don’t think it was anyone’s fault.”
I wanted to press her for details, but she went quiet and drifted away toward the fireplace. I got the sense that whatever happened to Liv was the engine that drove everyone in this place, but asking how she died seemed so crude.
And anyway, I’d had enough death.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. Darren hasn’t talked much about it.”
“He wouldn’t. It changed him the most, though. Before Liv, he was outgoing, carefree. Partied a lot, caused trouble. But then she died and he retreated into himself, got real obsessed with his stupid fight with Roman, and now here we are.”
I chewed on my cheek. There were so many questions I wanted to ask and they all jockeyed for position, but I decided to blurt out the first one that came to mind.
“What happened between them?”
She laughed and shook her head. “God, it’s all so fucked up. Even hearing that question makes me clench up. Darren made everyone swear a long time ago never to talk about what happened with Roman, but it’s important, right? You’re in the middle of it.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s all because of Anthony.”
I blinked rapidly and leaned back against the bed. “Anthony? Your younger brother?”
“That’s right.” She walked over and sat next to me. Penny was small and seemed so vulnerable and frail, like talking about this was a weight that pressed her shoulders down and threatened to crush her entirely. “Have you ever noticed that he doesn’t look like us?”