“She’ll be safe, I promise you. Rick is many things, but hurting her, he wouldn’t dare do it.” He was in pain from being beaten. Rick may have seen through his act, but he’d wanted to be captured. He wasn’t a fool and he knew it was only a matter of time before he got them all killed. Without his family, he couldn’t keep Tulip safe, and she was his number one priority.
****
“Let me go,” Jade said, wriggling against Gabriel as he walked her to one of the bedrooms. She didn’t want to be locked up again.
He opened one of the expensive-looking doors that looked more appealing than the metal bars of the basement, which had obviously contained a great many people who hadn’t seen the light of day afterward.
Gabriel shoved her into the room and she spilled forward, capturing herself against the bed. The room was spacious and lovely with a nice soft bed. It reminded her a lot of her cage back home. Everything put in place. She’d never been allowed to take care of her own place. No, she’d always been told what to do.
One of her family’s many designers had come in. When she was a girl, it had been decorated pink for a young girl. The changes in color happened gradually to showcase her growing into a woman.
None of it had been to her own taste.
She got up and sat on the edge of the bed, glaring at the non-Denton brother.
Gabriel closed the door. He folded his arms and stared at her.
She’d never met him before. Of course she’d heard of him. The whole Colton and Denton scandal had been big news in their world. He was the son of Maddox, the same age as Jacob. Until the truth of his existence came out, the Dentons had been solid. No one could touch them. The moment the truth came to light, they no longer seemed as godly as some had painted them. They were just as messed-up as all of them.
Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around herself, shivering. Escape. It was all she wanted to do.
She’d lost count of the number of times she’d tried to. Planning a way out was all that gave her hope.
“You don’t need to cry. You’ll find this more to your liking, Jade.”
“Why? Because you think the Castillo princess only knows this kind of life? You’re an idiot.”
“You know, I’ve killed men for less insults.”
“I don’t care. Kill me. If you’re going to send me back to my family, you might as well get it over with. I won’t want to live with what they have in store.”
“Marrying you off to a man who will give you nothing but luxury?”
The laugh wasn’t forced and she snorted as well. “Do you really think I’m an idiot? I know how this works. If I’m not sold off to Landon, then I get traded elsewhere. I’m nothing more than a fucking piece of cattle to them, sold to the highest bidder. At which point, I’m to become a little incubator, spitting out the heir and a couple of girls to be traded. Mostly they want boys. My life will be in the complete control of my husband who will tell me exactly how to live my life, including what I do and how I breathe. Oh, and if I’m lucky, he may not beat the shit out of me. Don’t think I don’t see the bruises on the women’s faces. The men in our world are monsters.”
“Not all of us are.”
“Yeah, I’m not that lucky.” She shook her head, gritting her teeth. “Forgive me for trading a life of being on the run with a friend, and poverty with that life.”
She would do anything not to belong to any man.
****
Tulip stepped over the threshold of his bedroom. It felt weird being in his room, his personal space.
“There was a time I’d have naked women on the walls, some bands, and shit. I even had a collection of knives,” he said, closing the door behind him.
“You did?”
“Even though our mom wanted us to grow up to be like other kids, I think she always knew it was going to be difficult for us. It’s the way the world works, you know?” He shrugged. “She did the best she could wit
h what she knew.”
“And she didn’t know a lot?” Tulip asked.
“The Denton men, we have to be strong. We can’t be weak and so that means training us from boys.” He looked bored as he spoke. “I knew more violence at the age of ten than most.”
“Ah, I see.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. His room was nice and warm, a complete contrast to the cold of the basement.