Then Dillan got this crazy idea about giving my father what he wanted? Doesn’t he understand it won’t be enough? Give my father an inch, and he’ll take a mile. He’ll force his way until there’s no stopping it.
“I’m so excited about dinner tonight,” Jasmine states, bringing me out of my head. She picked the girls and I up thirty minutes ago to go shopping.
I sit in the passenger seat of her SUV while April and Alexa sit in the back. “Dead to Me” by Melanie Martinez is interrupted, and a female’s voice takes over. “You have a new message from Big Daddy Dick.” The voice goes on to read the text out loud. “Quit fucking ignoring me, woman! I’m going to give you until midnight, and if you have not responded to me by then, I will show up at your house, knock down your door, and tie you to your bed. I’ll fuck that sweet cunt in ways you didn’t even know were possible while my belt is wrapped around your neck. Then when I’ve had enough of that pussy, I’ll move on to that smart-ass mouth of yours because we both know how much you love choking on my cock. Lastly, I will bend you over my knee with your hands tied behind your back and spank your ass until it’s black and blue before I pin you to the floor and fuck it as well. You won’t be able to walk for a week, let alone sit down. And that’s a goddamn promise!”
A silence follows before Emilee begins to whistle. “Damn. Maybe you should get some lingerie for him while we’re shopping today. Give him something to rip off before he has his way with you.”
“A restraining order sounds more appropriate,” April jokes with a laugh.
Jasmine just smiles, reaching over and presses ignore to the text, and the music once again fills the car.
“Are you going to respond to that?” I ask wide-eyed.
“Nope.” She gives me a quick glance and winks. “A man is only as good as his word.”
She pulls into a parking lot for what looks like a massive concrete building.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking around. Not many cars are here. I thought we were going shopping? Although I figured it’d be somewhere secluded, so the public doesn’t see me. This doesn’t look like a shopping center of any kind. Honestly, I was expecting to be somewhere that Dillan paid them to close down just for us. He’s extreme like that.
“This is the warehouse,” Jasmine answers as we all exit the SUV and walk inside. Rows and rows of clothing span the large space. “It’s where they keep all the Queens clothing.”
“Huh?” What’s a Queen?
“They have everything—Gucci, Fendi, Armani … Any brand you want,” she adds.
“I think you’d look gorgeous in anything white,” Emilee adds.
“No.” Jasmine grabs my shoulder and spins me to face her. “Is your skin always this color, or have you been tanning?”
I haven’t got to spend much time outside. “Natural.”
She snorts. “Lucky.”
“Is your hair always this dark, or do you dye it?” She runs her hand through it.
I had fallen asleep with it wet after I sat in the cold shower, so it’s wavy right now. “Natural.” I’ve never colored my hair before, not because I didn’t want to, but because I was never given the opportunity to have it done.
“Hello, ladies,” a woman greets us.
“Hello, Georgia.” Emilee smiles at her.
“You must be Mia.” She turns toward me.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Come on. I just had a shipment come in. I was told to make sure you ladies had something that had never been worn.”
“All of us?” Jasmine asks.
“Yes, ma’am.”
We walk through a set of double doors into the back. Ten racks line a wall to our right.
“May I make a suggestion?” The lady they called Georgia looks at me.
“Yes, please.”
“I think this would be absolutely stunning on you.” She removes the hanger that has a garment bag attached to it. It reads Oscar De La Renta in white letters. She unzips the bag and pulls out the material to the dress, and the girls gasp.
“Yes. That is exactly the color I was thinking for her,” Jasmine squeals.
BONES
I WALK INTO my house and head straight to the master suite. Coming here so much feels weird. I think I’ve been here more in the past week than I have since I bought it.
I haven’t wanted Mia up at Kingdom. Although it would be more convenient for me, there are too many eyes and too many people running their mouths. I kept her hidden because I wanted to keep Mr. Bianchi guessing. Now it’s time to show her to the world.
Entering the bedroom, I go straight to her walk-in closet. Stepping in, I pause at what I see. Mia stands in the center with her back to me. Her hair is over her shoulder. The champagne-colored dress dips low down her back where the satin material gathers at her ass, giving it a wrinkling effect before falling down her legs.