“Fine.”
I allow him to pull me into the bathroom, and I look around while he starts me a bath. We’re obviously in an expensive hotel. I can tell by the white and gold tiles on the wall. The corner tub is massive, with three steps to even get into it. The shower is Roman-style with glass so you can see the black tiled wall on the inside that has three showerheads. The floor is white marble. It’s what I expected from a King. But where are we? “How long have I been out?” I ask.
“Just a few hours. I didn’t give you as much as last time.”
“Thanks,” I say dryly, rolling my eyes.
He stands to his full height, turning to face me. I still have my T-shirt on, and he stares at me expectantly. But I refuse to take it off until I’m alone. I’m ashamed of what I look like underneath. How fucking weak I was. How many times Matteo hit or slapped me.
Dillan’s eyes drop to my wrists, and I hide them behind my back, hoping he won’t see the marks from the restraints. I’m sure he already looked over me while I was unconscious, but something about having to look him in the eyes makes me nervous. He holds that kind of power over me.
Taking the hint, he walks over to me and leans in, giving me a soft kiss on the forehead. I hold my breath, knowing that I haven’t brushed my teeth since I don’t know when, and without another word, he exits the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and allowing me to bathe alone.
As I lower my bruised body into the scalding hot water, I let the first tear fall. This is the last time I will cry over my family. I’m more determined than ever to live up to the Bianchi name. And I have a feeling I’m going to have to do it behind Dillan’s back. Otherwise, he may drug me again.
_______________
I SIT ON the couch in what I know now is their penthouse suite in downtown New York, freshly bathed and feeling like a new person. The fog from the drugs is long gone now. When I was done in the bath, I found a shirt and cotton shorts lying on the bed that I had woken up in. When I finally emerged from the bedroom, room service was being delivered. I sat and ate like an animal while the Kings watched me. I didn’t care about my manners.
“What do we know?” Titan asks while sitting on the couch next to Cross. Grave stepped outside a second ago to take a phone call. Tristan, Dillan’s friend, sits at the kitchen bar.
“We were wrong about my father,” I say.
“Wrong how?” Cross is the one who asks.
“Matteo said that my father didn’t care about Kingdom or the Kings.” I look him in the eyes. A new me is here, and I’m not ashamed of her. “Said that he and the twins were just fucking with me. And that he realized I could make him more money over time than what he could get from you guys.”
A silence falls over the room.
“Not like that changes anything.” Titan breaks the tension. “If he’s the one behind selling you, he’s a problem.”
“What do you mean if?” I ask softly.
Dillan speaks. “I don’t trust Matteo. He could say your dad is behind it, but I’m not going to take his word for it.”
“Was there anything about the auction that was like the last?” Tristan asks me.
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly. “They had a hood over my head.”
“They?” Dillan questions.
I nod. “Matteo and Richard.”
“Richard was there?” He stands.
“Who is Richard? And how do you know him?” Grave asks, and I look over at the floor-to-ceiling windows, not realizing he has returned from his call.
“He’s a fucking piece of shit. I don’t know him personally, but he was in the video that Luca showed me. And he was at the first auction. I didn’t think much of it before, but maybe he plays a bigger part in this than I thought.”
My body tenses at Dillan’s words. The video that Luca showed him? What is he talking about?
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
BONES
“WHAT DO YOU want to do?” Titan asks me.
I sit back on the couch while Mia sits down next to me. She looks better than she did five hours ago when Tristan walked out of the auction with her. There’s still a hint of sadness in her eyes, but that’ll go away over time. I’ll make sure of it.
The fact that Richard was involved this time makes me wonder what all happened to her. I watched him knock her around. Not to mention what all he did to her on the video that Luca showed me.
Leaning forward, I place my elbow on my knees. “Mia had a tracker in her. I removed it and handed it over to Nite, who got rid of it.”