“Most don’t.” Tyson goes on, “Just because you’re a Lord doesn’t mean they tell you everything.”
Pulling into the circle drive, we both get out and make our way up the fifteen steps and into the double doors. It looks as rough and old as the outside.
A man dressed in a black-and-white butler uniform nods to us. “Please follow me, gentlemen.”
He takes us to an elevator that we ride to the sixth floor. Opening up, we step off and into a room. “The Spade brothers will be right with you,” he states and then exits, closing the doors behind him.
Tyson falls into a chair, checking his cell. I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the woods. Listening to the doors open behind me, I turn around to see three men enter.
I’m not sure what I expected but it’s not what I see. One has dark hair that is shaved close to the sides but longer on the top. He’s wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with a pair of holey jeans and black combat boots. Ink covers his knuckles and his neck. A cluster of snakes wrap around his throat all the way up to his jawline.
The second guy has a white T-shirt on, showing off both of his sleeves. One catches my eye. It’s of a woman. She’s dressed in a nun costume that covers her entire body; all you can see is her face. She’s got a ball gag in her mouth with a line of drool running down her chin, her makeup smeared, and she has an upside down cross on her cheek. My eyes lift to his blue eyes, and he smirks, catching me staring.
The third guy wears a backward baseball hat with a hoop nose ring. He’s dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. He’s covered in ink as well, but I can’t make them out due to the blood splattered on him. He removes a rag hanging out of his back pocket and wipes off his hands before reaching out and turning to Tyson. “It’s been a while.”
“You know how it is.” Tyson shakes it, not even bothered.
“What can we do for you?” the first one who entered asks, picking up a pack of cigarettes off the desk and pulling one out. Like Tyson said, no bullshitting.
“I want to see your roster,” I state.
Silence falls over the room while the guy lights his cigarette and takes in a long drag. Blowing it out, he chuckles. “This is a joke, right?”
“No. I’m looking for someone and I want to know if they’re here or not.”
Taking his time, he takes another drag, his cheeks caving in on the inhale, the end burning red while his green eyes glare at me. Letting it out, he says, “If someone is here, then it won’t matter if we confirm it or not.” Shaking his head, he adds, “They won’t be leaving. To the world, they no longer exist.”
ELLINGTON
I’M HOLDING THEbottle of wine by the neck, down at my side, as my bare feet pad against the cold floor. My life is over. My plan of a career gone. I might as well drop out of Barrington at this point. Chance told me I won’t be working. Ever. My job is here. In this house. One day raising his children. Well, those weren’t his exact words. He was on his best behavior in front of my mother at lunch yesterday when he told her he’d take care of me. She looked more than thrilled to be handing me off like an infant that requires round-the-clock care, and she no longer had the time for me.
At this point, I give up. I’ll die a slow and agonizing death.
Is this why my father committed suicide? Because he just saw no end in sight? How long will I be able to take the life that Chance will make me live? Forget what I want or need. He’ll use my body however he wants, and I’ll pop out some kids while he fucks other women and I pretend not to know. It’s like Sin said in his bathroom, the Lords have women on the side. When you’re told you can have anything you want, women included, why would they be satisfied with one?
Lifting the wine, I take a gulp. Tipping it back too far, some runs down my chin and covers my T-shirt. It’s Sin’s. I found it in the back of the closet underneath a stack of my jeans. It still smells like him. I had the urge to burn it like he did my journals and diaries, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Entering the dark living room, I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and open the black curtains. I look over at the dark woods that line the back of the property.
Lunch went about how I thought it would. Fucking terrible. Then Linc and Chance showed up and it just blew up from there. I ordered a few drinks after that, and my mother had to bring me home. We fought. Once again, she called me a used-up whore and told me that I should kiss Chance’s shoes for thinking he can make me any kind of Lady. I had a few more drinks after she left.
Then I remembered that Kira thought I was pregnant. I had her bring a test over and when it was also negative, we celebrated by having a few shots of the Everclear she brought with her.
It’s for the best.
Hell, maybe all the drugs and shit I’ve consumed will prevent me from having Chance’s children and he’ll throw me away. Like every other man who’s come into my life. A Lord needs to reproduce. It’s part of their commitment to the society. If you don’t have anything to offer to it, then they don’t need you. And the Lords want their army.
Deny a man sex for three years, then give him a chosen as a reward, marry him off and he’s more than willing to knock up his wife. Boom! Next generation of Lords and Ladies are growing up. Rinse and repeat.
A cold chill runs up my back and I stiffen. My heart picking up at the shadow I see in the window standing behind me.
My skin begins to tingle, the fear and adrenaline making my breath hitch. “What do you want?” I ask, knowing exactly who it is.
“Little demon.” Sin’s voice comes from behind me.
I close my eyes, my hand curling around the neck of the wine bottle tighter. The hair is pulled off my shoulders to lay down my back and goose bumps break out across my skin. “Why are you here, Sin?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” he rasps against my neck. His lips tenderly kissing right behind my ear.