38

38

STACEY

Imassively overestimated my stepbrother’s intelligence.

He’s smart and nerdy but has no common sense whatsoever. I reckon a ten-year-old has more goddamn sense. I’d say it had something to do with him being a blonde, but that’s a ridiculous stereotype. My best friend is blonde, and she’s brainy as hell.

Chris is just… urgh. I huff into my glass of wine and cross one leg over the other, trying to block out “Eleven Minutes” by Yungblud and Halsey blaring all around the lodge.

He’s singing in the shower, his voice screeching like nails on a chalkboard. Then his tone turns high as he does the girl’s lines, and I down the rest of my glass while wishing for a quick death or for my eardrums to blow.

I walk to the kitchen and refill my glass. I checked to make sure the wine bottle was sealed when he offered it to me earlier to help calm my jitters. Killing the nerves with alcohol is both stupid and really stupid – but here I am, downing another glass.

My eyes fall on the bag Chris usually keeps in his bedroom. After a second of listening to check he’s still showering and singing, I lunge for it.

His phone password is my date of birth, which he seems to use for everything, and I let out an excited sound as I get access, immediately scrolling through the contacts and pressing Kyle’s name.

Four rings, and then a voice I’ve missed so dearly: “You better have a good fucking reason for calling me.”

The low sob is covered by my palm. “Hi. It’s me.”

“Stacey? What the fuck?”

Silence descends for a second as I try not to ruin the make-up Chris bought me by crying. “Wait. Wait. If you’re calling from his phone… that means… No.”

My bottom lip shakes. “He got me, Kyle.” My voice breaks on his name. “Chris got me.”

“Where?”

“The lo—”

“I’ll be taking that,” Chris snaps, swiping the phone from my hand. “As usual, you don’t behave.” He presses it to his ear. “Howdy, big brother. What can I do for you?”

Fuck it. “We’re at the lodge!” I yell as loud as I can, smacking the ground after Chris backhands me hard enough to make me dizzy, the searing pain slicing my cheek where the blow connected.

“Shut the fuck up!” He hangs up and tosses the phone aside. “Why did you just do that? Why are you always choosing him over me? Why?” He grips my throat and pulls me to him on my knees. “You fucked up.”

I struggle against his hold, feeling pressure behind my eyes and tasting blood. I should be scared, but instead, I spit blood in his face. “Fuck you.”

Grimacing as he wipes his face with his free hand and licks his palm clean, I try to pull away from him, but his fingers squeeze my throat tighter. “Tempting, but we’re going to be late. I’ll fuck you later.”

I try to swallow, but his hold on my throat tightens. “N-No, th-thanks, asshole.”

He brings his face closer to mine, and I battle against him as his lips hover over my own. “I’m trying to be good; don’t you see that? I want to do so many things to you, hurt you, fuck you, but I’m holding back until you want me just as much.”

I drag in air as he releases his grip a touch, and although his grip on my throat is still painful and harsh, I manage to speak. “You’ll be holding back until your last breath then. I will never want you.”

Chris shoves me away, my ass hitting the floor again. “We’ll see. Get the fuck up. We need to leave, and you look like shit. Clean the mascara off your cheeks and fix your hair. I reckon my brother is on his way here, and we need to be gone before he shows up.”

With the police hopefully.

But then, Bernadette runs the police.

This is a disaster.

A huge part of me hopes Tobias is hiding in the woods ready to slit his throat and take me somewhere safe. But I’m not his priority. He’ll either be hunting Kade or obsessing about ways to win Aria over.

Chris marches me to his bedroom and orders me to sit in with him while he gets dressed, and I listen. I keep my blank gaze on the wall while I absently wipe the mascara from under my eyes and fix my hair.

He’s intentionally walking around naked. Asking me if I think he has a decent-sized cock, if his balls are smooth enough and if his abs are more defined since the last time we were close to each other.

I was unconscious the last time, but I ignore him anyway.

“Your tits look great in that,” he tells me as I fix my dress back into place. “You’ve got them, so you should flaunt them. The wire will hide there too.”

Urgh.

The dress he bought me is annoyingly flattering. Black silk hugs my every curve, my right leg exposed from the slit that runs all the way to my hip, but with every move I take, the nakedness I feel only grows.

“I saw a video of you and Kade having sex, by the way. Made me mad.”

The hairbrush freezes in my hand. “What?”

“Yeah. I told you I knew about what you did in America. Behind a club. Bernadette has the footage too. Kind of makes me want to kill him that little bit more.”

“You won’t be able to kill him,” I say, tutting. “You only hit women.”

“We’ll see.”

That was the first time we’d had sex in two years. And I was stupid enough to do it behind a goddamn nightclub. We didn’t even kiss. I swear, everything in my body becomes mush when I’m around Kade.

Our first actual time sleeping together was in a hotel in London when we were teenagers. We went to see the live version of The Greatest Showman before he took me back to the room, and he was so respectful and gentle and made sure I was okay. I was already in love with him then, but it took weeks for me to admit it.

The difference between those two encounters is drastic.

Chris finally gets his clothes on – casuals, because he isn’t allowed inside the building. He fixes his golden hair in the mirror, sprays breath freshener in his mouth and starts flossing his teeth.

I screw my face up and drink from the wine glass.

“You look beautiful again. Good touch on hiding the redness on your cheek. I didn’t think I hit you that hard.”

I glare at him. “I hope Bernadette shoots me in the head.”

“Strange thing to hope for, but okay. Ready?”

Without nodding, I stand and walk out, Chris following behind me. I flinch as he slaps my ass and tries to grope it, but I shove his hand away and turn to him. “Stop it. I swear to fucking God, Chris, you better stop touching me.”

Raising both hands, he smiles. “Fine! I like when you’re all pushy and angry. I get why Tobias Mitchell was so drawn to you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“No, I’m serious. Why would he have so much time for you? You’re a nobody. All you have are your good looks, a cracking set of tits and a nice ass. Your dancing gets me hard, so maybe that’s it too. Fuck, wait. Did you dance for Kade’s dad? Will you dance for me?”

“Delusional,” I mutter and walk into the sitting room.

The little USB drive sitting on the coffee table in front of me has everything I need for tonight. The images of Bernadette and numerous others taking part in illegal activities, a letter of gratitude from Chris for leaving me alone and an invite to Chris and I’s wedding, to be apparently confirmed at a later date. He also tells her she can bring Kade as a plus one.

I want to smash it to pieces, but I already did that with the last three.

The plan will fail.

I either need Kyle to show up right now, or I say goodbye to my life and await whatever torture Bernadette has planned for me. There’s absolutely no chance she’s letting me leave that building.

I hate Chris.

Since he still has access to everything, he’s made me watch Kade every night before bed. For five nights straight, I’ve sat tied to a chair, forced to watch him in bed with Cassie. One night, he was sleeping beside Base and Bernadette joined them.

She watched. Base watched. Kade watched. I watched.

Chris laughed.

“Right, drink up. Time to go.”

The glass of wine Chris forces down my throat leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, or maybe it’s the unwanted kiss he smashes to my lips before telling me to go to the car – who knows? All I do know is that tonight is going to be brutal and I need to do everything he says through the earpiece he slides into place to make sure I stay safe.

I’m weighing up the pros and cons here. Who’s the lesser of two evils?

Chris, someone who’s been abusing me since I was a little girl, who’s raped me, killed my unborn baby and ruined my life? Or this psychotic woman who seems to be the devil in disguise?

I’m undecided.

Chris tells me he’ll get me out of there the minute anything looks dodgy.

I’m not sure how the hell that’s going to work with him not even at the party, and me being surrounded by Bernadette and her guards, but I have no other option. If I refuse to go, she’ll come for me regardless – and I’m still unsure which is the best option.

When we drive out of the woods and onto the main road, I feel deflated that Kyle hasn’t made it in time. If he had, he’d have punched the living daylights out of his brother, taken me somewhere safe and Bernadette would never get her hands on me.

“You’re killing me – I hope you know that.”

He narrows his eyes. “She gave me her word.”

I let out a “pffft” and look out of the window. “And then they’ll come for you. Or Tobias will. You’re screwed.” I look over with a fake smile. “I doubt you’ll see your next birthday.”

He audibly gulps and turns on the radio. “Shut up.”

The drive takes over an hour, and when we reach a long, narrow road through trees that open up to reveal a large manor, I can’t help but look in awe.

White bricks. Pillars. A driveway full of flowerbeds and party lights. Classical music is playing inside, and workers stand by the gates and ask our names.

“Christopher Fields. I’m here to drop off Miss Rhodes.” He shows the screen of his phone. “There’s the invitation email with my car registration.”

The man studies the phone. “Very well. You have ten minutes to drop off, then be back ten minutes before midnight.”

Chris drives around the large fountain and parks to the side, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song we can hear through the manor entrance. “Right, tell me the plan again.”

I huff. “We’ve gone over the plan thousands of times. I go in, introduce myself to Bernadette, hand her the USB drive, then you come for me when I say the code phrase.”

“Which is?”

I flatten my lips at the ridiculousness. “Stacey Fields. By the way, you’re a child.”

“Smart and beautiful,” he says with a smile. “I’ll be able to hear you, so don’t worry about trying to get in contact with me before that moment, okay?” He reaches forward and tries to tug the wire hidden between the cleavage of my pushed-up breasts. “I’ll be able to hear you and know where you are, so if anything goes wrong, I’ll find you.”

“That’s… unsettling.” I fidget my hands, cross and uncross my legs, and chew my lip. “I don’t think I can do this. Isn’t there another option? We can post it to her, or you could just let me go into hiding.”

“You were in hiding, and she still found you. These are her rules and terms, Stacey. We need to abide by them.”

My teeth chatter, and my eyes sting with a burning sensation. Fear. Bad adrenaline. Terror. Impending death and doom. I’ve endured trauma for years at the hands of this guy – I should be used to this. I should be able to zone out like I have millions of times.

But I can’t even fill my lungs without making a guttural sound. “I really don’t want to go in. I-I’m scared.”

I flinch as he cups my swollen cheek in his palm. “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay? Stay under the radar and don’t speak with anyone. Stay with crowds. Don’t go anywhere they can attack you without witnesses.”

“None of this is helping.”

“If I didn’t make this deal, she would have come for you. This is the only option left,” he says, stroking his thumb under my eye. “Be a good little lamb and listen to me.”

I manage a nod as I shake, unable to move or tell him to let go given how scared I am.

“Don’t trust anyone. None of these people…” He points to the guests entering the manor with dirty grins. “They’re all bad people. They are versions of her. In her circle – evil and vile and corrupt. You understand? This isn’t a normal party. I don’t believe for a second that it’s even a celebration.”

“You’re making it worse.”

More cars appear, and Chris glances at the time on his watch. “I need to go. I’ll be right outside. I know ways to get in if you need me. Go.” He leans forward and shoves the door open. “Behave.”

I get out and hug myself as the breeze smooths over my exposed skin. Clutching a purse that contains a folded envelope with the USB drive inside and a small can of pepper spray, I walk away from the car shakily and ignore him driving out of the courtyard.

I’m offered a glass of champagne, but after Chris’s warning, I kindly decline the drink.

“Stacey?”

I freeze halfway up the steps at the sound of my best friend’s voice, then turn around, my eyes wide. She should not be here. “Lu?”