I snatched the glass out of Travis’s hand and took a swallow.
Then another.
Cold. Sweet. A little too sweet.
Travis looked at Earl.
Earl looked back.
And the room started to go soft around the edges.
“Oh God.”
The whisper leaves me now, in this red room, and the sound of it makes something in my chest cave in.
They drugged me.
My own stepfather.
My own stepbrother.
I try to stand again, slower this time.
My legs hold, barely.
I make it to the mirror because I need to see something real. My reflection swims at first, then settles. Freckles across a face gone pale. Green eyes too wide. Long brown hair falling loose around my shoulders like somebody brushed it out while I was asleep. My lips look too pink.
Gloss.
There is gloss on my mouth.
My stomach twists hard.
I rub at it with the back of my hand until it smears.
The door opens behind me.
I turn too fast and the room blurs again.
A woman steps inside. Black dress. High heels. Dark hair pinned smooth. Red lipstick. She looks polished and expensive, like she belongs in a world I do not.
Her gaze moves over me once.
Quick.
Cold.
“Good,” she says. “You’re awake.”
My voice comes out rough. “Where am I?”
“Velvet Reign.”
The name means nothing for a beat.
Then it does.
I have heard it before. Quiet talk at the gas station. Men lowering their voices when they say it. Women looking away. A private club. Rich men. Girls.
