He scrunches his nose and massages his forehead. I can practically hear his thoughts. He only has to endure my disobedience for a few more hours.
“I don’t. You don’t deserve it. As your future husband, Kline insisted. You’re getting picked up tonight. And your retraining begins.”
“Do I get to know where I’m going?”
“No.”
“How long?”
“As long as it takes. When you’re ready to come back, you’ll marry Kline.”
“Good luck getting Tate to sign divorce papers.” I’m hanging onto that. It’s the one thing I’ll take with me. Tate is my husband. Forever.
Father smiles. “That’s easy, Ryan. I’m the only one who’ll know where you are. He can comply, or things get worse for you.”
“You really don’t learn any new tricks, huh? Can I drink this?” I reach for the wine with both hands since they’re chained together. Not supposed to have alcohol, but it’s my last dinner before I’m shipped off to hell, and it’s in front of me.
“It’s for you,” Father says.
I catch the smallest headshake from Griff. There must be something in it. Wow. Wherever I’m going, they want me knocked the fuck out. Or high. I pretend to take a sip. A little remains on my lips, which I’m forced to lick away. Hope that’s not enough to do anything. If I’m being sent to hell, I’ll go with my dignity while I still have it, thanks.
Fuck, though. Anything could be drugged. The food, the water. I guess they can just pin me down and shoot me up, but this is easier. Something I wouldn’t have noticed.
Luke stirs. But his eyelids droop, having a hard time dragging himself out from under the drug.
“C-Clarence?” he slurs. “What’re? Where am I?”
“We’re having dinner, Luke, remember?” Clarence says.
Luke’s brow furrows. “I … no. Where’s McKinnon?” He looks for him, gears turning. When he doesn’t find him, he tries to stand. Ah, so he is tied down.
“Ace is fine, Luke. He’s at school. We were here to discuss Tate.”
There’s a sharp grunt and then another from the direction of the door. Breath leaving lungs. A choked sound. Something heavy drops to the floor outside, and then another, a body, one of Kline’s guards, slumps halfway inside.
“Rude,” a voice says from the doorway. Tate steps over the body, sauntering in. “If you’re going to discuss Tate, you should at least pour him a glass of wine.”
30
TATE
“How did you get in here?” Henry says. He glances at Kline, who’s focused on me, taking a careful sip of wine. Kline wasn’t as broken as I would have liked him to be before I released him, but I was forced to pivot, and he was my best pivot.
Not great.
It’s even less great to see who his sons are. He fucking played me. Risked my wrath to throw that distraction at me, so he could slip his lie through, and it paid off. I didn’t ask much about them after that. I didn’t know one of them was Griffon. But he’d only take that kind of risk if he felt they were something to protect.
He loved Iris. That wasn’t the lie. But Iris didn’t die giving birth. Now I guess I’ll find out if the rest of the conditioning Ethan and I put him through worked, or if Klines are as good under pressure as he boasted they are.
At least Kline’s giving terrified-to-see-me. Maybe letting me in was strategic, or maybe it was in hopes I wouldn’t have him dragged back to my lair.
I shrug. “I know a guy who knows a guy, it’s not important.”
“McKinnon, there you are,” Luke calls, pure joy in his voice, eye fluttering open. That’s not Luke’s usual voice. Seeing McKinnon here, even if he doesn’t know wherehereis, shouldn’tbe a good thing. He should be enraged. He told McKinnon to stay put when they last spoke. They gave him the same thing they gave me, didn’t they?
That really works for me, actually. I spent the car ride here trying to figure out what I was going to do if Luke was here. How I’d rescue them while under the glare of his disappointment.
Wow, how very after-school-special of me. I never think like that. Did not like. Would not recommend. But Luke is tripping balls right now, staring at McKinnon like he hung the moon.
