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“S-Sunday.”
“A holy day.” His fingertips drift across my jaw and down my throat, like frozen tiptoes across my skin. His voice is soft, no apparent threat in his tone or expression, but I want to run, run, run—I gasp when he closes his hand around my throat. “What were you looking for, Sunday?”
I grab at his wrist. “The bathroom.”
“Is that so?”
He pins me against the wall, and my feet leave the ground. My final intake of breath isn’t enough, but even if it was, I’m sure panic would have stripped me of it, anyway. I pull at his hand, and he watches me with total indifference.
“Michael!” An excited shriek sounds from down the hall. The man releases me and I fall to my knees, gasping and spluttering for air as Darcy runs toward us and launches herself into a smiling Michael’s arms. “You’re here.”
“I am,” he grins up at her. “How’s my girl?”
“Better now.” She kisses his nose. “Does Felton know you’re back?”
I hold my neck as I watch them, my throat burning, my heartbeat banging in my ears.
“No, I just arrived,” he says, and Darcy drapes her arms around his neck. “Do you want me all to yourself, my love?”
“For ten minutes?” She nuzzles the tip of her nose against his. “Or twenty?” He glances down at me, a man I now know is Michael Maddox. The head of everything. More powerful than every man in this house combined. “Ignore her, she’s Cage’s initiation. She’ll be dead by tomorrow. Time’s ticking. Fuck me, Daddy.”
That seems to do the trick, and he spanks her ass, eliciting a loud laugh from her as he carries her away from me and, I’m assuming, to a nearby bedroom.
A few seconds pass before Darcy’s words hit me.
Dead by tomorrow.
Dead by tomorrow.
Numbness sweeps through me as I sit on the hallway floor. The pain in my throat ebbs away, and my heart steadies. Maybe I’m in shock, or maybe part of me knew that coming to this place was my death sentence.
Dead by tomorrow.
I don’t know how long I watch shadows moving across the stone floor, but a hand touches my cheek, pulling me from the bottom of despair where I’d settled.
Felton frowns gently and takes my hands as he lifts me to my feet. “What’s wrong, Sunday?”
I blink a few times, wishing more than anything that it was Cole and not him.
“I got lost,” I whisper. He tilts his head, his eyes dropping to my neck, where there are no doubt bruises. “Are you going to kill me?”
Felton crowds me until I back into his office door, his expression dancing between rage and intrigue. I don’t know if he’s going to kill me or break my neck, but I stand my ground, because maybe I have nothing left to lose. “You really need to remember your place, Sunday.”
I lift my chin, unwilling to be shaken by two Maddox men in quick succession. “Are you, or aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not.” He tilts his head. “Cage is.” My lungs deflate, and his grin widens. “That’s his final task before being accepted into the fold. It’s clear he’s become fond of you quickly, so if he kills you, I’ll know.”
The pain in my throat intensifies and speaking feels like swallowing gravel. “Know what?”
Felton searches my eyes, allowing a few tense seconds to pass. “Whether he’s a cop or not.”
I hope I school my features in time to hide my shock. Knitting my brows together, I try to act lost for words. “What?”
“There’s a rat in our midst, Sunday.” He takes a piece of my hair between his thumb and forefinger and twirls it. “Naturally, I have to look at the last one in. That’s Cage. And even if he’s not a cop, I get the sense he’s lying to me.”
“And you think killing me proves otherwise? He barely knows me.”
“Yes, but I’ve never seen him kill a woman. Our line of work means that’s kind of a necessity.” I grit my teeth, and he laughs softly. “You’ve always been so fiery, Sunday. It would be a shame to lose you, so what if we made a little deal, you and I?” He leans close, resting his forearm against the wall above my head, bright green eyes searching mine. “I will let you go and forget your father’s debt if you find out the truth about Cage. Ride him until he confesses or edge it out of him, I don’t care. But find out if he’s lying.” He tilts my chin up. “Then you and Daddy will never hear from me again.”
