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"You saw them?" my heart drops to my stomach.

"Yeah, the redhead wasn't too pleased to see me." A smirk threatens to spill across his face, but his eyes tell a different story. "She asked me to give you a message."

I tilt my head, eyes never leaving his as he slowly drags his pinky in front of me. Everything inside me stills, my eyes flitting from his face to the promise I'd once given.

"No matter what," I whisper, my voice barely there. My own finger slowly locking with his.

"No matter what," he echoes the promise back to me.

We stay like that for what felt like forever, both holding onto a promise that had already been broken. It hurts to think of them down there, the only thing that offers the slightest comfort is that they're not alone, they have each other. Unlike me. I let the small flashes of envy settle on my chest, allowing the slide in right beside the shame and guilt that I'm already drowning in.

"What happened tonight? Where did he take you?" Jax says, dragging me back into the moment.

"To a club, it was awful. The girls there, all in chains—" I take a breath "How has nobody stopped him? How does he get away with it so easily?"

Jax nods, finally releasing my hand to turn to the sink, splashing water against his arms. The sink turns into a pink waterfall, and I avert my gaze. It's easier to ignore than think about what he's done.

"He took you to The Secret Garden?"

I nod. "Yeah. We went to meet some cop who actually turned out to be worse than Vincent, if you can believe it."

"Chief Rowland. Yeah, I've heard the rumours. He's part of the reason law enforcements don't get involved. They just sweep any cases that look like they could belong to The Order under the carpet."

"It gets worse." I pick at the loose piece of skin at the edge of my nail. I don't know if telling him will make things worse, and a small glimpse of uncertainty spikes.

"Go on," he pushes.

"We met another guy there...He said I'd make a wonderful...breeder."

"Giovanni De Luca." I didn't need to say his name, Jax already knew. His body tenses, hand balling into a fist. "You need to stay away from him, Amora, for your own sake."

"I don't have a choice, Jax. If Vincent tells me to go somewhere, to do something, I have to. There's no fighting it, not anymore."

"Then you need to pray he keeps you away." His eyes find mine, unmoving, and I see it. The fear.

"Are you trying to scare me? Because it's working," I snap back.

"No. I'm trying to fucking help you." His voice higher, and he shakes his head, annoyed. "Listen, the De Lucas are people you need to avoid. They aren't like Vincent or the rest of The Order. They're sick, sadistic, and once they want you, they won't stop wanting you. Fuck—" He dries off his arms with the towel before taking a step closer to me. "At least you seem to have won Vincent over for a while. He won't let them touch what belongs to him."

I stare at him with a scowl. "I'm not a possession."

"I didn't mean it like that⁠—"

"I know everyone who lives here believes they're owned, but I'm not. I'm me. A person, a real fucking person." I move quickly out of the bathroom, letting the door slam behind me. I'm tired of being an object, of no longer being myself.

"I didn't mean it like that, and you know I didn't. I meant that whilst he...” he trails off, unsure on how to make it better, like he can, "whilst you're here and he favours you, you'll be safe."

"Safe?" I scoff, already pulling the balcony door open. "I don't think I'll ever be safe. Not whilst I'm here. Not whilst I'm near you people."

I know my words hurt him. He flinches at the sound of my accusation like a bullet just drove into his chest. I don't let his guilt sink in. I'm already struggling to stay afloat, I can't take his, too.

"I think you should go," I say coldly.

"Amora, I didn't—" He begins walking closer, accepting he's lost this fight, if you could call it that. "I'm sorry."

"Goodbye, Jax." I use his real name because calling him Ace feels wrong in my mouth, the name tasting sour like I'm accepting him as the executioner when I'd do anything but. He walks through, lingering in the threshold, but I don't give him another word. He shakes his head and walks out into the darkness, and I close the door behind him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight