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I swing open the door and slide in, wincing when the bruise on my thigh presses against the Italian leather. “I don’t understand.” Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night, but the little lake episode with Keaton left me on edge.
“He wants you. It’s always been you. That much, I’m sure.”
“What!” I yell, and he fires up the car and pulls up the ramp and onto the driveway of whatever house we just came out of. I turn around to see the outside. Large trees shade the front, slightly hiding the white and beige walls. It’s as large as it felt inside.
“Wait…” I turn back in my chair. “Are you telling me that the reason why you left was because of me?”
Eli turns over his shoulder. “Yes, Cartier. And now I need you to do what you’re meant to do and run Mayhem. Please. Go with them on their tour, keep a watchful eye on all of them, especially Luna.” My heart turns to liquid the second my niece’s name is mentioned. “I’ll check back when I find out something else.” He looks between me and the road, his eyes wide with panic. “Cartier, do you understand what I’m saying? Do you still have Jordan and Chris?”
“Yes, of course, but—”
“—no buts!” he yells, and it’s the first time I’ve heard Eli raise his voice, much less raise it at me. His eyes close and his jaw tightens. He’s doing that thing Kyrin does when I’ve done something to make him angry. “Cartier.” His tone softens. “I need you to keep everyone safe. You’re the only one who knows what’s going on, and I’ll figure out the rest.”
“The takeover? They found a sponsor?” My voice is barely above a whisper. The takeover has been in the talks for three years. It was one of the first things Delila spoke with me about when she brought me in. A league of powerful people wanting to overturn Midnight Mayhem. It’s not about money. When you have money, the idea of gaining more is too easy. It’s always power. Power is the one thing money can’t buy, and all of these rich assholes love to flash their monopoly around the room to pretend that they have it.
“Have you seen Lilith?”
I shake my head, squeezing the handle of the door. Lilith isn’t the type of woman to take lies lying down. When she finds out about Eli being alive, it’s going to be chaos for us all. “No. Not since I left. I only just saw Keaton and Kyrin last night for the first time.”
“Keep her close.” Eli’s hands clench the steering wheel. “Just keep her close.” He continues to drive us away, and the farther we are, the more relaxed he becomes. I don’t know what else to say to him that I haven’t already said, but I wasn’t expecting him to tell me that him disappearing might have had to do with the takeover. That him disappearing had to do with me.
“One more question.” I clear my throat and wait until he pulls up to stop outside the gated entry to The Village. “When Dominic broke into the apartment all those years ago, he came for me, not for you?”
Eli’s eyes glass over, the corners of his mouth curving upward. Not a lot. Just enough to confirm. “It’s complicated, but I struck a deal.” If Eli struck him a deal, that means that—
I pale. “Eli, you dragged The Kings into this?”
“Cartier.” His brows raise toward his hairline. “Get out of the car and look after our family, and the rest of them like you’re trained to do.”
“I’m going to have to bring The Brothers in or they’ll pick it out. Keaton already knows something is wrong with me. It’s only a matter of time before they’re using Killian’s juju.”
“I won’t tell you how to do your boss things, but I will say that once you bring them in, expect them to baby you even more. Kyrin will continue to interfere over his protection of you.”
I sigh, my fingers coming to the handle. “You’re right.”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll call you when I know anything further. I’m close to finding out who the sponsor is, and once I do, then I will kill everyone around me to get home. But until then, you’re in danger of Bam Bam taking you and dressing you up in his little outfits and keeping you locked up like a toy. You know he has a fascination with you.”
I shiver as the memories rip down my spine. “Okay, but Eli, you could have told me earlier. I would have helped you.”
“No, you wouldn’t have…” He leans over and kisses my temple. “You would have left with him and I couldn’t let you do that.”
I stumble out of the car and push my dry hair out of my face, watching as the taillights disappear around the corner. Eli struck the deal with Dominic before he and Ky were together, so why did he do it? And what the fuck is Dove doing with Bam Bam? Even as the initial thought leaves my mind, I already know.
“Cartier!” One of the security guards at the gate climbs down from the watchtower, holding his AK across his chest. “What happened?” He brings his radio up to his mouth, but I stop him.
“Don’t.”
His eyes widen, but he lowers his radio slowly. “Ma’am, you can’t walk in there like that, forgive me for saying.”
“No, I know.” I make my way to the gate as he swipes his key card to open it. “You’re going to drive me to the Nero mansion, please.” Kiznitch are way too good at keeping secrets. The workers and people who know about me have kept my secret for three years. Delila would be proud.
I slip into the passenger’s seat of the G-Wagon with the word SECURITY stamped across the body of the vehicle. The trip to the lake house is a twenty-minute drive, and I take this time to go through my phone and missed calls, texts from Kyrin, Keaton, Kill, and then finally Nial. I don’t bother answering them back because I know that once I tell them that I’m here, they’ll come straight away.
I jump out and thank security, quickly slipping through the front door and climbing the steps up to the bedroom. The lake house is my favorite house in The Village. It offers three-sixty views of the forest and lake down below, and since it’s facing west, you get to see the most amazing sunsets over the shrub-filled mountaintops. I remember the story my mom told us as kids, about the first couple from Kiznitch who found the land by stumbling upon it by accident. I don’t remember the whole story, and now I wish I had paid closer attention. Since Kyrin and Lilith moved into the manor with Luna, I’ve taken up the space here. Well, when I am here, but I’ve also decorated it to be mine.
I slip beneath the scalding hot water of the rainforest shower and squeeze soap into the palm of my hand, watching as the water around my feet turns to dirt. Four minutes. I’ll give myself four minutes to enjoy a shower in peace before I call Jordan and Chris and get them here.
After scrubbing all evidence off my skin, I shuffle into some casual gray sweats and a tight white crop top with no bra. You can see my new nipple piercings through the fabric, and I pointedly make no effort at hiding them.
