AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Saint hurriedly escorts me from the room, never looking back. I can barely keep up as he drags me down the hallway, his breathing getting heavier and heavier the farther away we go. He is shaking in rage and all I want to do is console him, but when we pass my bedroom door, I realize it’ll have to wait.
I have no idea where we’re going. I can only hope out the front door.
When we get to a door at the end of the hall, and Saint bursts through it, I exhale because everything in here reeks of him. I don’t have a chance to speak however because the moment the door closes, Saint wraps his arms around me, and with violent delight, he presses me into his chest. I go willingly, losing myself to him, crying happy tears.
I clutch him tightly, but it’s still not close enough. I want our bodies to become one. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, his lips pressed to the top of my head. “I didn’t want to shoot you.”
“Shh.” I hush him because I understand. I don’t want to talk. I just want to cherish this moment of being lost in his arms. Everything falls silent, and I surrender.
We both need the connection as Saint holds me tightly, inhaling my scent and humming contentedly. “I wanted to come see you,” he explains.
“It doesn’t matter. Alek had me drugged anyway. I wouldn’t have known if you were there.”
A growl escapes him. “I told Sara to watch over you. I am so fucking sorry, Willow.”
Each time he uses my name, he alleviates some weight inside, and I feel like I can breathe. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
“All of this is,” he corrects with nothing but regret as he wraps his body around mine.
We stay this way for minutes. Truth be told, I could stay like this forever, but nothing lasts forever.
“We’re in here, in my room because it’s one of the only places that doesn’t have a camera. That’s why I couldn’t come see you. Alek would have seen.”
“What?” With great sadness, I slowly break our embrace. I instantly miss his warmth.
He peers down at me with nothing but defeat overshadowing him. “This entire place is bugged and has hidden surveillance cameras. We have to be careful.”
“So even when Alek isn’t in my room, he or someone else is watching?”
Saint nods with a sigh. “Twenty-four seven. You are being watched.”
This just goes from bad to fucking diabolical.
Needing to sit, I stagger over to the foot of the king-sized bed and slump onto it. “If only Zoey hadn’t woken up, we wouldn’t be here,” I mumble to myself, staring at a spot on the floor.
Thoughts of her and the night on the yacht have me remembering Saint’s story.
“You sacrificed her to save me. Thank you.” I slowly meet his eyes, wishing I could say and do more.
“I promised you your freedom, and I don’t intend on breaking that promise,” he replies, but regardless of the fact that Saint is a man who sticks by his word, I know he did this because he cares.
“What is??????????? ???????” I ask, trying my best to pronounce what Oscar said to Alek.
Saint’s nostrils flare. “It means…virgin sacrifice.”
“Oh my god,” I gasp, covering my mouth in horror. “He intends to”—I pause, needing to gather my words—“to what? Have sex with me in front of people? At this masquerade ball?”
Saint looks about ready to punch the wall as he squeezes his clenched fists. “Yes.”
Not only is that barbaric, but it’s also horrific. But these people are a different breed. “Who are The Circle?”
My question has caught him by surprise. He shakes his head firmly, suggesting I drop it.
But I won’t. “Tell me.”
When he reads my determination, he levels me with nothing but sincerity, and reveals, “They are the most powerful, most wealthy people in all of Europe. They are your lawyers. Doctors. They are untouchable because no one would ever believe upstanding citizens would engage in the heinous things they do. They are bored with too much money to burn. They stick together, ensuring they never get caught because if one goes down, they all do. They are all sick, twisted individuals with an appetite for pain.”
“So I’m fucked?” I don’t see the point in being coy.
