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“You’re going to track the necklace back to them,” she realizes, her voice raw with emotions.
“Mmhm,” I confirm as I run my knuckles along her cheek. Her skin is as soft as the most expensive silks. “It broke during the accident, but I had it fixed just to make sure I could find the brothers.” I run my thumb across her trembling red lips. I push her bottom lip down, rejoicing in the plumpness of her flesh.
Then I pull myself together.
I snatch the necklace from her and take the note she wrote. I take my time folding the paper in half and putting both that and the necklace in a small ivory envelope. While I do that, Lik has pulled Rose’s stool slightly so he can stand in front of her. I watch him grab her jaw tightly and put a deep red lipstick on her lips. It darkens them like she sucked the life out of a man. She did. All of our lives.
I come back to her as Lik steps away and I grip her hair harshly. I press the envelope firmly against her lips, putting pressure at the back of her head so she can’t get away.
We had to do this quick. I know I had to take advantage of her shock and emotional weakness of being reminded of Viktor Volkov. She’s only soft and compliant for another few seconds. Before I can finish my action, she raises her hands and pushes me away. That’s fine, I’ve already got the mark of her lips sealing the envelope.
“Fucker,” she spits at me.
“You’re all good to go,” I smirk at her.
I can see the hesitation in her eyes, the rebellion in her tight fists, and the harsh breathing that threatens to turn into a revolution.
“I’ll make sure Rachel is safe while you help us out tonight,” I say low.
A deep breath and she’s back to being compliant.
Lik grabs a pair of wraparound heels and gives them to Rose. “Let’s go, princess,” he tells her.
She stands up, and I help her get into a black trench coat while Lik gets on his knees to put the shoes on her feet. Is it normal to be jealous of his position in front of her?
With the coat on, only her collar is peeking out and I grab the back of it. “Behave,” I growl in her ear. “Who knows, you might be free from me tomorrow morning.”
“You mean dead.”
I can’t get myself to say it to her. So, I do what I do best.
I keep quiet.
28
RACHEL
Young God– Halsey
“It’s like your dad knows every time I take a step closer to his company.”
I take a deep breath and put some toothpaste on my toothbrush. I’m standing in front of our double sinks and Conor is right next to me. He spits in the sink and rinses his mouth.
“Last time I asked you to go for cake tasting, he called you that same morning to go with your mom to her plastic surgeon. Now I take you dress shopping, and he calls us back to Stoneview right away for our two families to do a reunion? What is this bullshit? Does he even want me to marry you?”
“Of course he does,” I murmur.He just doesn’t want you to run his company, I fail to add. And when I take Conor’s last name, he will start working for my dad.
Conor was in college when I was in high school. By next summer, he will be done with it, work for my father, and I…well, I will be his wife.
I almost choke on toothpaste thinking about it. I finish brushing my teeth and clear my mouth. I feel sick.
I practically jump out of my skin when I look up from the sink. In the mirror, I can see Conor behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist and nuzzles his nose in the crook of my neck. The bruises he left on me last week have faded, and I cringe, knowing he’ll put some new ones there soon.
“We had to leave our romantic hotel room, our romantic weekend.” He takes a deep breath, inhaling me. “You smell good.”
“Don’t worry. We can go again soon.” I wriggle out of his hold and give him a small smile. “I’m still feeling a bit sick.”
Yesterday, I pretended I had a stomach bug to avoid having sex with him. Instead of taking care of me, he let me go find a doctor on my own while he was lost in his work and I went for a walk for an hour and a half. I came back with no medication and no doctor’s note and yet told him everything about seeing a doctor who said it might be from the anxiety of attempting to get pregnant.
