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‘I’m going to speak to Kane. I’ll be back soon.’ I head for the door, and I glance back to see the worry on Alice’s face. She has no idea what we said and no idea what Ari is capable of, and her worry is most definitely valid.
Halfway up the stairs, I look up and see Kane hovering at the landing, and I can tell immediately that he’s been listening in. His dark, intense eyes study my face like he’s reading all the secrets of the universe, and when I’m within reach, he takes me by the arm and throws me into the wall.
“What game do you think you’re playing right now?”
His growl makes my knees want to buckle, sending me to his feet. It’s happened before, and it will happen again, but not today. I’ve risked pissing him off—truly pissing him off. I’ve paid the price for it, and I’m not eager to do it again. I could easily have a cell next to sweet Alice darling, but I realize in that moment, knowing what his plans are will be worth it.
“Enough is enough,” I tell him.
His fingers grip my jaw painfully, his thumb rubbing the wrong way against my stubble. “Is that so?”
He’s trying to scare me, which means only one thing: he’s shaken. He knows I’m right, and that’s disrupted his carefully constructed plan regarding Alice. Though, I think possibly she did that herself too.
There’s a reason he left her untouched and sent me down to watch her. There are easier ways to keep her alive, and he chose the only one that could possibly bring her comfort.
“You’re a hypocrite,” I say, my tone full of venom. “You hate us for keeping secrets, but you let us assume the plan with Alice, and it’s all bullshit.”
His brow quirks. “Is that so.”
I lift my chin, though his grip on me doesn’t relent. “If you wanted her dead,” I repeat the words I said to Alice, “she’d be dead. And you and I both know you can’t keep her down there like that for much longer.”
“What do you want me to do with her, James?” he asks quietly. I know that tone. That tone is danger. “Trust her to just sit around the house and make herself comfortable? Or are you suggesting we send her with Ariel and let him force her into submission.”
My gut clenches because I know he would—if that was his plan. “I don’t think you want—”
He silences me with a kiss, which I’ll admit is very effective. I was no blushing virgin when I was brought into the inner circle of Kane Walsh, but he’s one of three people who are capable of bringing me to my knees or quieting my sharp tongue.
“Don’t presume to know what I want,” he growls.
I slip my fingers into his hair and pull. He growls louder, but I know he loves it. Ariel submits for him, and Phoenix is the only person he’ll tolerate softness from. But me? He loves when I fight back, and I allow myself a momentary fantasy as I watch his eyes darken about what kind of lover he’ll be for Alice.
Because I know he can only resist her for so long.
“I think you like when I dig into your thoughts. And I think I’m right.”
“AndIthink you’re itching for a punishment,” he says in a way that tells me it won’t be a real one. It’ll be something I’ll enjoy far too much.
“This limbo is killing her,” I tell him as he steps back. My fingers loosen and fall to my side, and he shoves his hand under my arm, lifting my stump and laying a wet kiss along the scars. I shudder, but I don’t let his sinful mouth distract me. “It’s ruining everything. I need you to trust us to know what you have planned, Kane. We can’t act in our own best interest if you don’t give us all the information.”
I can see from the look on his face that I’ve stabbed the problem straight through the heart.
I lean back, and he takes my chin, tipping my gaze up to meet his. Staring Kane in the eye is like staring at the sun—gorgeous for a moment, then blinding. “Trust us,” I repeat.
He takes a breath, then steps entirely away from me, leaving the air cold between us. “I need to make some phone calls, and then the four of us will have a long conversation.” It’s a concession. A small one. He takes four steps away from me, then turns his head and says something that makes my heart leap into my throat. “For now, show her to a bedroom. Then show her all the things I’ll do that she won’t enjoy if she tries to escape.”
* * *
I don’t go back down straightaway.Instead, I peruse the halls to find a room that I think will suit the sweet darling best. The one I settle on is woodsy, like all the rooms, but it’s got feminine touches here and there. I doubt Kane’s ever set foot in it. I doubt anyone has.
It’s clean because all the rooms are cleaned weekly, and it smells faintly of dried roses. There’s a thick duvet on the four-poster bed and a dresser with a mirror. Along the far wall is a door that leads to an en suite with a claw-foot tub that I can’t stand because getting out of those with one arm is a balancing nightmare.
It’s got a nice shower, though, with two showerheads and black tiles, and the soaps are all fresh and full. I’ll go on a run, of course, to spoil little Alice if she really is going to have a home here. I don’t know exactly what Kane is planning, but I know that tone he used. It’s the same one he had with me—kid gloves and uncertainty but ultimately obsessed with keeping me.
Alice is not going to go the way of most Romanos who end up behind our walls. She never was. She was always special. Kane was just very good at hiding that.
There’s a noise from behind me, and I turn around, unsurprised to find Phoenix in the doorway. He’s wearing his usual sweater and trousers, his hair neatly brushed, his face tipped down, which means he’s listening to something in his earbud.
“Is she speaking to Ari?” I ask.
