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“You really don’t think they would come to rescue you?” he asks.
I hum in thought. “Well, not exactly,” I say. “I almost think I would rather they don’t. Like—I have two friends who are pregnant and they’re both omegas. I don’t want them ending up somewhere like this because of what I did.”
Javi looks confused…then guilty. “You didn’t do this, Peaches. I did.”
I don’t know how to respond or how to make him feel better…because he’s right.
He heaves a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
A knock comes at the door. Javi rises to answer it, leaving the door open only a crack.
“What do you want?” he says.
Ephraim’s voice comes from the other side, snide and cruel. “The Prime wants you at family dinner tonight,” he says. “Have Esther report to the kitchen.”
“I told you shestays with me,” Javi growls.
Ephraim is silent for a moment, and his voice is quieter when he speaks again. “Look, man. If you don’t want trouble, you’ll start following the rules. You don’t have to let her out of your sight—she’ll just be cooking one room over.”
“Why does it sound like you’re helping me?” Javi growls.
“Because…” Ephraim pauses. “I don’t like what she did and she’s a stupid bitch, but I wish she’d never come back. It’s shameful. She should have died at sea like her—”
Javi shuts the door in his face, his back still to me. I sit on the bed, my eyes wide, staring at the pile of loot we went through last night because I can’t bring myself to think about what my brother said. When Javi turns around, I can’t meet his gaze.
“I don’t want to let you go there,” he says.
Where? My horrible memories? The idea that I don’t even deserve to live?
No…the kitchens.
He doesn’t want me to cook with the other omegas.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, my eyes downcast. “But I’m not…I’m not wearing those stupid toga things they wear. I’ll keep the t-shirt, thank you.”
Javi’s denim rustles as he shifts, but he doesn’t move any closer.
“You’re more than welcome to the t-shirt,” he says. “Now…I think we need to figure out a story for what I did to you today.”
I finally look at him, remembering our little inside joke with a faint smile. “What did you have in mind?” I ask.
He crosses his arms. “I’ve got some ideas.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
?
JAVI
Dinner is just as painful as I expected it to be.
Pretending like this is a family when it’s little more than a cult, eating food prepared by prisoners. This is not my idea of a good time, and I don’t think it’s Peaches’ either. The women in the kitchen don’t talk much, and they don’t even introduce themselves…but then, I don’t think they’re allowed to. Gideon gives them a stern look every time they make so much as a peep, moving listlessly between the dining room and the kitchen.
All that being said, the room is surprisingly empty. With three wives, I thought Gideon would have lots of children running around, but it’s just me, Ephraim, and Abel as guests at his table. The spread of food is far more than the four of us need, and I have to wonder how they’re so well-stocked out here.
I sit on the side of the table facing the kitchen, an open doorway giving me the occasional glimpse of her. I see the other omegas too—frightened, skittish, scared. Peaches keeps smiling at them though, and every so often she flashes a small, sweet smile at me too.
…I don’t deserve this.
