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“I can help her and her sister,” I insisted. “Without bringing any more harm to the empire.”
Sage started to shake her head, but I held up a hand.
“Hear me out!”
She sucked in air between her teeth but didn’t argue.
“If I get her out of there, help her escape the compound—”
“ATLAS!”
“Just listen!”
“I really don’t think—”
“But I send her away. Far, far away,” I concluded. “So that there is no way I can be with her, either. Jesse can’t have her, but neither will I.”
Sage’s mouth gaped open. “That is just semantics,” she sputtered. “It’s still… It won’t…” She frowned. “It won’t work.”
“Why not? I’m not taking her.” I grinned a smile I didn’t really feel, and Sage’s uncertainty didn’t inspire any confidence. My smile faded. “I can’t stand by, watch her fate, and do nothing. It’s eating me up inside.”
“I can see that.” She sighed heavily. “And I don’t suppose it will matter what I say, anyway, because you’ve already decided, haven’t you?”
This time, my smile was genuine, and I shrugged, ambling back behind my desk to sit in the tattered remains of my chair.
On my desk, I caught sight of the familiar, feminine scrawl I had tucked away, yet another keepsake of Bianca to torture myself with—the list she had written when she had taken calls for Shifter Affairs. My hand slipped toward it, and I gently tugged the ink-smeared page toward me, inhaling deeply.
“I have to do something,” I said again. “Before she left, Bianca reminded me that I help people way less deserving than her all the time. I think that’s stuck in my head.”
“She’s stuck in your head for other reasons than that,” Sage sniffed. “What do you need from me?”
“Just get in touch with the lawyers about the insurance company. I want a check on my desk by the end of the week.”
“If it’s still standing,” Sage retorted. She hesitated. “Is there anything I can do to make you think twice about this?”
“I don’t need to think twice. I have only thought about this,” I reassured her. “I’m going to rescue Bianca and Dahlia Barrett and save them from that disgusting tiger shifter before he can ruin yet another life.”
Chapter21
Bianca
“Wake up, my sweet, succulent twins!”
I bolted upright at the hot breath on my cheek, fist flying upward instinctively. Jesse yelped as I caught him on the face, and he reeled back slightly, though my blow was mostly inept. I was half-asleep, and the darkness had hindered my aim, not that I was particularly trained for combat.
“What are you doing in here?” I demanded, covering my sister, who slowly woke at my side.
I could feel Dahlia’s concern palpitating as she raised her blonde head, dark eyes shining in the blackness. Suddenly, the trailer was flooded with light, and I saw that Jesse was not alone, which filled me with a sense of relief. Surely, he wouldn’t attack us with a crowd… right?
Who knew what he was capable of?
“I’ve come to take you to a much better environment,” he declared. “With less than a week before our nuptials, it’s high time that you see what awaits you in my palace, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t help myself. I snorted loudly.
“Your palace?” I repeated. “Is that what you call your shit house?”
Jesse’s smile froze, and he pushed his face closer toward me.
