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Then again, the last time I drank…
My cheeks burned at the memory of my time with Tor and Char. When it was my time to give my order, I opened my mouth and did so without even thinking about it.
I only realized I might have said something strange when the eyes of every other person stared at me as though I’d lost my mind.
“One Shirley Temple,” the server said with a chuckle that made me drop my gaze to my lap.
Everyone else had ordered adult things, and there I was, proving what a kid I was after all. The opening, then closing of the door said the server had left, but I kept staring at my lap instead of around the table. Somehow, Bradley still managed to make me feel like I was still in that cage, that I was locked up and stared at and had no idea how to escape.
Which was foolish. Iknewthat if I stood right now, if I walked out, no one would stop me. The men would follow me, of course, but they wouldn’t force me to stay.
Yet somehow, Bradley messed with my mind and made it difficult to remember that I wasn’t trapped anymore—at least not by him.
“You wanted to see us?” Hayden asked.
Bradley held up one finger. “We can discuss matters, but wait for one moment.”
Before anyone needed to ask why, the door opened once more. A group of servers entered this time, with platters balanced on their hands, their movements almost like a well-practiced dance. The one who had taken the drink orders placed glasses before each of us with our selected items. The pink of my soda was bright and cheery through the glass and three red cherries floated on top.
The other servers brought lots of food we hadn’t ordered. Bradley didn’t appear the least bit surprised, suggesting he’d preordered a selection of dishes and appetizers.
Did that mean he expected this to take a while?
“Is there anything else you need?” the server who’d brought the drinks asked.
Bradley waved her off, still not looking her way. “No, nothing else. Thank you.”
“Of course. I will ensure you are not disturbed. If you need anything, please press the button on the edge of the table.” She then left, closing the door softly behind her.
It almost felt as though she took the oxygen with her, and even the scent of the food—as delicious as it looked—couldn’t ease the tension.
“So, again, why did you call us here?” Hayden asked.
Bradley looked at me, then gestured at the food. “I had no idea what you might like, so I had them prepare a number of dishes. Please, eat.”
I couldn’t hold his gaze. The moment we made contact, I dropped my gaze again, feeling as though his eyes were a trap I might fall into. He was the sort of person who looked dangerous, but I knew it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as he truly was. I knew it because I’d grown up around lethal people, could tell from the way they moved, the way they spoke, like a sense that most people never developed.
It was one reason I hated interacting with him so much.
He let out a soft huff as though he didn’t appreciate my reaction.
If you don’t want people to be afraid of you, maybe don’t abduct and sell them!
Talk about the consequences of his own actions.
“She appears well.”
“When you sell something, it no longer remains your problem, I thought,” Vance said.
“It isn’t, but that doesn’t mean I wish to see harm come to anyone, especially innocent women.”
I opened my mouth to smart off to him but snapped my lips together before it escaped. The last thing we needed was for me to piss him off. He was in a position to make things far worse for me and the men.
Instead, I picked up my drink and took a sip through the straw, rolling the sweet liquid around in my mouth to distract me.
“I called you to ask again if you have any plan to enter into negotiations with Lorien,” Bradley said.
The mention of Lorien had me sitting up straight, my hand clenching around my glass, my heart speeding.
