“Ah. Jealous bitches,” the sweating man said again, then searched through his leashes until he found the one he was looking for. He held it up, shoulder-height, and one of the women sat back so she was sitting up on her knees instead of kneeling down on all fours. “This one did the same—my first. We were at this very event when she realized I would be buying my second. She started crawling all over me like a bitch in heat. I didn’t wait until we got home, I took her into the bathroom and taught her a lesson right then.”
A shuddering breath left me, and my eyes fluttered shut as the room once again spun—as my hatred and disgust for the man grew so strong that I wanted to scream and claw at his face, wanted to yank the leashes from his hand and use them against him.
Lucas made some sort of humming noise in the back of his throat, but I was struggling too hard to stay vertical to focus on it. “That’s not a bad idea,” he said, his tone filled with amusement. “After the show mine just gave you, I think I’m going to have to do the same.”
“Don’t let us stop you,” the other man said, and the sweating man laughed loudly, yanking on the leashes as he did.
Lucas said brief goodbyes, then turned and started walking away from me, and I struggled to follow.
It wasn’t until we were out of eyesight of that group that he slowed and grasped my arm, gentle enough not to hurt, but firm enough to help me stay standing—firm enough for anyone looking to think he was dragging me rather than helping me.
“Are you okay?” he asked under his breath as he led me toward a table filled with drinks.
“I feel like I’m going to faint.”
His grip tightened, and his steps faltered, but his face stayed cold and indifferent. “Did you? Back there?”
I clenched my teeth against another wave of nausea, and tried to breathe through it when it made the outer edges of my vision darken. “I don’t know what happened,” I responded honestly, then focused on taking calming breaths for a few seconds. “I might have blacked out.”
I hated that I was doing this to him when we had hours or minutes or seconds until this was all over. I hated that I couldn’t be stronger for him on this night when he was playing his part so well. I didn’t know if it was the dress or the overly crowded hall or the knowledge of what would soon be happening. I just knew I needed to fight through the nausea and the fatigue until the night was through.
Lucas didn’t respond until we were at the table and he’d grabbed a glass of iced water and handed it to me. “Blacked out. Wh—” He cut off, and looked blankly ahead for a few seconds before pulling his vibrating phone out of his pocket. He only glanced at the screen for a second before his pained eyes met mine as he answered the call.
“Yeah?” he growled in greeting, and then his eyes slid shut. “Right . . . okay.”
The call was over before it began, and then Lucas was standing there with his eyes closed and his hand in front of him, like he didn’t know what to do with it or the phone he was still holding.
“Who was that?” I asked softly, in case anyone close enough to us was listening. The women here weren’t allowed to ask questions as simple as that one. When Lucas didn’t respond, I asked, “Is it time?”
But I should’ve known that answer before Lucas shook his head. David wouldn’t tell Lucas what time they were storming in—only that it was tonight.
“It was the driver,” he finally said, and then released a slow, weighted breath. “Briar, I think you should go lie down.”
I wanted to. I wanted to so badly that I was ready to cry just at the thought of the relief that would come from lying down. But I didn’t know where I could in this hall, and with William’s threat, I knew I wasn’t supposed to leave Lucas’s side. “I don’t—I wouldn’t know where we could go, and—”
He looked up at me then, and his voice was tight when he said, “Briar, you don’t feel well. It’s time you lie down.”
My head tilted to the side as confusion filled my already exhausted mind, but I couldn’t force it to continue shaking when I realized what he was saying. “What?”
“The driver will be waiting for you, go lie down in the car. I’ll be there—”
“Lucas, no,” I whispered, and started to reach for him, but managed to stop myself that time. “Don’t do this,” I pled, not caring if anyone could hear me.
He and I both knew women weren’t allowed to leave the celebration until it was over, just as I knew I couldn’t disobey an order from him if anyone else was listening. He was trying to get me out before everything could happen. After the extensive planning and all the lessons in defense, he was still trying to get me out. He still planned on putting himself in a dangerous position by making me go and leaving him here alone.
My head spun, or maybe that was the room again.
“Luc—” I swayed forward, but managed to steady myself. My hand automatically flew to my stomach when it rolled.
“Briar,” Lucas said in a soft, pleading tone. I looked up to find his eyes locked on my stomach—his expression revealing his panic and denial. “Briar, tell me what’s happening.”
“Lucas, Lucas, Lucas . . .” a cold, charmingly accented voice said from beside us.
A chill rushed up my spine as Lucas’s panic morphed into unrestrained shock and dread, then I looked down to a pair of pale blue eyes.
Chapter 46
Betrayals and Sacrifices
Briar
Lucas had been so sure that William would avoid us during the celebration since he had already announced his intent with the ticket. To see Lucas so rattled scared me more than I ever had been for this night.
“Ah. Briar, how lovely to see you again,” William said with a knowing smile from where he sat in his wheelchair.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I’d never heard him say my name before. It felt like the floor was rising up to meet me, but I hadn’t moved.
“I’m sure you’re wondering what happened,” William continued, and rubbed his right thigh roughly to bring my attention to the limb that ended just above his knee. “Nothing but a hunting accident.”
A woman scoffed, and I pulled my gaze from William’s leg to see Karina glaring at Lucas. Sahira and the rest of the thirteen women wore equal looks of hatred for the man beside me.
I wondered if they would feel the same if they knew what William had attempted before and after Lucas shot him.
“Hunting,” Lucas finally said, and even though I couldn’t tear my eyes from the women or William, I was surprised to hear the cool tenor of his voice, and the humor in that single word. “I guess that’s accurate. How did the surgery go? Sorry I didn’t care to stop by and check on you.”
“And why would you?” William asked as his smile broadened into something that made my blood run cold.
“Exactly.”
I didn’t know how William and Lucas were talking to each other so calmly. I didn’t know how Lucas hadn’t attacked him yet, or why I wasn’t screaming at him for trying to have me taken away or killed.
But then I remembered what Lucas had said, and I knew what William was doing.
He’d made his intentions known, and now he was going to torture us slowly until he decided he was ready to make good on his threat against me.