AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t hold your breath,” Connor warns me. “It is what it is.”
“What about the guy who owns this house?” I ask, eager to crack somebody’s skull for what happened to Kyle. Somebody needs to be held responsible, and I can’t exactly go after Henry David. Not yet, anyway. We’re letting him stew in his own juices for a little while longer.
“No trace of him yet,” Connor says. Another squad car comes in, and my friend starts to look worried. “I need you to get out of here, Raylan.”
“Yeah. Just keep me posted,” I reply and promptly turn away.
My very soul is shattered as guilt burns through me. If only I had done more … but what exactly could I have done? Henry David was one of the councilors in charge of the Sweet Mother of Mercy project at the time. I asked him; I fucking begged him to stay true to his word. He looked me in the eyes and promised that he’d divert funds to build a community center so the kids would at least have a stable place to come back to every day, no matter where they ended up living.
And then he got the city council to approve a sale. A corporation outside of Motor City came in and bought the whole lot, tearing the building down and raising a whole residential complex for incoming middle-class yuppies who needed new homes in Everton. With the mall and more offices opening up in the area, it made sense.
At least, that’s what Henry David said at the time.
The man did not keep his word, and I know he made a pretty penny on the sale commission. He was elected mayor not long afterward. What is happening now is yet another repercussion of his corruption and mismanagement of the whole fucking city. Innocent kids are ending up on the coroner’s slab because Henry David didn’t give a shit about anything other than money and influence.
He’s going to pay for this.
9
Ariana
Guilt is a dangerous feeling.
Most therapists advise against holding on to it, yet I can’t seem to shake it. Then again, I can’t shake any negative emotions while I’m a prisoner in this place. And having slept with Sky isn’t helping matters.
My thoughts keep rushing back and forth while I anxiously pace the room, waiting for another day to pass. It’s still early, though, not even noon. My heart thuds frantically with every sound I hear coming from the hallway, but nobody comes in. It’s a particularly quiet day.
I’m angry and frustrated and turned on whenever Sky comes to mind. Last night was better and more beautiful than I ever imagined it would be, yet I cannot reconcile the image of my kidnapper with the tender and passionate man who claimed me.
What’s even worse, his friends keep lingering in my thoughts, too. I had a close call with Kendric that still makes my blood pressure spike. And Raylan’s sunny smile and Southern charm do quite the number on my loins.
It’s wrong on so many levels, and it’s distracting me from my main goal—which is to regain my freedom by any means necessary.
Sky comes in just as I’m about to start working on the window bars again. I quickly hide the screw in my pocket and turn around to face him with a sour face. “What do you want?” I ask, my tone flat and snappy.
“Just checking in,” he calmly replies.
Something is different about him. He’s warmer, softer. His eyes keep searching my face while he is actively trying to keep himself cool and uncaring. His body seems stiff, but his gaze is annoyingly tender. He’s making it incredibly hard for me to hate him or even be mad at him.
“I’m fine; you can leave me alone,” I say, crossing my arms defiantly.
“Ariana, I think it’s time that you and I had a serious talk about what’s going on here,” he says.
“Why? I mean, what’s there to talk about? I’m your prisoner; you’re using me to get back at my father, and last night shouldn’t have happened. I’m well aware of the facts; don’t worry.”
“See, that’s just it. There are nuances to this whole thing,” Sky says and takes a step forward, but I give him a sharp look, and he knows to stay put. Frankly, I’m surprised to see him so eager to respect this boundary of mine. “Ariana, I don’t regret what happened last night.”
“Of course you don’t,” I scoff.
“I loved every fucking second of it, and I know you did, too. Your body doesn’t lie,” he says, and I’m already squirming by the window. Stupid body, so quick to betray me again. “But I won’t touch you from here on out, not unless you want me to.”
“Oh, what a relief.”
He smiles subtly, his gaze scanning me from top to bottom again as if he’s reading my very soul, and all I can do is stand motionless, secretly wishing for him just to come over and take me in his arms and consume me like he did last night. “We’re not doing this for money,” Sky says. “We didn’t kidnap you for ransom or anything like that.”
“Right.”
“And I know words aren’t enough to make you believe that there’s actually a higher purpose to this. But if I show you, if I give you a chance to meet the rest of the club, I’m hoping that maybe you’ll understand.”
