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Emilia doesn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, she slips into the driver’s seat, starts the engine, and reverses out of the parking bay before speeding away, causing the tyres to squeal against the tar.
I spin around to glare at Judah.
“I could have gone home with her, you didn’t need to play the knight in shining armour.”
Judah leans in close, and to the outside observer, it may look like he’s being sweet, as if he’s going to kiss my cheek, but I know better. His voice is a low whisper.
“I got a call you had an issue, I’m here to sort it out.” He straightens, and smirks down at me as he regards me with those hazel eyes.
“Theissue,” I say, holding up my fingers as if adding quotation marks to the word, “has been dealt with. Like I told you, I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
“Fair enough,” he appeases, surprising me for a moment. “But I’m still here to drive you home. Kai is waiting for you.”
“Why?”
He doesn’t respond, but instead, he opens the passenger door of his Maserati, and I slip obediently inside because I know he won’t answer me until I’m safely tucked away in his car.
Once inside, he starts the engine, and soon, we’re leaving the university campus and heading back to the other side of the island. It won’t take us long to get home, but while we’re travelling together, I want nothing more than for Judah to talk to me.
As we drive along the coastal road, I glance over at him. I’m still surprised at just how beautiful he is. If he wasn’t such a bastard, I’d more than likely fall for him without question.
“Why is Kai waiting for me?”
“He’s going to start training you,” Judah says without looking at me. His focus is on the road ahead of us, but I know if I was in any danger, or if I was to suddenly push open my car door just to test him, his reflexes would be as sharp as his jaw. “We’re all going to train you, in our own way.”
“Train me? I don’t need—”
“This isn’t about what you need, Brielle.” The frustration in Judah’s tone matches my own.
Suddenly, he pulls off the road. He kills the engine, twists in his seat, and orders, “Get out.”
My mouth pops open, but my own stubbornness forces me to ignore him, and I sit back in my seat and stare out the windscreen. I don’t respond, I just watch the waves crashing towards the island. I can’t see the rocks from here, but I know they’re there, and anyone who gets too close to the edge could easily fall and end up dead.
Before I realise what’s happening, Judah is out of the vehicle and heading round to my side. Soon enough, my door opens, and I’m dragged from my seat. He pulls me along behind him until we’re standing on what feels like the edge of the world. All I can see for miles is water. The deep, dark blue Mediterranean Sea stretches out to the horizon. The sun is slowly lowering, gifting the sky a strange, fiery hue.
Judah spins me around, his front to my back, and even though it’s not the first time I’ve been this close to him, he still steals my breath. His warmth is like a cocoon as he pulls me against his body. I’m not sure what he’s doing, what he’s planning to do, but I can see the water below us and the rocks now, too—the dark brown, jagged edges so clear as the white water slams against them.
“What are you doing?” I ask in a soft tone, realising I’m truly frightened. Of the three men I’m living with, Judah scares me the most. “Judah,” I whisper his name when he takes a step closer to the edge, forcing me to follow suit.
His grip on me tightens as he leans forward, his chest pushing against my back, until I’m bent over the cliff edge, and I gasp as the rocks loom closer. It would be so easy for him to let go, and I’d fall to my death.
“Do you see how simple it is?” Judah whispers in my ear.
The warmth of his breath soothes my trembling, but the fear is still there. Judah has this dangerous aura about him—he wears it like a cologne. And I know he’ll kill me if he ever finds out I’ve been keeping things from him.
“Judah, let’s go home,” I tell him, and suddenly, he spins me round so my front is pressed up against his.
My breathing speeds up, and I know he can feel every movement. I wonder if he can detect my heartbeat thrumming in my chest.
“If I ever find out that you’re here as a spy, this is where your life will end,” he threatens, holding me over the edge of the cliff.
The water crashing below is so loud it booms in my ears, and along with my erratic heartbeat, the noise is deafening. A chill skitters down my spine as I look up into those eyes that hold anger and something else I never expected to see—fear.
“I’m not,” I tell him. It’s the only truth I can offer him for now.
I only came to Black Hollow because Papa forced my hand. I didn’t expect him to force me to marry a stranger. And I don’t know if I can ever forgive my father for it.
“Don’t you forget this, Brielle,” Judah warns me as he leans in closer. “Those men at home love me, and I them. And if you threaten that happiness, I won’t think twice about ending your life.”
