He drags his head up from his own cell and meets my eyes.
"No, Bex. I'm not fucking okay with this." His lips thin in frustration. I know he's had a meeting with his mom and Harrison to find out the truth about everything, but he's keeping schtum about the details.
He's hurting, I get it. But I could use whatever he knows. We need all the ammunition we can get if we're to go up against that asshole.
"What choice do we have?"
"We fucking don't," I sulk, knowing that he's right.
We might not totally understand what we're suddenly involved in, but I know that we've gotta see it through.
Marcus has told me enough to know that Cade is a threat. To Gravestone, to Quinctus’ traditions and beliefs… to Mia. Kingsley is a loose cannon, one my uncle seems to think needs reining in.
"I don't fucking like it."
"I know. But we've got to do what we've got to do."
"Do we?"
"You have another option? We can't go up against them, we'll end up dead. We can't run, we'll end up—"
"Dead, yeah. I got it," I mutter, pulling my closet door open and rifling through my shirts to find a suitable one for tonight.
Thirty minutes later, we're pulling up to Cade Kingsley's mansion in my BMW. Alex is tense as fuck in my driver's seat, and I fucking get why.
The last time we were with the five of them, they damn near killed us. There's no way this is just a normal dinner to get to know us better, as the message said.
There is nothing friendly about this visit. We're initiates, after all. We've heard all about the tests we're expected to pass before we're officially welcomed into this fucked-up world.
"Ready?" I ask Alex, forcing some confidence into my voice. The reality is that my heart is racing and I'm about ten seconds from having sweat rolling down my spine. But equally, my muscles are ready for the impending fight.
My injuries have barely had a chance to heal, but there's no way I'll back away from a chance to plow my fists into that motherfucker’s face.
"I'd rather be heading to my own funeral."
"That could well be what's about to happen."
"That's it, fill me with hope."
"I'm not gonna fucking lie to you, man. This has ‘set-up’ written all over it."
Without waiting for his response, I push the door open and make my way to the front of the oppressive building.
It seems Quinctus has a thing for gothic architecture.
Alex catches up with me right as the door opens. A young woman smiles at us and pulls the door wider for us to enter before thrusting a tray I didn't notice she was holding toward us—I was too taken aback by her outfit. Watching Cade with Mia makes my skin crawl, and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that he seems to be just as demeaning to all women.
"Nah, I'm good," I say, remembering all too well what happened the last time I took a drink from them.
"You will take what is offered to you," a voice booms from somewhere in the building.
The woman pushes the tray closer once more, but still I hesitate.
"Things will get much worse for you if you don't follow orders, Easton."
My eyes flick around the vast entryway before us, trying to work out where the owner of the voice is, but after a couple more seconds, I no longer need to wonder. He emerges from a doorway, and he's not alone.
My breath catches in my throat as my eyes lock onto Mia's.
She looks breathtaking in an elegant high-necked little black dress. Her hair is curled with most of it pulled into an updo. Her long-ass legs are on full display, and I can't help but smirk that she's been forced to wear something that covers her chest.
I wonder if he has any idea why that is.
"Drink," he demands, pulling Mia closer into his body and holding her neck with a painful grip, if her wince is anything to go by.
With my eyes still fixed on Mia, I reach out for the shot glass and down it in one. Whatever it is burns the second it hits the back of my throat, and I have to fight not to react to the strength of it.
I'll take the consequences of his fucking games any day, if it keeps her safe.
Alex follows my move, and when I finally look at the asshole, an accomplished smirk plays on his lips.
"Good boys," he announces patronizingly. "This way. Dinner will be served shortly. It's going to be an incredible evening, I can feel it."
Without warning, he spins Mia around. She wobbles on her heels and it takes every bit of my restraint not to reach out and steady her, to pull her into my arms where I know she'll be safe.
But I can't. I can't put her at risk like that.
What I did to her last night is bad enough.
It was reckless to leave my mark. To brand her. But fuck, I couldn't not.
My cock swells as I think back to her laid out on her bed, tied up and completely at my mercy.
"Ow," I hiss when Alex's elbow connects with my sore ribs. "What?"
"You're drooling."
"Fuck off."
Fuck knows what he was doing there, but after escaping from Mia's dorm I ran headfirst into Alex in the hallway. He took one look at me and smirked. He knew exactly what I was doing. And from the state of his hair, it didn’t take a genius to work out what he was up to either. My excuse of us doing an economics assignment fell on deaf ears.
Seeing as we were both thrown into the basement while unconscious during our last visit here, we didn't get a chance to really check out the lavishness of the house, and fuck me is it something else.
Our shoes tap against the black marble tiles, and huge chandeliers hang above our
