“I see you made it back okay,” I forced myself to say.
“Yes.”
There was no bite to her voice as there’d been earlier, and as her wary gaze skipped over me, I wasn’t sure how to read her demeanor. All I knew for certain was that she had to be as emotionally drained as I was, so the sooner we got this over with, the better.
Leaving the door open, I moved farther into the room, stopping at the dresser so I could lean back against the solid surface in the hope it would keep my legs from buckling. “Look, for the record, I wasn’t intentionally trying to lie to you today. I knew you wouldn’t go on a hike with me if I asked, so I let you believe what you wanted so I could get you out of this room. As for the ruins”—I scrubbed a hand through my dusty hair, my whole body sweaty and sticky and in need of a serious shower—“I had no ulterior motive there. I just thought you’d like to see them. And the story I told you about the burning tree wasn’t meant to deceive you. It was the story I was told when I first moved to the islands.”
She didn’t answer. Only pursed her lips and looked down at her hands resting in her lap. I didn’t know if I was relieved or not by that fact, I only knew I had to go on.
“I’m done trying to tell you what I think you want you to hear, Natalie.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “It obviously hasn’t done any good. So now it’s your turn. I know you have questions, and I know I haven’t given you the chance to ask them. I’m doing that now. Ask, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Her head came up, and when her blue eyes met mine, I didn’t miss the disbelief and even more wariness in her gaze. “Anything?”
Shit. This was definitely going to fuck me over, but there was no backing out now. “Anything.”
I could literally see the wheels spinning in her head as she pondered which of the multitude of questions she wanted to start with. After several seconds of silence, she said, “Is Covet a front business your House uses for sex trafficking?”
“No.”
The way her jaw clenched and her gaze darted down to her hands told me she didn’t believe me. She’d obviously done her research on my House in the short time between when she’d run from me in Italy and I’d found her in Idaho. Some of the information she’d uncovered wasn’t true. A lot of it was. But on this, I was telling the truth.
“It’s a legitimate fashion magazine,” I said. “A large percentage of the women who model for the magazine never do anything more than pose for pictures.”
“And the rest?”
I didn’t want to lay the ugliness out there, but I wasn’t going to lie to her anymore. “Some are recruited by my House for what they call their beta program.”
“Beta program,” she repeated, telling me loud and clear that, yep, she’d done her research. “You mean their beta kitten program. How they create—what did you call it when you were explaining it to me in Tuscany? Sex kittens. What the rest of the world calls sex slaves.”
“It’s not entirely that simple.”
“Oh, there’s more than one way to be a sex slave? I had no idea.”
I frowned at her sarcasm. “The women are not kidnapped and repeatedly raped. It’s not like the sex-trafficking stories you read about in the media or see on TV.”
“No, they’re seduced, manipulated, then trained to disassociate themselves so they’ll do whatever deviant acts they’re ordered to do by any number of men. Like in that ritual I saw. Sounds like the same thing to me, Luc.”
Fuck, I hated this. “I will admit that there are instances where some of the betas have been abused by their trainers or handlers.” The no-shit glare she sent my way made me shift uncomfortably against the dresser. “But they’re not all treated like that. Most of the kittens I encountered were taken care of. They were compensated well for their time and services. The majority consciously agreed to participate in the parties or private events they were asked to join.”
“And that makes it okay?”
No, it didn’t make it okay. And I didn’t want to argue about it with her because, at the end of the day, she was right. Many of the women targeted by my House were chosen because they were naïve or naturally submissive or without family or friends who would miss them. They were lured into my world by expensive gifts and promises of money and fame. And once they agreed, they were often drugged in their training. Some were physically abused to swap pleasure for pain. I’d even heard of a few who were so mentally broken by what they’d endured that they could flip a switch and take on a completely different personality that allowed them to become the perfect sex kitten with zero inhibitions.
Disgust spread across Natalie’s features as she shook her head, telling me she knew exactly what I was thinking. “How could you work for that magazine knowing they were preying on innocent girls?”
Sickness swirled in my stomach, but it was punctuated by the reality that she was once again lumping me in with the vile men of my House. “I didn’t have a choice. I was forced to New York and ordered to take over operations at Covet. It doesn’t mean I liked it. It doesn’t mean I approved of what was happening there. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean I participated in recruiting any of those girls. I was trying to change things. I know you can’t understand this because you’ve only seen a glimpse of my world, but change in an organization as old as my family’s doesn’t happen overnight. I hate what Covet stands for and what happens to the models who are too naïve to say no to the temptations they’re offered. As soon as I learned I was being sent to New York, my plan was always to try to make a difference at Covet.”
“So what stopped you?”
My chest contracted as I looked at her across the room. “You stopped me. That day in my office when you interviewed for that stupid internship, I knew you were going to be trouble. I knew you were there looking into what happened to your friend, and I knew I had to get you out of there before you learned too much.”
She stared at me in the heavy silence with unreadable eyes, and as I waited for her to say something, I tried to figure out what she was thinking. Only I couldn’t. This woman had always been a mystery to me, right from the start. A mystery that made me feel alive, even now when part of me wanted to die.
“Is that what happened to my friend Elena? Did someone”—she hesitated—“coerce her into becoming a beta kitten?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure, or you won’t tell me?”
“I’m not sure.”
“But you have a guess.”
I nodded. When she only stared at me, I sighed and said, “I wasn’t in New York when she died, so I didn’t know her personally. I wasn’t called in until after the scandal of her death and the connection to Covet hit the media. From what I gathered, she was seeing my cousin Benito. You never met him, but he was at that party at my parents’ estate in Tuscany when we were there.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Dark hair? About your size? He was with an older man.”
“Yes.” My stomach pitched, knowing she remembered. “My uncle Sal.” I’d freaked when I’d seen her walking toward me as I’d been talking to my depraved uncle and cousin in the courtyard. I hadn’t wanted her anywhere near the two degenerates. Thankfully, they’d left the party, but it still haunted me knowing they’d seen Natalie’s face.
I crossed one foot over the other and tightened my arms across my chest. “Benito can be charming as hell, but he’s into some twisted shit. It’s possible he forged a connection with your friend Elena and that they were simply dating.”
“But?” she said when it was clear I didn’t want to go on.
“But,” I forced myself to say, “it’s also possible he seduced her with the intention of training her to be his kitten. Some men in my House”—I rubbed a hand over my damp brow, hating this admission—“some keep kittens as personal mistresses. Some of the men get off training them in various ways and coercing them to service others.”
“That’s sick.” Natalie pressed a hand to her
stomach, and a nauseated look passed over her face. One I felt in my own gut. “And did she…” She swallowed hard. “Did Elena figure that out? Is that why she was killed?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible.” When she looked up at me, I quietly added, “It’s the closest I could come to an explanation.”
She closed her eyes, and the look of misery that spread across her face nearly gutted me.
“I don’t know for sure it was Benito,” I said, knowing it didn’t help but needing her to understand. “I thought he was the one responsible for her death, but then I learned my brother Giovanni had also been in New York at the same time and that he’d expressed interest in her as well. Gio can be charming in his own way, as you know. It could have been either of them. I didn’t have time to figure out which one killed her before you arrived at my office.”
She drew a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking at me once again with that fire that marked her as a survivor. With that fire that gave me strength even though I didn’t deserve it. “But you never told the police that.”
“No.”
“And you covered up the connection to Covet.”
“My uncle Sal did. After he had his heart attack, I was called in to finish what he’d started.”
It wasn’t an out-and-out lie. I had come in after the cover up was already under way. But if Natalie asked me if I’d ever been in Elena’s apartment before that night I’d taken her home after that party on Long Island, I’d have to fess up.
She looked down at her hands again, and I waited for the question. Waited for her to ask just how far I’d go for my House. But instead, she said, “Is that why you took me to Italy? Because you were afraid I was going to find out about Benito and Gio and turn them in?”
“No,” I said softly, wishing she’d look at me so she could see the truth in my eyes. “I took you to Italy because the second I saw you with Gio the night of that party on Long Island, I knew he’d set his sights on you. I had to get you out of there before what happened to your friend happened to you.”
She twisted her hands in her lap. “And that’s the only reason?”
“No.” I watched her carefully, knowing I was stepping out on a rickety limb but unable to hold myself back. “I also took you to Italy because I was fascinated by you. From the first moment we met, I saw you were different. You have a fire inside you that makes you strong—stronger than most.”
She didn’t show any reaction—just continued to stare at her hands—and I didn’t know if that was the answer she’d wanted or not. But it was the truth. I’d been awed by her spirit and determination and her loyalty to her friend. And I’d been fascinated by the way she’d challenged me in that interview. Fascinated and intrigued and completely obsessed.
“So what happened between us in Italy wasn’t planned by your House to keep me from finding the truth about Elen—”
“No.” I hated that she even thought such a thing. And I felt like an ass for not realizing that had been going through her mind this last week. “What happened between you and me had absolutely nothing to do with my House or my family or your friend. I promise you that.”
Her eyes fell closed. But I couldn’t tell if that was because she was relieved or even more miserable.
Please be relieved...
“Did you…” She swallowed again but kept her eyes shut tight and her hands folded in her lap. “Did you participate in that ritual in Tuscany?”
“No.” Anguish clawed up my chest and tightened my throat, because this time, I did see misery in her tense features. So much misery, I should have realized she’d been tormenting herself with this question too. I’d been so concerned with keeping her safe and giving her time to adjust to our new normal that I hadn’t stopped to think about the emotional turmoil she was experiencing.
My arms ached to hold her. My body tightened with the need to comfort her. But I knew better than to try. And I knew now that she’d mentioned the ritual, if the conversation went in the direction I expected, in a few minutes, she’d never want me to touch her again.
I steeled myself for that moment. Told myself I was doing the right thing. Shut down my emotions and went numb like I’d done long ago. “I stopped participating in their so-called rituals when I was twenty. They can make me attend their gatherings when I’m home. They can make me watch. But they can’t force me to join them, and they know that.”
Her eyes drifted open, and when those blue gems looked my way, they were wet with emotion and filled with all the questions I didn’t want to answer but knew I could no longer avoid.
“So you have participated.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement, so I didn’t answer. But, God, I hated what she was imagining as she looked at me with those very focused eyes that had always been able to see right to the heart of me.
“What happened when you were twenty, Luc? You told me you left home for good then, but you never said why.”
And there it was.
I expected to feel sucker punched. I expected my knees to buckle. Neither happened. I’d gotten good at not feeling anything over the years, and that skill was clearly still available to me when I wanted it. But I had a hunch that skill was going to fail me rather soon. I might be able to get through the confession. I might be able to act like I didn’t give a shit. But Natalie knew the real me I never let anyone else see, and watching the light in her eyes die when she learned the truth was going to gut me right to the core.
I glanced away from her for the first time since coming into the room, choosing to focus on the toe of my dirty boot so I could get through this unscathed.
Like a bandage—rip it off.
“You have to understand that everything you see, everything that happens is carefully orchestrated. I’m not just talking about my House. I’m talking about the world. Countries, governments, they mean nothing. Our modern society is controlled by a select group of families who individually are each worth more than all the other people in the world combined. Money is power, and the ones who have the most money have the power to create and manipulate every economy, every government, each and every military on the planet.”
No surprise crossed her face, telling me she’d already uncovered a lot of this, but I forced myself to go on because what I told her about the Houses now would be important later in my story. “Originally, there were thirteen main families, or Houses, all linked to royalty in ancient Rome. When the Holy Roman Empire fell, the thirteen families decided to band together and use their power for greater things. They signed the Treaty of Entente in Venice, and for over a thousand years, they’ve been the masterminds directing everything from wars to famines to economic recessions, even industrialization. They control each major superpower, they can manipulate every religious leader, and they do it all because they are in charge of every single banking institution in the world.”
She was silent for several seconds, then said, “Thirteen? I thought there were only five.”
She had done her research. Part of me was relieved by that fact. Another part was sickened because I knew if she wasn’t scared after reading that research, it meant I was going to have to tell her everything so she would finally understand just how much danger she was really in.
“You’re right. Now there are only five. Over time, many of the Houses intermarried. Today, the five Houses that remain are in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and England, and they’re not as friendly as they used to be. Each house is constantly wrestling for ultimate control. Each one is afraid another will eventually take them out. Even amongst themselves, they can’t be content sharing power.”
“Five families in Europe can’t manipulate everything. What about the United States?”
“Already controlled by the Entente. What was the US before it declared independence? Part of England. As far as the Entente Houses are concerned, the United States is still a territory of the English House, and your president answers to the head of House Merrick.”
I coul
d tell from the look in her eyes she was still skeptical, so I said, “Everything can be traced back to when countries were discovered, who discovered them, and which Houses were in control at that time. Even places like the Middle East and Russia, whose monarchies were already established, are easily manipulated. Control the major superpowers on the planet and everything you manipulate within their economies eventually trickles down to the less-developed countries. Why do you think humanity as a whole is still so dependent on oil in the twenty-first century? Because the Entente wants it that way. There are researchers out there who have developed cleaner, cheaper forms of energy, but the Entente controls those governments and can easily suppress that technology. They also control the governments with the biggest oil reserves. Control the energy reserves, and you control the world’s ability to progress.”
She was silent for a moment, then said, “Assuming what you’re saying is true, how does all this relate to why you left Italy?”
This was the moment where everything changed. Though I wanted to rush right out of the room, I forced myself to stand still. “I told you before that nothing is as it seems. The rituals and parties are the same. They might look like orgies, but they’re really carefully orchestrated gatherings designed to intimidate and manipulate. There are still many world leaders who aren’t completely influenced by money. Some claim they have a conscience, others simply don’t want to give up their own miniscule power. Blackmail does the trick every time, though. Whenever a sex party is scheduled by my House, it’s because they’re actively targeting some government official or religious leader who doesn’t know about the Entente. They lure them in with the promise of sinful pleasure, record what’s happening, then they blackmail them after. There have been enough people over the years who have called the Entente’s bluff and been destroyed in the aftermath that now no one even questions the threat. Every single time, they get what they want.”