He stormed from the room and slammed the door behind him. When he turned around, he was startled by Elizabeth’s sudden appearance. If she saw what was in the room behind him she would blow it way out of proportion. Her blue, quizzical eyes raked him from head to toe, focusing on every little dot of blood, blood that wasn’t his, blood that he took in vengeance for something that shouldn’t matter to him as much as it did.
“What were you doing in there, Kade?” Elizabeth pried, pushing off the wall.
Her blonde curls swayed against her shoulder as she stepped forward. Her eyebrows drew in accusingly and the not-so-subtle pout on her lips told him she already knew what he was doing. How long had she been she standing there?
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “None of your business.”
She surveyed the blood on his clothing. With every drop, her face grew darker. “You killed him, didn’t you? The Unfortunate who hurt your precious whore?”
Kade found himself smirking, despite the anger her words stirred. Did he actually enjoy what he did? “You’re jealous?”
He knew her answer. They’d had this conversation plenty of times before. She scoffed, dismissing his observation with a flick of her hand. “Of an Unfortunate? Don’t be so ridiculous.”
“Then what’s your problem?”
Her features softened and her big, blue eyes glistened in the light. “I miss you… I don’t see you anymore.”
“I’m busy.”
She stepped forward and Kade’s brows drew closer as she reached out for him. He stood still, allowing her arms to surround his waist. It wasn’t because he needed comfort from her. He just knew he’d never get out of here without her causing a scene… unless he gave her what she wanted. His hands remained in his pockets as she pressed her head against his chest. It was a meaningful embrace to her, Kade could feel it in the pressure she held him with, but to him, he was bored and eager to get the hell out of here.
“Are you finished?” he asked, letting his head tip to the side as she peered up at him.
She was hurt and made no effort to hide that behind her parted lips, but Kade didn’t have the time to worry about it, and besides, he was still mad at her. Twice she’d fucked around with his things. Twice he had to tell her to back off and that wasn’t something he was going to forgive easily. Then, without notice, she lifted herself on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. She’d changed the taste of her lip-gloss from apple to cherry. Kade was fond of cherry. As she kissed him, she slipped her tongue between his lips. In his pants, Kade began to harden. It wasn’t because he was aroused, not really, he just hadn’t had sex in weeks and his body wanted it, desperately… but he didn’t want it with Elizabeth and he couldn’t have it with Nine. His hand was his only option for release, not a particular favourite of his, that’s for sure. Finally, he removed his hands from the pockets of his black slacks and placed them on her hips. The gesture caused her to push herself harder against him. He slid his hands up the contour of her body, to her shoulders, and he gripped them before pulling her lips from his. Her face contorted into a confused scowl.
“But we’re—”
“We’re what?” Kade snapped forward, lowering his face to hers. He wanted her to say it, to say that they were together so he could take that dream and crush it, leaving it broken at her feet. Elizabeth had been Kade’s friend since he was a child, but she was just like the rest of them, like Vince. She treated everyone she thought beneath her like shit. That was the main reason Kade entered this sex-only relationship with her in the first place, to make her feel useless. Somewhere along the line, though, he grew comfortable and kept her around… but tonight, tonight was when he would end it. No more. Elizabeth said nothing as Kade straightened his posture.
“Goodnight,” he said, dismissing her as he walked away.
It was wrong to judge Elizabeth for all that she had done, considering Kade was no better. The difference was, Kade tried, he really did. He kept his distance from Unfortunates most of the time, and he’d never degraded one in public. Then Nine came along and he was forced into the proceedings that came with owning a slave. He didn’t like it… seventy percent of the time he didn’t like it. What scared him the most was the thirty percent that craved it. That thirty percent bubbled to the surface whenever Nine was around and she’d slam it back down with her smart, sarcastic mouth, bringing the seventy percent back the right way. As far as he was concerned, she was his saviour as much as she was his condemner. She was both beautiful and terrifying, promising him redemption all while forcing him to sin harder than he ever had. Kade had to remember that he was in control. That she was a pawn that he needed to checkmate his father. She was a beautiful pawn, one that danced graciously along the board, but a pawn nonetheless.
∞Nine∞
My eyes flutter open and I blink rapidly, searching the darkness. My heart races in my chest… someone is here. My fingers tighten around the fabric and suddenly I hate that I’m lying naked in Kade’s bed. Then, I feel the edge of the mattress shift and I vigorously sit up, pressing as hard as I can into the headboard. I see his silhouette first… his head is down, his back arched. The image sends dread spearing through my body.
“Kade?” I whisper. “What’s wrong?”
No answer.
I reach for the bedside lamp, my fingers brushing over the smooth marble table before I find it. When I flick it on, I gasp at the sight of Kade as he sits on the edge of the bed with random splatters of blood on his clothing. I swallow hard, but inch closer, regardless of my survival instincts.
“I killed him,” he tells me, loosening his tie with his finger. “I hit him until he started bleeding…” Kade refuses to look at me. He keeps his stare ahead on the wall as he pulls the tie free and tosses it to the floor. “And then I choked him until he stopped moving.”
Horror freezes my organs as the visual of it plays out on my head. “W-why’d you do that?” I almost whisper.
He turns his body and looks at me like it’s obvious, like I already know the answer. “Because he ruined my plan, he interfered where he shouldn’t have, and because he touched you. He put his hands on you—in you—in my possession.”
“Possession?”
He stands up and quickly fingers the buttons to his shirt, exposing a sliver of his bare chest with every single one. “Yes, you are mine. You wear my crest. I own you.”
I frown, even though I know that, why does it hurt so much to hear? I thought tonight… the way he helped me, saved me, meant I mean more to him… I thought that maybe my life actually meant something to someone. I know better, I know he’s a Fortunate, but he saved me, and as I think about it, butterflies flutter anew in my stomach.
“My brother is next,” he states dryly as he lets his shirt fall to the ground.
Tendrils of dread burrow through my chest and I shift even closer, desperately clenching the blankets to my body. “No, you can’t—”
He swallows the distance between us in the next heartbeat and harshly grabs my face, drawing it closer to his. “Vince fucked me over for the last time. I am not his brother. I am relentless. I am cold. I am bloodthirsty and he is fucking dead to me.”
I want Vince gone—I do—but murder is not the answer. “Kade… you don’t want to do—”
A rough knock on the door forces me to eat the remainder of my words. Kade looks over his shoulder and releases me. When he looks back, there’s something on his face. Panic? Fear? It lasts only a second before his calm façade returns.
“Pretend to sleep,” he orders in an urgent whisper as he lies me back down.
“Why?”
He slaps his hand over my mouth and brings his mouth to my ear. “This is life or death, Nine. Pretend to be asleep and don’t you dare open your eyes for anything. Understood?”
He pulls his head back to look me in the eyes and I nod. As he turns away, I shut my eyes, but I’m unable to slow my breathing or my erratic pulse. Who is it? Vince? Elizabeth? Moderato
rs? I hear the door open and then the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. I’ve heard that noise one too many times in the camp.
“You acted too out of character for my liking tonight,” Michael, Kade’s father states.
“I had a bad night so you come ‘round pointing guns?” Kade laughs under his breath. “A little dramatic, don’t you think?”
Silence falls—a deafening silence. One I’m sure betrays the sound of my beating heart. “If you’re going to shoot me, old man, make sure you kill me this time because if you don’t, you’re as good as dead.”
“Why’d you ruin Vince’s birthday?” Michael asks, ignoring Kade.
The sounds of Kade’s shoes occasionally scuffing against the floorboards is the only indication I have that he’s moving about—probably over to his desk. Sure enough, I hear the sound of his whiskey bottle pop and the tinkling of glasses. “I took back what was rightfully mine before he broke it. Whiskey?”
Michael must decline because I don’t hear him move from the door. “If he broke her, I would’ve bought you a new one.”
“I don’t want a new one,” Kade counters. “I prefer her.”
My heart leaps into my throat and I swallow constantly, trying to lessen the dryness in my throat.
“There are plenty more like her, plenty more that do the same thing.”
“Maybe, but I’m a sentimental guy. She’s my first Unfortunate and I’d like to keep her as long as possible.”
Another silence fills the room… and that’s when I hear a floorboard close to me creak. “Why’s she sleeping in your bed?”
“I’ve just finished with her. Not that it’s any of your business,” he lies immediately. He’s been interrogated before by the looks of it and he handles the pressure well. I’d have caved the second I saw the gun.
“Caring for them makes you weak, Kaden, like your mother, and you remember what happened to your mother, don’t you? I won’t be embarrassed by another member of this family.”
My heart stills. Kade’s mother cared for Unfortunates? Kade’s father killed his mother? I feel the cold barrel of his gun press gently to my temple and my heart stops cold. I want to cry, to scream, but I can’t. I’m frozen, locked by Kade’s order not to open my eyes for anything.
“Do it. I’ll let you, if it makes you feel better.”
I’d flinch, if I wasn’t so terrified of having a bullet in my skull. Seconds pass that extend into minutes that I’m sure stretch into hours and all I can think about is not screaming. Then the barrel is removed and it takes all of the energy in me not to sigh aloud.
“I’ll be watching you, Kaden. One more relapse and you’re a dead man. Got it?”
He doesn’t reply, and soon enough, I hear the sound of Kade’s door closing and then I hear it lock. Still, I don’t open my eyes until I feel his hand brush hair out of my face. I open my eyes and almost lose my breath at the sight of his smiling face looking down at me from such a perfect angle.
“You did all right, Unfortunate.”
“He pressed a gun to my head.” I gasp breathlessly as I slap his hand away. “He could’ve shot me and you would’ve let him!”
“If I didn’t play bored, he’d have put a bullet through your head. I saved your life.”
My adrenaline begins to drop and portions of their conversation come back to me. ‘Caring for them makes you weak, Kaden, like your mother, and you remember what happened to your mother, don’t you?’
“He killed your mother?” I ask and Kade stiffens.
He can’t hide it from me and he can’t lie to me, not anymore. “Yes… when I was a child.”
“And she cared for Unfortunates?”
“She did. She looked after the Unfortunates in our house every single day… but she got reckless—stupid—she got stupid and she fell in love.”
I inch closer to him. Here I was thinking it’s not possible for a Fortunate to love anyone but themselves. “And your dad… he shot you. Why?”
Subconsciously, I press my hand to his thigh, right above the scar I know is there. I keep my stare on his face, but Kade drops his to survey my hand against his leg. The silence that fills the air between us feels different, more meaningful than any other silence until he snaps away from me with an exasperated sigh and storms to the bathroom. I watch as he slams the door without a glance over his shoulder and soon after, I hear the water run and the steady stream crash into the tiles. He isn’t going to answer me… he never talks about himself or his life and yet, I feel like I know him almost as well as I know myself.
I snuggle down under the blankets and chew my nails, going over everything Kade’s father said. What an evil man… to kill your wife and shoot your son requires a soul so black and dense, not even light can penetrate it. I see where Vince gets it. He is Fortunate to the core, but Kade… he’s different. He has his moments, moments that have his father written all over it, but then I see someone else, his mother maybe? He has these tiny threads of compassion and kindness and I wonder what would happen if I pull them. Would they snap and be nothing, or would they unravel Kaden Sario, revealing to me his true nature piece by piece? I’m lost in my thoughts until the bathroom door opens once again. I remain quiet and don’t move. Instead, I watch him make his way around the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. It seems they’re his ‘go to’ bed attire. He saunters over to his computer and touches the screen. No reactions register on his face as he flicks through various panels. While he’s occupied, I let my gaze roll down his clean form. From his chest to his hard stomach right down to the captivating ‘v’ shape that leads into his pants. It’s not fair, really. Fortunates have everything—from large houses and nourishing foods, to soft hair and beautiful bodies. To be stuck with a Fortunate as different and striking as mine is dangerous for me. He switches the computer off and I shift on the bed as he crosses the room and shuts off my lamp. In the darkness, my heart thumps painfully against my ribcage. I become acutely aware how hard my body hurts. The mattress beside me lowers as Kade climbs under the covers and lies down beside me. Instantly, I feel his warmth waft onto me, followed by a sweet cherry smell. Despite the warmth of his body and the smell of his skin, it isn’t enough to ease my growing fear of the dark. In the dark, I swear I can hear them hiding in the corners of the room… I can feeling them grinning at me.
I shuffle closer to Kade, until my knees touch his thighs. “It’s too dark,” I whisper, afraid someone will hear me.
“I like the dark.” He exhales softly. “Are you scared?”
“Yes…”
“Would you like me to move closer to you?”
His question puts steel in my spine. The last thing I want is to be put in another unwanted situation, but then again, if Kade were to kiss me, to be gentle and kind to me… would it be an unwanted situation? I’m not sure, my body isn’t sure.
“Yes.”
He shuffles closer, until his torso is pressed softly against mine. My hands rest against my stomach, sandwiched between our bodies.
“You can relax,” he says, sounding a lot more tired than I feel. “I’m not going to touch you. Not tonight.”
A tired silence falls and with every second I remain untouched by him, my body relaxes more and more into the mattress.
“You and your dad don’t get along, do you?” I mumble, unable to stop myself. I’m stating the obvious, but I’ll do just about anything to learn more about my Fortunate.
“No.”
“How can you live like this?” I say, nervously shifting my feet. “Knowing he killed your mother, how can you—”
“I’ll get my revenge,” he states matter of factly, and strangely, eagerness comes to life deep inside me. “Will you help me?”
I freeze. It’s a question I wasn’t expecting. To help him hurt his father for killing his mother seems like a personal thing, one no one else should be involved in, but as sick as it sounds, I want to be. I want to be Kade’s right hand man when it happens. I want to se
e the look of vengeance on his face when he finally puts his father down and I want to be the person who helps him dig the grave. He’s giving me freedom, to walk around in his house like it’s my own and I’ll do anything to get there.
“What about Albert and the mine?” I ask, inwardly cringing as I recall his face in the hungry crowd tonight.
“Fuck Albert. I don’t want his business. Once I’m head of the Sario house and move into the city, I’ll take the mine from him.”
Relief washes over me. No longer will thoughts of his penis in my mouth plague me. Fuck Albert.
“I asked you if you’d help me, Nine.” He pauses for a brief moment. “You’re the only person I trust.”
A new determination settles inside me. If we kill Michael, Kade moves into the city and he’ll take me, too. In the city, there is no Vince. There is no one waiting in the shadows, just watching, praying that Kade leaves me alone even for a second. That alone is enough to convince me that I need to do this. Survival. I need to survive. “I’ll help you, Master Kade.”
No more words are exchanged. I lie in the darkness, listening to the steady rhythm of his breath. I feel it skitter across my cheek, so warm and gentle. I feel safe in this moment. I feel safer than I ever have, even when I was surrounded by my own people in the camp. The Unfortunates in this house… they don’t talk to me. They’d hurt me if they were ordered to, that was proven tonight. I’d never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, ordered to or not. Kade is more my people than the others are… he understands me, protects me when no one else will, and for that, he has my full loyalty and trust. Screw everyone else.