“Crap.” I curse under my breath. How do I get it back? “Oh no, no, no…”
I swallow hard and let out an exhale. It’s okay… if it’s gone, that means Kade can’t read it either. I’d rather it not exist than lie open for him to see that I’ve read it. Abandoning operation ‘turn off the computer’ I rush back to bed and climb in. I definitely can’t sleep now. I could live with them… I could go to the mine and truly be free. I could fight for something—or die for something. As the thought passes, I feel his arms circle me and pull me back in, squeezing me hard against his body.
“You’re cold,” he mutters sleepily, then wraps a leg around mine, completely pinning me against him. His skin is warm and I lie perfectly still as I let it engulf me. I stare directly ahead at the wall. There’s one small problem to my running away idea… him. I don’t think I can leave him. After everything he’s done, I owe him my life. The thought of disappointing him leaves an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’ve become one of ‘those’ Unfortunates. The ones that get caught up in the Fortunate spell… the ones that truly believe their Fortunate would die for them. Only, I’m certain mine would. There’s a good chance he’s setting me up for the murder of his father. Why can’t he just kill him, why does he need my help? What if we get caught? He can easily turn the entire situation on me. I shift, trying to pull myself out of Kade’s grip, but he won’t allow it. He holds on tight, so tight I’m certain he’ll crush every bone in my body if I pull any harder.
“Sleep,” he orders, his voice husky and tired. I stop moving and slump into him, letting him pull me even closer.
There’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep, not now. I have to warn everyone. I have to tell the Unfortunates that they’re going to blow the mine, don’t I? Surely, there’s some kind of Unfortunate code. But how am I going to get away from Kade long enough to run? Do I even want to run? Then it hit me, THIRTEEN! I can tell her, she’d love a chance to get away from here, from Vince, and she could warn the Unfortunates in the mine at the same time and they can all flee together, wherever the land takes them before it stops. Excitement bubbles to the surface once again. I can save Thirteen and she can save the Unfortunates in the mine. It’s a win-win. I’m not going to lie… a part of me is happy I get to stay here with Kade. As long as I have him, I think I’m safe.
∞
I’m not sure how long I lie awake for or if I’ve dozed off occasionally, but the second the outside light filters in through the curtains, the door opens. I peer through semi-closed eyelids and watch as Vince leans against the door frame. On the very tip of his index finger, hangs a small silver key. He had a key to this room the whole time? “Well, isn’t this sweet.”
I feel Kade’s body tighten as he lifts his head to peer over my shoulder.
“Cuddling? Elizabeth told me that wasn’t your thing, Kaden.” Vince draws the mug he holds in his hands to his lips and takes one self-satisfied sip. “She’ll be thrilled to know it just isn’t your thing when you’re with her.”
Kade releases me and I shift on the bed, looking anywhere but at Vince. “The Unfortunate and I had a long night.” He clears his throat and kicks back the blankets. “Besides, I smoked a lot. I take no responsibility for my actions.”
I frown. Unfortunate? I was Nine, Baby, and Sweetheart last night. Shielding my hurt, I keep what fabric I can to hide my body from Vince. I don’t want him to see me naked ever again.
“I’m finished with her, anyway.” He tosses me my dress and the cold, mean look in his eye really hurts my feelings. “Have breakfast, then help Portia in the kitchen. I’ll summon you when I need you again.”
I stare at him—or glare. I’m not sure.
“Did you hear me? Go.”
I grit my teeth. Asshole. I didn’t expect him to declare feelings for me this morning. I expected he wouldn’t to want to talk about it and I expected he wouldn’t treat me any differently in front of other Fortunates, but I didn’t expect this.
“Yes, Master Kade,” I say, slipping my dress on over my head and climbing out of bed. I straighten the fabric and storm towards the door without a glance over my shoulder. I don’t look at Vince as I pass him. Instead, I march into the hallway with an ache in my jaw from clenching my teeth so hard. My eyes begin to burn and tear just like the time the kitchen hands were dicing onions in the kitchen and it wafted into my room, only this time, my chest aches.
∞ Kade ∞
Running a hand over his face, Kade crossed the room to his wardrobe and pulled out a black sweater. He threw it on even though it didn’t go well with his sweatpants. It’s official. I’m a giant asshole.
That wasn’t how he wanted the morning to go. He’d imagined buttered toast and berries while they lay in bed. He cringed at the thought. Maybe it was a good idea I sent her away. Imagine being caught like that instead of ‘snuggling.’ Snuggling was easy to play off, especially since Vince saw Kade smoking last night, but breakfast in bed? There was no way out of that one.
“That looked awfully romantic,” Vince teased, passing the threshold of the door and entering the room.
Worry settled in the pit of Kade’s stomach. Was there anything lying around that could tip Vince off on what really happened here last night? It wasn’t romantic—drugs and first time sex? Kade wasn’t a romantic guy, even he knew that, and last night could have been—should have been—a lot better for Nine.
“There’s nothing romantic about sex. You, of all people, should know that.” Kade kept his eyes busy and focused on the floor as he strolled around the room before dropping into his chair behind the desk. “What do you want, anyway?”
“I thought I’d see if you wanted to have breakfast together.”
He smirked and took another sip of his coffee. Kade wondered if the same smirk Vince was using now was the same one he used on Nine the night he’d taken her to the Black House and she begged them to stop.
“Having breakfast with you is the last thing I want to do,” he retorted, crossing his arms.
Vince lowered his mug. “You still mad about what happened with your Unfortunate at my birthday party? Come on, Kaden. I was drunk. It was all fun and games.”
“For you!” Kade snapped, making Vince flinch. He quickly realised yelling wasn’t the best thing to do when you’re trying to sound indifferent. “It was fun for you.”
The truth was, Kade was anything but indifferent. He thought about that night almost every night since then—Nine undoubtedly did, too. From the second he saw her naked, panicked, and crying on the table, he imagined peeling Vince from his own skin and throwing him on an ant nest. It was one thing to order an Unfortunate around, but it was something else entirely to take one from someone without permission. Though Nine didn’t have parents, she was still someone’s little girl. And if she had no one else around to protect her, then he would… and that thought sprouted not from the fact he had developed feelings for his Unfortunate. He hadn’t. Nine was his property, a gift for his twenty-fifth birthday. That’s all.
“Suit yourself,” Vince said with a shrug as he stuffed one of his hands into the pocket of his black slacks. “You know, you should try being less intense. You’d have more friends.”
Kade sighed. “You finished?”
“No, not really. I can go on and on, if you want.”
Despite the slow morning he knew he had, he wasn’t about to waste time listening to Vince give him tips on how to be ‘warmer.’ “Nope, get out.”
His lips curled into a wicked grin as he took a step back. “See you ‘round, brother.”
He whirled on his heel and strolled casually from the room—as if he owned it. It wasn’t surprising. Vince had spent his whole life walking around the manor like he owned it. Kade let him be. It didn’t bother him as long as Vince stayed out of his room and away from his things. It was hard being raised by Fortunates who weren’t his parents. Most of the time, the heads of the household lived in Freeport City and only come out to the suburbs when t
here’s a party or to visit with their children. The city was what kept this world alive. Or so the Fortunates on the outside were told. Those who weren’t directly involved with the city were on a ‘need to know basis.’ No one spoke about it and the schools didn’t teach it. Kade had always wondered what was so secretive about the city. Why couldn’t outsiders go in? Why could you only drive cars inside the city? What were they hiding? The questions circulating around his head had plagued him since he was a little boy. In a way, he was just like Nine, filled with curiosity, only he was smart enough not to voice it.
With Vince gone, Kade could breathe easier. It put him on edge to see his brother this morning. He couldn’t help but wonder if he knew of their plans to kill Michael tonight. It was impossible for him to know, of course, but seeing Vince so early and so smug set him on high alert. He ran his hand over his face, clearing away leftover sleep. It was slightly chilly this morning—much colder than it had been the past few mornings. As he shut his eyes, he was unable to avoid the onslaught of images in his head. Her perfect breasts… so perky and firm. Instantly, he felt his balls tighten and he opened his eyes. He was not about to reflect on the images of last night. He’d never thought about the sex the morning after—hell, he’d never thought about the sex the second he drained himself—and he wasn’t about to start now. No. It’s a normal, physical response to stress, Kade thought. When you’re stressed, you fuck. When you fuck, you’re not stressed. That was how it worked. For some odd reason, though, the belief didn’t strengthen in his stomach… because his body didn’t believe it. He could feel it in the way his blood rushed whenever he thought of her, of last night. He was stressed, sure, but he knew deep down he was looking for an excuse to call her back in here.
Kade sat back in his chair with a heavy exhale. He couldn’t stomach seeing Nine, not after he’d sent her away. She glared at him. Her jaw was taut and her fists clenched… not that he blamed her. He shook his head. She is an Unfortunate. A slave. A separate class entirely. He needed to remember that or he was going to fuck everything up. Nine or no Nine, Kade needed to stick to his plan. He needed to make it into the city.
∞
Kade spent the morning lounging around his room, fighting the urge to summon Nine and explain himself. He decided she was better off holding some kind of bitter hatred towards him. Who knows, maybe it’d even come in handy and keep her alive. After lunch, he went to a small meeting in the Miller Manor to discuss produce. They were having trouble with a few of their trucks. Apparently, their haul of apples this season was tremendous and they needed bigger vehicles. Being a lover of apples as well as berries, Kade offered one of his unused hauling trucks. It was much too big and expensive to use on apples, but Kade figured it wouldn’t hurt to piss off his father one last time before he killed him. He almost smiled.
When he got back from the meeting, it was late—seven maybe. Kade had stayed at the Millers’ as long as he could. He wanted something, anything he could use as an excuse so he didn’t have to come back to his own house. The whole time at the Millers’, Elizabeth ignored him. He found it amusing as he sat across the room from her and watched as she tried (and failed) to stop her eyes from flicking to him. She was still pissed about what happened at the Black House after he killed the Unfortunate. It’d be a very, very long time before she spoke to him again. The last time Elizabeth ignored Kade, it lasted four months.
Kade was kind of happy she wasn’t talking to him. The less stress the better and that was the only thing Elizabeth dealt in.
He pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto his bed. He was sore all over from his shoulder blades down to his calves. He didn’t often sit down for long periods of time, but when he did his body really felt it. And it sucked. As he loosened his deep navy tie, Portia passed by his door.
“Portia!” Her name flew out of his mouth before his brain had a chance to register it.
“Yes, Master Kade?” She stood in front of his door with her hands held firmly behind her back. How hard is it for Nine to do that? It’s not rocket science. Keep your mouth shut, hold your hands behind your back, and address me properly.
“Nine, where is she?”
A small, black curl fell onto her forehead. “She’s in her room, sir.”
He inhaled and pulled on his tie. As it slipped off, he tossed it onto the bed. “Send her up.”
It was his cock talking, not his brain, but he did nothing to silence it. It’d been a long day and it wouldn’t hurt to indulge in his gift… of course, he was going to have to seduce said gift into doing anything. Kade knew she wasn’t going to be impressed with him, not in the slightest.
“Yes, Master Kade,” she said and her white tunic flicked out behind her as she whirled on her heel and hurried off.
To take the edge off, Kade waltzed over to his desk and poured himself a small glass of whiskey. Instead of sipping at it, Kade flicked it with his wrist and watched as the honey coloured liquid swirled in the glass. As he sipped at it and the cool, smooth liquid rolled down his throat, he closed his eyes. The whiskey tickled his lips and the aroma wafted up his nostrils. Before Nine showed up, the smell of whiskey was his favourite scent. He didn’t even want to admit to himself what it was now. Lowering his glass, Kade sauntered around his desk and dropped into his chair. Barely three minutes later, Nine strolled into his room and shut the door behind her. She’d changed from her blue and white dress. The one she wore now was a light pink and tied up on the shoulder. Kade noticed immediately that she looked different—fiercer, less naïve. He liked it.
She eyed him at his computer, looking suspiciously tense, and he took note of it. “You all right, Nine?”
Her features narrow. Beautiful, but stupid. “I’m Nine again, am I?”
She folded her arms—another forbidden gesture in the presence of a Fortunate, another thing she isn’t going to care about when he called her out for it.
“We’re alone,” he stated obviously. “So, yes, you’re Nine again.”
She surged forward, hurt glistening in her eyes. “You didn’t have to send me away,” she proclaimed as she stepped around the corner of his desk, stopping once her hips bumped into the wood.
“Vince was here. I most certainly had to.”
She frowned. “You don’t care that you hurt my feelings?”
Kade didn’t like the tone in her voice—the demanding, the authority. Her tiny body jumped as he slammed his palms down on the smooth wood. An itchy burn crepitated over the surface and he pushed himself to his feet. “You forget your place, Unfortunate!” Nine’s face fell as regret leaked over her features, but it did nothing to deter his anger. “You have no claim on me. I don’t owe you anything.”
He glanced at the clock on the bottom left corner of his screen. His father would be returning to his room to prepare for dinner any minute now. How one man changed his clothes so often in a day was beyond him. He softened his tone. “If we want to kill Michael, we have to act now. If we pull this off… then I owe you something, but don’t think for a second that I answer to you. You are the one who refers to Fortunates as Master, Ma’am, or Miss, and you are the one who was born beneath everyone else.” His tongue kept moving, spitting out words he didn’t want to say, but knew she needed to hear. “What I take from you is what you owe me. What I give to you in return is a gift.”
Her stare dropped to the table as she absorbed his words. To his surprise, she was being extremely placid. Perhaps he’d hurt her too much for her to want to fight back.
“I can’t save you from this world,” he muttered, dragging the tip of his index finger along the desk. “Even though I offered you freedom, you know it doesn’t exist, right?”
She nodded and a strand of her long, auburn hair fell into her face.
“I’m skating on thin ice,” he continued. “Just like you. Beyond Fortunate and Unfortunate we can never be anything else.”
“But do you want to be?” she asked, her voice small and hesitant.
“What?”
“Not being allowed to do something means nothing to me. Rules and regulations, that’s not what I want to hear.” She cleared her throat nervously, her cheeks flushing a light pink. “Last night was beyond being a Fortunate and Unfortunate. You cared…you held me and made sure I was comfortable. If we could, would you want to be more than what we are?”
Kade huffed. He tried to let her down easy, he did, but she was basically begging for him to tear her heart right out of her chest. He was aware how much he meant to her… over the past few weeks, since he saved her, he saw the way she regarded him and how it had changed from scared and curious to excited and adoring. In her eyes, he was her protector—her saviour. No longer had he held the title of her tormentor. That changed the second she ground her hips into his and made him come in his pants. Her attitude was so like a Fortunate that every sliver of power he gave her, she absorbed like water to a sponge and wanted more.
Stuck, he didn’t know how to answer her question. He was clearly her hope… she relied on him now and he was certain he’d become the centre of her universe… but what happened when the sun dies out? Slowly, the Earth would die. If he destroyed Nine’s hope… would she wither away and die? He didn’t want that.
“It’s not fair to ask me such a question. Why would I admit something that might never be possible? Misleading you wouldn’t be fair.”
Yet another statement that didn’t make sense.
“I just want to know, Kade. I want to know if I’m the only one who is affected by all of this.”
She wasn’t. “I can keep you forever, Nine, but I can’t feel anything for you. In life, I value power and control, not love and companionship,”
“And once you kill your father and we move into the city, then what?”
That was a question he hadn’t pondered. Once he murdered his father, then what?
“Our window is shrinking.” He was done with the conversation. He didn’t need Nine in his head right before he took his father’s life. With a swift nod, Nine wiped the palms of her hands down the front of her dress. “So I distract your father and you kill him?”