Chapter Eleven
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Raine
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"Where are we going?" I ask, my voice confused and flustered. I remained calm when the helicopter landed atop a very posh building, but now, as the elevator stops on a floor that doesn't have a clear exit, the panic inside me ramps up.
"You were supposed to take me to see my sister," I accuse. Had I been wrong to trust these men? Oh god, Raine, there is no one in their world you could trust. I feel so stupid.
"We are," Conrad says, giving me an easy smile.
We stop at a door, engraved with gold, three minotaurs carved into the expensive wood.
Theron presses his palm against the door, and it slides open silently.
They gesture for me to enter. My legs feel like rubber.
I don't know if I should make a run for it now, or what.
I close my eyes and take a step forward into a space so vast, encapsulated by glass, marble, and steel, that I have to blink repeatedly at my surroundings.
The city sprawls beneath us, and from the floor-to-ceiling windows, it glitters like colorful diamonds under a dusk-lit sky.
"Raine?"
My heart thuds in my chest. I turn around so fast I feel dizzy.
"Oh, god, Summer," I whisper. She's already running toward me, her school bag slipping off her shoulder and her hair a mess. She tugs at her blonde curls whenever she's stressed.
Air leaves my lungs in a giant whoosh as we collide. I wrap my arms around her so tightly, I'm sure I could break her ribs. I release her for a second, cup her face, making sure she hasn't been hurt, then I hug her again.
"You're okay," I breathe, the words falling from my trembling lips. "You're okay. Thank god, you're okay."
"Of course I'm okay," she says, pulling back just enough to look at me before her pretty eyebrows furrow deeply into her forehead.
"What's going on? Someone pulled me out of class and brought me here, and wouldn't tell me what was happening, except that my sister wanted to see me.
I thought something happened to you. Are you okay?
Raine, what is going on?" Her voice wobbles as she stares at the three billionaires, standing like kings behind me.
Despite the penthouse, which is truly enormous, their presence tells me they belong here. This is their home. Their home?
"I'm fine," I say, rushing to assure my sister. But relief hits me so hard, I want to cry and hug her all over again.
"Tell me what's going on. Who are those men?" she whispers. How do I even begin to explain the last week of my life to my sister?
"I'll explain it all later," I say, releasing her and then bending to pick up her school bag.
My own overnight bag is still in the helicopter, but it doesn't matter.
I don't need that dress, or the jewelry I had to wear for the virgin auction that we were allowed to keep.
The thought that I was leaving behind a colossal sum of money pained me for only a moment. It wasn't really mine to begin with.
Clutching my sister's school bag in one hand, I grip her arm and face the three billionaires.
"Thank you," I say, and I do mean it from the bottom of my heart. "Thank you," I say again.
***
It's been three days since I arrived at their penthouse, and true to their word, a very confused and scared Summer was waiting there for me.
Still not knowing who tried to steal from them, we're not allowed to leave the apartment without one of them shadowing me. That rule can't be broken.
Right now, Summer is well protected and safe. And so is Christopher. He has twenty-four-hour surveillance on him, and the billionaires assured me nothing would happen to him. Everything is fine—for now.
Except I'm bored out of my mind. My days are spent with Summer, lazing around and reading while the billionaires go to their offices. We have dinner together, prepared by a world-class chef, and we indulge in food I never knew existed.
Still, I don't know how much longer I can continue doing this. We need to get back to our normal lives. How much longer can we stay here with them? That's how my days are, but my nights...
Summer and I share one of the many bedrooms in the penthouse. I'll only sleep with my little sister next to me. But every morning I wake up in their bed, in a bed so big it looks like it could sleep six people comfortably.
I can't even explain it.
"Are you in love with them?" Summer asks, lounging at their indoor pool as if it weren't a cold, gloomy winter's day outside. She's munching on chips and chatting to her friends. The swimming costume she's wearing costs more than my paycheck.
Speaking of work, I'm on indefinite leave, although I'm sure the sight of Alec, Conrad, and Theron entering the offices of Jim's Furniture was enough to give Jim, the owner, a heart attack. The man even insisted on still paying me. Knowing Jim, that's not like him.
"What? No. Obviously not," I say defensively. They didn't choose me at the auction because they liked what they saw, I remind myself. They chose me because they sensed I was up to something nefarious. Bottom line: I'm not their type.
"Okay, are they in love with you?"
"What? Are you insane? They're these world-renowned billionaires and can have any woman they want, and you think they'd fall for me? Me?" I say, unable to remove the scorn from my voice.
"Really, Raine?" Summer interjects, "You're never going to see what we see when we look at you, are you?"
"Who's 'we'? Actually, it doesn't even matter. We need to get out of here and back to our own lives. You have to go back to school."
"First of all, I'm quite comfortable missing school and living the billionaire life. Second of all, explain why every night they come into our room and scoop you up and carry you off to their bed. Why? What are you guys doing on that massive-ass bed in that room, huh?"