Chapter 7
AVA
My knuckles go white on the grab handle as the Jeep whips around a corner, the momentum sending me sliding across the back seat straight into Miller.
The guy’s built like a cinderblock, but the collision does more damage to my dignity than my body.
The driver lets out a bark of laughter as I scramble back to my side, wincing at the twinge of pain in my tattoo as I click my seatbelt into place.
I’ve barely got it fastened before he guns the engine again, tires squealing against concrete.
Somewhere behind us, alarms are still wailing, the image of the Dollhouse strobing with red emergency lights still burned into the back of my mind.
But when the Jeep bursts out of the tunnel and into actual daylight, the shock of it is even more disorienting than being yanked through those darkened hallways like a ragdoll.
I squint hard, throwing a hand up to shield my face as the world explodes into blinding white. I’ve seen nothing but artificial light for the past week, and sunlight is a harsh shock to the system.
Bailey slides on a pair of aviator sunglasses like an action hero, then fishes a second pair from the glove box, twisting in her seat to look back at me.
“Here,” she chirps, offering them to me. “You’ll fry your retinas if you keep squinting like that.”
“Thanks,” I croak, taking them from her and sliding them onto my face.
The world instantly goes from nuclear to tolerable. The sudden relief is so intense I almost burst into tears, but instead I press my lips together tightly and stare out the window, grateful for something real to look at beyond it.
The city’s buzzing with life, filled with cars, buildings, pedestrians…
a whole world continuing on like nothing happened.
Like there’s not something foul lurking just beneath the surface.
Miller sits rigidly beside me, one massive shoulder nearly brushing mine.
His head turns slowly as he watches the road behind us, scanning the mirrors and passing cars like he’s expecting an ambush.
Something tells me he’d enjoy it. The man still hasn’t said a single word, but he’s emanating enough ‘I dare you’ energy that it’s clear this isn’t his first rodeo.
Bailey props an elbow on the center console and glances over her shoulder at me again, flashing a bright, easy smile.
“I’m sure you have a million questions.”
My brain is a choked-up traffic jam of trauma, adrenaline, and confusion, but I manage a tight nod.
She gestures to the guy behind the wheel. “This is our getaway driver, Keane.”
He grins at me through the rearview mirror, green eyes gleaming. “Hey, Ava. Sorry about the kidnapping. We usually bring zip ties and a blindfold to make it more dramatic, but we were on short notice.”
That should probably scare me, but honestly, it’s less offensive than most of what comes out of the Kings’ mouths on a daily basis.
“Don’t scare the poor girl,” Bailey admonishes, reaching across the console to grab for his hand. She laces her fingers with his, lifting their joined hands and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.
He shoots her a soft, goofy glance before turning his attention back to the road.
Bailey releases his hand and swings her arm over the seat, ruffling Miller’s buzzed hair like he’s a child despite the fact he’s a good foot taller than her sitting down. “You’ve already met Miller,” she provides.
He swats her hand away with a scowl, but there’s no real heat in it. Just quiet affection.
“And Drew rounds out our merry band of thieves,” Bailey continues, smiling fondly.
I blink at her. “So… you’re all together, or–?”
She laughs, tipping her head back against the seat. “Polycules are the least of the world’s problems, babe. Just pick whichever label makes you feel better.” A smirk quirks her lips. “Or don’t. Labels are for shampoo bottles, not love.”
Both men in the car look at her like she’s sunlight incarnate. Bailey’s magnetic, and they orbit around her with an easy precision that makes the Kings look like chaos goblins by comparison. I’m not sure whether to feel jealous of her or relieved that my own situation isn’t as strange as I thought.
Since arriving at Corvus College, I’ve felt ashamed for being attracted to multiple men. Even more so for being intimate with both Ford and Wes. But if someone as badass as Bailey can have three boyfriends and look this happy… why couldn’t I?
I dismiss that thought as quickly as it entered my brain, reminding myself how much I loathe the Kings. They’re monsters. Bailey’s guys aren’t.
Keane reaches over and wraps a hand around her thigh, giving it a squeeze. She slaps his hand away, wagging a finger in his face. “Focus, babe. You promised not to wreck this Jeep.”
I instinctively reach for the grab handle again, catching the tone in her voice that strongly implies there was another Jeep he already wrecked.
Keane huffs and eases off the gas, just barely. “I’m riding the high of danger, baby. And you can’t sit next to me looking like that and expect me not to touch.”
He tries to reach for her again, and Bailey slaps his hand away a second time. He jerks it back dramatically, sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth.
“Damn, woman,” he hisses. “You tryin’ to kill me?”
Bailey rolls her eyes and glances back at me over the seat. “He’s always this dramatic.”
I huff a quiet laugh and drop my gaze, suddenly feeling like I’m intruding on a private moment. My fingers twist together in my lap as my mind races, trying to make sense of everything that’s happened in the last twenty minutes.
“So… what happens now?” I ask hesitantly. “Do I get a passport and a new face?”
Keane lets out a sharp laugh. “We’re not the Witness Protection Program, Doll.”
Bailey shoots him a glare, then turns back to me, her expression softening. “But you’re safe,” she says gently. “Nobody’s tracking you, nobody’s following us. We made a clean getaway.”
I don’t know why I believe her so easily, but I do. My shoulders loosen, a shaky breath rattling out of me.
Keane cocks a brow at me in the rearview mirror. “How’d a nice girl like you wind up in the Dollhouse, anyway?”
“My stepfather sold me,” I answer flatly, because I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to try to sugarcoat it.
The silence that follows is absolute. Miller’s eyes widen slightly, something dark and violent flashing through them as his jaw tightens. Keane mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like fucking scumbag, and Bailey’s hand slowly curls into a fist on her thigh.
I shift in my seat, turning toward Miller. “Do you know Gideon?” I ask, because his reaction felt… personal.
He answers with a single sharp jerk of his chin.
Bailey sighs softly. “He’s a man of few words,” she explains. “But who needs words when you’ve got muscles like that?”
Miller’s expression instantly changes as his gaze flicks to her, the murderous tension melting away into something painfully adoring.
If anyone ever looked at me like that, I’d consider myself the luckiest girl alive.
Bailey smiles back at him before turning her attention to me again. “I’m sorry girl,” she says quietly. “Truly. It’s bad enough to walk into that place of your own volition, but to be sold, and by your own family…” her voice trails off as she shudders.
“Do you live there?” I ask, still trying to piece everything together. She was wearing the Dollhouse loungewear, and she moved through that place like she knew every corner of it.
“Sort of,” she replies cryptically. “I’m a Raven, but I’m undercover.” She winks at me. “Don’t tell anyone or we’ll have to kill you.”
She says it so casually that it takes me a second to process the fact she just threatened my life. And once I do, I move on from it way too easily.
“Raven?” I ask, wrinkling my nose.
Bailey waves a dismissive hand. “It’s this whole…
thing.” She pauses, clearly deciding the explanation would take longer than she’s willing to give right now.
“Anyways, I’m technically out on assignment, so nobody will even know I was there today.
And Drew’s fun little system hack bought us ten minutes of lights-out. No cameras, no trail.”
She flashes a smug smile, and my belly does a little flip. Pretty sure I’ve got a girl crush on Bailey.
“And right now he’s playing hero, getting everything back online,” she continues. “They’re probably only just realizing you’re gone.”
I cast a nervous glance toward the window, half expecting blacked-out SUVs to come screaming around the next corner. They don’t, but my knee starts bouncing anxiously anyway.
Bailey reaches back to rest a hand on my knee, stilling the motion. “We’re good,” she says firmly.
And once again, I believe her. Confidence radiates off her so strongly it’s almost impossible not to.
“How much you wanna bet Nat is losing her shit right now?” Keane speculates with a huffed laugh.
Bailey smirks as she swivels her head his way. “She’s probably pissing herself over having to break the news to Voss.”
“Who’s Voss?” I blurt.
“Bad news,” Keane answers instantly. “Damien Voss runs the Dollhouse.”
I frown slightly. “Never heard of him.”
“Not surprising,” Bailey replies. “Natalia handles the day to day, but he’s the boss.”
I stare down at my hands, furrowing my brow. “My guard– er, handler– mentioned the boss. Said he’d taken a special interest in me.”
Bailey’s head snaps around so fast it makes me flinch.
“Thank fuck we got you out of there,” she breathes, scowling. “Voss is a scary dude.”
Keane’s easygoing expression disappears completely, his mouth flattening into a hard line. “Completely fucking heartless,” he mutters bitterly. “The worst of the worst.”
I swallow thickly as a cold pit opens in my stomach.