The Bedlam Boys: Complete Series

Chapter Twelve

Arsenio arrived clean-faced and seemingly normal, if not for the damp stains on his black shirt. He got in and reached for his keys.

“Arsenio,” I began. “Will you let me stay? Paris can come pick me up.”

“No.”

“Please.” I chanced stroking his arm. “It’s important.”

“If someone is threatening her, they won’t live long enough to understand the mistake they made. Give me their name. We’ll handle it.”

He started the car.

“I lied,” I told him. “I said it was about Paris, but it’s about me.”

“Meaning?”

“I was a virgin before Cairo decided I needed a change in status. I wasn’t on birth control. Our relationship is between the six of us. I’m not ready for us to become seven. Are you?”

He flicked to my stomach, gazing at it with an expression I couldn’t read.

“If you’re pregnant, we’ll do right by our kid.”

My chest thumped at our kid.

“I appreciate that. I really do, but if I’m not pregnant, then it’s past time to be responsible. I’m not far from the doctor’s office, and I’d prefer to do this alone. Paris can drop me home after.”

Arsenio gave me a long, studying look. He was a guy who wanted his yeses and nos obeyed without question. I also assumed he was a guy who wasn’t looking to be fitted with a baby carrier in the next nine months.

He nodded.

Not wishing to test him, I hopped out and closed the door without another word. His car blew off, leaving me in the parking lot.

Naturally, everything I told him was more bullshit. I’d been on the pill since I was thirteen for acne and to regulate my periods. We were good on that particular front—except for the wild thoughts Arsenio put in my head at the mention of our kid. I called him a stunning collection of ethnicities in one handsome man. What would our baby look like? Would she or he do what I couldn’t? Soften the beast.

I shook my head, chasing the pictures away. It was more than likely the Letter Man, or even the Bedlam Boys, would destroy me before I got to my picket-fence dreams. Time to do something about that.

I crossed the street, passing one bus stop and continuing seven more blocks to the right one. Frankie would drive up in about fifteen minutes. There was something I needed from home.

“THANKS, FRANKIE. AREyou sure you don’t mind waiting?”

“Nah. You’re fine. I don’t pick up many people at this time, and those I do can wait.”

Who could question why I’d do anything to protect this woman?

Even so, I didn’t test her flexibility. I hopped the fence and ran all the way to the farmhouse. I didn’t bother with Cruella’s new lock. The Letter Man hadn’t left a new one in the box. Just as well, because I had one for him.

Tearing a notepad and his last letter from my bag, I wrote two words on a blank piece of paper.

Axel Verlice

I couldn’t believe that morning I mourned fate. The Bedlam Boys unwittingly gave me the perfect opportunity to kill Scott Cavendish and shift the blame away from me. I told myself another chance wouldn’t be served up on a silver platter.

I’d never doubt them again. They were brought into my life to restore me. Fate had not let me down, neither would they.

I slipped the note in the black envelope and listened to the soft ting of the letter falling in the mailbox.

Crossing to the pen, I stuffed myself through the loose slats and breathed relief at the sight of my trunk waiting for me in the loft. Cruella removed everything that made the farm livable. But what was I going to do with a bunch of bows and arrows?

Nothing, I thought as I picked through my collection. I didn’t need my bow, and a single arrow would do.

I held a small, tapered arrow in the light.

Perfect.

Frankie waited for me as promised. I stepped up, moving carefully due to the arrow secured by my bra.

“All set?” she asked.

“All set.”

She dropped me off on the same street she picked me up. “Have fun with your friends. Girls’ night out is exactly what you need.”

“It is. Next time, it’s you and me. We’ll swing by your ex-husband and key ‘cheating bastard’ on his hood.”

Frankie snorted. “Don’t tempt me.”

She honked off. Her bus disappeared around the corner, sending me in the opposite direction.

Highland Arms stood dark and empty for my arrival. No, for the arrival of the Tuesday Nighters. It made me sick to think of what those men did to helpless, terrified women week after week.

I went in through the back door—held open by the cinder block. Just as we found it.

Arsenio said this was my treat. The satisfaction I got from stopping Scott Cavendish hurting another person replicated in seeing another vile monster taken out.

It was a smoke screen, of course.

Fill my head with pretty, hypnotic words that he may mean, but ultimately had nothing to do with why he came.

Cairo got a call that morning at breakfast.

From who?

All the Bedlam Boys were sitting around the table, so who let them know there was a problem, and how many times has Arsenio gone out to deal with it?

I approached Axel’s body, tiptoeing around congealing blood.

I didn’t touch the broken pool cue stuck in his stomach. Arsenio stayed behind to wipe away our presence. Let me not make his work harder.

I wouldn’t have come back at all if it wasn’t for the Letter Man’s request that I use an arrow again. I didn’t know who they were, or how the information would get back to them, but when it did, there would be no doubt Rainey de Souza was here. He’d lose his excuse to put his filthy hands on my friends.

Breathing through my nose, I summoned the strength and plunged my arrow through his heart.

“You’re a sad excuse for a human being, Axel Verlice. I genuinely hope there is a hell, so you will spend an eternity burning in it. But let this bring you some comfort during your millennia of torment, your death just saved three women and two sweet kids—which is better than you achieved in your entire miserable life.”

Not sure where I got this habit of speaking to the dead, but my final words were the best place to leave it as I walked out and left Axel for someone’s early morning surprise.

PARIS PICKED ME UPon a street corner miles away from the Highland Arms. Zara, Amy, Elise, and Presley claimed all the seats.

“Sorry, Rainey, you’ll have to pick a lap,” Paris said. “We were on our way to dinner when you called. How do you feel about tacos?”

“I’m having a love affair with tacos, and if they’re cheating on me with you, I’ll be so pissed.”

They cracked up.

“I told you,” Paris said. “I love this girl.”

“Got your car back.” I slid onto Amy’s lap. It suddenly occurred to me my panties were still in Arsenio’s pocket.

“Yep, and when I find the person who rear-ended me and took off, I’ll kill them. They cost me six hundred dollars and a lecture about going to Ruckus Royale from my dad.”

“Worse things happened that night than a ding in your ride,” Elise said. “A man was murdered right in front of us.”

“I know,” Paris said. “I’m not trying to be insensitive. It’s just Dad is using the whole thing as another excuse to warn me off Cairo. He won’t say it, but I think he actually believes my brother could do this.”

Axel lying dead on the floor crossed my mind. I think your brother could do a lot of things. But this one was on me.

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Amy said. “Those two have never gotten along, but he knows Cairo isn’t a killer.” I felt her shiver. “It is scary that whoever did it is still out there. Can you imagine what a sick, twisted psycho you have to be to kill someone that way? A bullet to the head wouldn’t do? How about smothering him or cutting his throat?”

“Ugh, Amy, please,” Zara whined. “Can we not?”

“Sorry. I’m just saying. Burning him alive? I can’t think of a more evil, cruel way to kill someone. They gave Scott Cavendish the worst death imaginable.”

I leaned back, resting my head on her shoulder. Amy wrapped her arms around me—snuggling the cruel, evil, twisted psycho.

“Amy’s right,” Elise said. “I didn’t sleep for a week. And don’t get me started on Jennifer. She goes to Bedlam U too, and some guy snatched her right from the parking lot. I sent you all that link to buy pepper spray. I’m not kidding, get some.”

“Guys, can we talk about something else?” Presley asked. “Like the photo Kingsley sent me this morning of our new friend Rainey riding Cairo’s lap with a collar on her neck.”

“What?” half the car squealed.

“Uh. Let’s go back to the sicko stalking the streets,” I said.

“Nope. Uh-uh.” They hooted, hollered, and tickled me breathless.

“All right, all right,” I cried. “Mercy.”

“What’s the deal with you guys?” Amy asked.

I shot a side look at Paris. If our conversation at the Highland was anything to go by, the Bedlam Boys weren’t giving up their new pet anytime soon. I couldn’t have Paris spending the whole time convinced I needed to be rescued.

“It started off rough,” I admitted. “To be fair, it’s still a bit rough. But I’m their girl now.”

“Are you serious?”

“You are?”

The last came from Paris.

“Yeah, I am,” I told her.

I caught the face she made in the rearview.

“Are you okay with this?”

“Are you?” she tossed back. “I’ve seen them and their girls over the last couple years. They’re not exactly boyfriends of the year.”

“They’re different with me.”

“Um,” Zara drew out. “They put you on a leash and walked you around campus like a dog.”

“I didn’t say they were different in a sweet way.”

“Guys, let’s lay off her,” Amy said. “I dated a guy for three months who liked giving me head during my period.”

“Oh my gosh, Amy,” Presley screamed over us acting up. “Did we need to know that?”

“I’m just saying,” she replied, laughing. “Human sexuality is craaaaa-zy. Maybe the whole collar and leash thing is foreplay for them.”

“Paris,” I said. “Could you speed up? When I jump out of the car, I want to make sure I die.”

They fell out.

“We’re just messing with you,” Elise said. “We’ll share our kinks too. I love a good, manly armpit.”

My brows blew up my forehead. “We talking the hair or the smell?”

The conversation devolved from there. I don’t think I laughed that hard in years. Correction: I have not laughed that hard in over two years.

Growing up, my best friend was Ivy. We kept farmer’s hours, so while everyone was in school, we were helping Gran, then all the kids got home, and our butts were at the kitchen table for our lessons. Other than the children of other farmers in the area, it was just us. Those farmers and their kids slowly packed up and moved out by the time the bank came for the last farm standing—mine.

The point was, I never had this. Just us girls laughing and goofing off over tacos. I didn’t think it was a life I wanted, or could even have, until now.

“Seriously, Rainey. We want to know everything, and we want to know it now.”

I gave her big eyes with a mouthful of taco. Paris brought us to a dive bar named Joe’s and swore up, down, and sideways that we were about to have the best tacos we’d ever eaten. Damned if she didn’t undersell it.

Presley held up her hands. “Stop me when I’m there. How big is Cairo’s dick?”

“Yuck.” Paris shoved her arm, nearly knocking the girl to the floor.

“I’ll take Legend, Roan, Jacques, or Arsenio too.”

I shook my head. “You ladies are a pack of stone-cold weirdos, and I love it.”

“That’s us,” Zara agreed.

Joe’s wasn’t packed on a Tuesday night. A few guys lined the bar, watching a game and nursing mugs of beer. In the corner was a sweet couple feeding each other onion rings. Otherwise, it was us.

Elise dropped her voice. “Speaking of stone-cold hotties—”

“I said weirdos.”

“But you meant hotties,” she said. “Anyway, I didn’t get a chance to tell you I hooked up with one of those Crow guys last weekend, Jonah. It was insane.”

Paris nudged my arm. “Bathroom break. Come with me.”

She wasn’t asking, so I got up and followed her.

We squeezed in the two-stall ladies’ room. I hopped up on the counter, bracing myself for the talk ahead.

“I don’t want to hassle you,” Paris said from the stall. “If you’re happy with my brother and his friends, then I’m happy for you. You’re supercool and Cairo’s lucky to be with you.”

“Thank you,” I said. Now for the but.

“But what you said in the car isn’t what you said to me. You told me they were holding something over you. If you guys worked it out, awesome. But if you’re trapped and they’re doing all that shit to humiliate you.” The stall banged open. “Give them hell. I say this as his loving sister. Kick. Their. Fucking. Asses.”

I smiled. “I hope your mom doesn’t have more kids lurking around, ’cause I’m two for two crushing on the ones she’s got.”

“I know, sweets.” She swaggered to the sink, winking like she had something in her eyes. “But it’s not meant to be for us. I’m a health foods girl.”

“What does that mean?”

“Bananas over donuts.”

“Nice.” We high-fived. “Your innuendos are both amazing and terrible. I have so much to learn from you.”

We headed out, weaving around the tables for ours.

“—going this weekend? The Crows are renting a house on Bay Avenue,” we heard Elise say. “Beer, weed, drugs, Jonah. They said the party’s going to be bigger than Ruck—”

“Party?”

All eyes flew to Paris. They did not look innocent.

“What party?” Paris repeated.

“Jeremy and his friends are throwing a party this weekend,” Amy said.

“Oh, it’s Jeremy now, is it? The same guy who crashed Ruckus Royale and stabbed a man for no reason.”

“Listen,” Elise said, pulling her down. “Jonah explained everything. Rumors about the Bedlam Boys spread outside this town. The Crows knew when they transferred here, our guys would try to make them their bitches, so they came up with a plan to prove how big and bad they were at Ruckus in front of everyone. Show the Bedlam Boys they’re not to be messed with.

“Jonah admits they went too far. Jeremy even sent Cavendish’s girlfriend flowers and an apology before she... you know.”

“Still,” I spoke up. “They didn’t prove they were tough by going after the Bedlam Boys directly. They went after people who were tied up and defenseless.”

“And I heard they’re the main suspects in Cavendish’s murder,” Amy added. “The Bedlam Boys can’t make anyone their bitch from jail.”

“No,” Elise said. Her golden-brown bob danced with her headshake. “They definitely didn’t do it. Plus, look how hard it is for Paris and her mom dealing with the nasty rumors and suspicion toward Cairo. We shouldn’t point the fingers at people until we know all the facts.”

Flashing a polite smile, I nodded. Damn, this girl is far gone.

“You’re right,” I said. “We don’t know them. Also, there’s no proof they knew Cavendish. But, there is proof they’re gunning hard for the Bedlam Boys. What’s that about?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I guess they were used to running things in Hunter’s Crest. You’re a farmer, you know what happens when alpha males get in the same pen.”

“Yeah. Someone gets hurt.”

That hung in the air, making everyone uncomfortable.

“That’s reason enough for us to go,” Zara tried. “Cairo is Paris’s brother. If they’re planning to overthrow the kings, we need to know.”

“Infiltrating,” Amy said. “I like it. Paris, what do you think?”

“The party’s on my street. I have to go. If they are trying to fuck with the sons of the sheriff, mayor, judge, and dean, then I have to meet the stupidest guys on the planet.”

“I’ll second that,” I said.

Elise put up her hands. “All I heard is you guys are going to come. Trust me, the Crows aren’t what you think.” She winked at me. “And if I tap Rainey’s mojo, I’ll get all of them riding my ass at the same time.”

The conversation turned once again.

I laughed along with everyone, skating over details about me and the guys. In the back of my head, my conversation with Jeremy played on repeat.

Whatever these guys wanted, they weren’t buying farms and sending flowers because they wanted to be the biggest boys in the sandbox.

Verlice. The Bedlam Boys. The New Boys. Cavendish. The Letter Man.

No one in this town was what they seemed.

ROAN

Me: I like it freaky. Dirtier the better. Hope that doesn’t scare you.

CBP: Why would it? I like it freaky too.

Me: I don’t think you can handle me.

CBP: Try me.

Me: You’ll try me. Cover my cock in whipped cream and chocolate sauce, then lick every inch of me till I shoot that special topping in your whore mouth.

Half a dozen dick pics hit my phone.

CBP: What else are you going to do to me?

Me: You first. What are you going to do to me? And remember, dirty. Filthy. Nasty. You can’t make me blush.

CBP: It’s a bet.

“Roan.”

I peeked over my phone. “Legend.”

“What do you want to drink?”

“Lemonade.”

I tucked my cell away. CBP was Cute, Butt, Plaything. What I thought of him and how I saw him in three easy words. I didn’t put it in initials to save myself. If Legend saw these texts, he’d whip my ass raw.

I shifted on the grass, cock stiffening. Probably why I’m not trying too hard to hide them.

The lovely Rainey returned, loaded down with our drinks. That morning, we skipped bagels on the terrace and stretched out on Homer Green, enjoying the wide berth and private patch our presence afforded us.

It was Friday, the start of the weekend, and I had plenty of plans for it. Legend probably had plans too. Jeremy refused to get on his knees and beg for his brother, who ended up rolling into town ten hours later, as promised. Not the satisfying conclusion Legend wanted. I can only imagine what he’d think of next.

Rainey passed me my lemonade. “Anything else I can get you, lieges?”

“That sounded sarcastic,” Cairo said.

Jacques confirmed it with a “Three.”

“Pets fetch, Rain. Don’t reject your natural function in life.”

“Pets also sit,” she said. “My feet are killing me in these heels.”

“Take them off,” Legend said.

She tugged them off and reached for Legend, making to sit on his lap. He held her back.

“Not yet, gorgeous. I like a show with my Americano. Last night, Nicki XXX introduced me to naked yoga. I think we’d all love to see you give it a go, wouldn’t we, gentlemen?”

We nodded, murmuring agreement.

“You want me to get naked and stretch on the green?”

Legend gave her a long, smirking look.

“No,” he finally said. “You can keep the clothes on. No one gets to have that picture in their spank bank but us. Turn around and give me downward facing dog. I like the sound of that one.”

Rainey’s fingers dug into her hips. I couldn’t say for sure what she was picturing looking at that smirk, stormy eyes thundering, but I had a feeling if she acted on it, Jacques would hit the double digits.

She must’ve had the same feeling. Rainey turned in her short, velvet green dress with strings where the back should be. She complained about her clothes, but Legend didn’t shortchange the woman.

Each outfit molded to her body. They accentuated her best features—her tits and that ass—and revealed what her endless collection of jeans tried to hide. A pair of perfect, tan legs that gripped as she bucked on top of me, spilling my blood.

Rainey bent at the waist, dropping her palms on the grass. I was inching for my phone and suddenly forgot why.

“Cobra pose,” Legend said.

She dropped on the ground, lying flat on her stomach, then pushing up on her arms. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders—catching the sunlight and tossing it back. Rainey de Souza was an incredibly beautiful woman, and that she didn’t know was evident by the fact she didn’t stop and admire herself in every reflective surface she passed.

That’s what happens when you spend your life in muddy overalls and the closest thing you have to a boyfriend is the goat that keeps headbutting you in the crotch.

Cairo’s hatred of all things that reminded him of her farm days made a lot more sense.

“My turn,” I said. “Happy baby.”

She pinked. “At home.”

“I say now.”

“I say at home.”

“Four,” Jacques chimed in.

“I’m not doing that pose while wearing a napkin and a thong,” Rainey said. “Ask me to again, and I’ll give you a number.”

The guys got quiet. Jacques didn’t even say five.

“Is that right?” I sat up, draping my arm over my knee. “Don’t leave me in suspense, baby. What happens if I get a number?”

“Thirteen.”

My brows drew together.

“That’s how many letters are in my name,” she said, smile curling those sinful lips. “Where’s your knife?”

My boy wasn’t twitching anymore. He stood ramrod straight, pitching his flag smack on Homer Green.

“Just to be clear,” I began. “Are you threatening to carve your name in my skin if I continue demanding you flash your ass to all of Bedlam University?”

She rose up, shifting into puppy dog stretch on her own. “Not much of a deterrent when it comes to you, Roan Banks,” she purred. “But a girl’s still got to let you know who’s in charge.”

I knocked my lemonade over getting up. “Come with me.”

“I have class in twenty minutes.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Ugh.”

Quinn blocked my path as I turned to go, Rainey hanging under my arm like a saddlebag.

“You dumped me for that flat ass?” she scoffed. “Big mistake.”

A comeback was on the tip of my lips. Something to do with the real order of events, and that included her panting moans while she jumped on my cock, they were so vomit-inducing we had to dump her before I got dangerously underweight.

I set Rainey on her feet, looking past Quinn to the guys two steps behind her.

“Unless you’re into flat asses now.” Quinn reinserted herself in my way. “To go with the blood fetish. And the cum fetish. And the sweat fetish. Did I ever tell anyone you got off on licking my armpits?” she half bellowed.

Quinn laughed. “Oops. Guess I did now.”

“This,” I said as the Crows fanned out around her, “is unwise.”

“What’s wrong?” Jeremy asked.

Their group wasn’t six.

Students followed behind, broke off from their path, or dropped their footballs. Legend grasped Rainey’s shoulder, guiding her behind us. That wasn’t good.

It meant a fight was coming.

“Roan liked to let me put a saddle on and ride him around the living room,” Quinn went on. “He’s a freak, but that’s nothing on Arsenio. He—”

“Junior year,” Cairo said. “Dallas away game.”

Quinn’s grin melted away.

“Say another word. Open your mouth one more fucking time, and everyone learns that secret.”

She didn’t utter a sound.

“Hey.” Jeremy pulled her close, kissing those pinched lips. “Back off my girlfriend. For fuck’s sake, you guys can’t take a joke. We get into a little argument, I don’t fall for your prank with my brother, and now you are pouting out here, refusing to eat on the terrace. Would Bedlam Babies be a more fitting title?”

A few people snickered.

My eyes narrowed, searching them out. It was difficult. The crowd was getting thicker.

I lit on a vaguely familiar face. He forced through the crowd, hopping on a pair of crutches. Alphonso planted himself between Gael and Micah.

His bruises were in various stages of healing, and the colors did nothing to improve that once vaguely handsome face. His glare tried to burn a hole through me. I slid off him too fast for him to make an impact.

He should thank us for going easy on him.

“Our mistake,” Arsenio said. “We came out here to get some fresh air, enjoy some peace and quiet, get a break from your constant chest pounding. If we’d known you’d get pouty and cry about it, we’d have been there first thing to give you attention.”

I laughed out loud at Jeremy’s snarl. Why? ’Cause it’s what I do. What kind of idiot defuses a situation when it’s just getting good?

“I was pouty ’cause we had to go all over tracking you down, just to tell you the good news.” He clapped Micah on the back. “Why don’t you do the honors?”

Micah squared up to Legend. “You’re done. The people have spoken and Bedlam is no longer now or forever. So where does that leave the Bedlam Boys? Turns out most of the young voters in Bedlam tend to stick around since such a prestigious university offers them cheap tuition just for being a resident.”

“Another little factoid,” Jeremy picked up. “These young voters have gotten to know you and your methods very well, and they’re not fans.”

“Steals from my dad’s business every week,” someone shouted.

“Fucker beat my brother for being disrespectful!”

“The bitch boy deserved it,” I called back.

“Roan,” Rainey hissed. “Curb your natural instincts.”

I chuckled. She’s starting to know me too well.

Truth was, it didn’t matter if this mob ended the way we were headed. Every single person in this crowd would regret this. Even if it wasn’t us doling out the punishment. They had no idea the war they were about to start.

“They don’t want you anymore,” Gael said. “They don’t want Bedlam, if this is what it means to live here. Getting rid of one group of tyrants only for another to take their place.”

Jeremy grinned. “A wind’s coming, baby, and it’s sweeping your hick town away. Or at least the half that’s reverting back to Crystal Canyon.” He held out his hands. “We got the votes. We got the town. We’ve got you.

“Hey, Jonah,” he stage-whispered. “How long did we bet we’d take over?”

“Gave it a month.”

“I was being generous.”

Cairo cast a look over his shoulder. “Rain, excuse yourself.”

“Why?”

“Because I think he’s going to keep talking.”

Jeremy laughed, gesturing to us and yukking it up with his Crows. “So what if I do keep—”

Cairo punched him in the throat.

You’d have thought the guy would’ve learned to block that move by now.

Jeremy flew back and rebounded fast. Wheezing, he swung wildly, taking out a bystander to get to Cairo. Alphonso was already there, smashing Cairo over the shoulder with his crutch.

I ripped it from his hands and swept his bad leg. He went down under the mob surging at us.

They came from everywhere. Punching. Kicking. Fighting for our side and against. They trapped us in.

Quinn launched at Rainey. “Manure-stinkin’ slut!” She tangled in her hair, wrenching a scream out of her.

Rainey seized the hand holding her, locking Quinn still, and smashed her fist in her nose. Blood spurted on her knuckles—the last thing I saw before five people were between us, pushing and shoving us apart.

A blow rocked my side, knocking me into Arsenio. I straightened for Gael’s barreling charge, shoulder dropped to run me through.

I snapped to the side, shoving Arsenio back. Gael crashed into the guy coming after him. The crunch of bone on bone reverberated through my skeleton.

The crowd shifted. Bodies crushing. Shouts and screams banging in my ears. Arsenio was gone in the time it took to turn around.

I saw a punch headed my way and spun to meet it. Fist raised, the red mist cleared on Micah.

We jerked to a stop.

Micah dropped his arm and shoved through the bodies. I glanced around wondering if anyone noticed.

Movement shifted out of the corner of my eye.

I twisted, spotting the glint of metal. Time slowed.

Heart thumping in my ear, I moved between beats, throwing up a block. The blade glanced across my arm, slicing the skin, jolting the chest strike wide.

Bang!

A gunshot ripped through the noise.

“That’s enough!”

Students scattered in every direction. The red sleeve covering the arm of my would-be killer flashed through the bodies.

“On the ground! Everybody, on the ground!”

Clutching my arm, I ran after them, forcing my way through. Someone shot in front of me. I collided into a hard chest.

“Mr. Banks,” barked my mother’s head of university security. “Inside, sir. Now.”

There was no point fighting him or the three others who grabbed and ran me inside. No red sleeve. No glimpse of the hooked nose that stuck out from under their hood.

They were gone.

RAINEY

The earth rumbled beneath me.

Images blinked on and off. Swirling clouds. My bare feet skimming the grass. Polished shoes crunching in the gravel.

I peeled my eyes open, gazing into a sea of black. Pain flooded my senses. Giving over, I surrendered to the dark, falling far from pain’s reach.

“... you’re still...”

A voice floated through the haze.

“... goddess...”

Light pierced my lids. My vision cleared on the forest floor, watching my fingers sway to meet it.

My body was heavy—separate from me. I called my hands to move. My legs to carry me. My lips to open.

“... worship you.”

The world spun and gentle arms set me down. Clouds came to blanket me, shielding the sun as a shadow passed over my eyes. Its soft presence drew on my lids, closing them.

Sending me back.

I JOLTED AWAKE.

What happened? How did I get here?

The last thing I remembered was the New Boys surrounding us.

Quinn came after me. She tried to rip my hair out of my head and got a broken nose for her trouble. People who didn’t know farm girls, made fun of them. Those with sense, figured out a lifetime wrestling with stubborn goats, hammering posts, and working in the fields left you more than prepared for a fight.

She and I grappled on the ground and then... then...

Then someone fell on us.A jolt of pain pierced the memory, bringing it back in stark clarity.

Two guys were fighting and didn’t see us. They tripped, coming down hard, and knocked the wind from me. A bloody Quinn was carried off by a friend who rescued her.

Then someone came for me.

Hands lifted me up. I made to shake free of them, and a tiny pinch pricked my arm.

I lifted my hand to see and something fluttered to the ground. Sitting up, my gaze fell on the single black letter lying on the grass. I wished that was the only thing beside me.

I swept around—a thick, sludgy horror crawled across my skin.

The sun was setting on Black Widow Hill, and its only two constant visitors. They had placed me on top of the unmarked grave, framed in a circle of white roses.

My stomach rebelled.

Pitching forward, I vomited in the grass—heaving and heaving past the point I had anything left.

He had me. He touched me! He took me!

The Letter Man took me with such terrifying ease. Under the eyes of dozens of people. Then he laid me on top of my closest-held secret.

I was stripped bare. Exposed. I felt his eyes on me through the trees, and for all I knew, that’s where he was. Watching.

Waiting.

I scurried out of the flower ring. Getting to my feet, I scanned the tree line for a hint of movement—so much as the swaying branches.

If he wanted to hurt you, he had hours to do it. Sense cleared my hazy mind. That’s not why you were brought here.

Looking down, I fell on the letter.

Slowly, I picked it up and broke the seal. A single white card lay inside.

Choosing Verlice was delicious irony, but then I never much liked the man.

I’m proud of you.

For a moment, I thought you were truly gone. That wonderful, wild creature destined to destroy Bedlam in her fire.

I believed guilt and conscience destroyed you. I should’ve had more faith. As you need to now.

One cannot understand the pure, righteous spirit of sacrifice until they are forced to make one. I have given you a gift. You have given me hope.

You’re ready.

It is finally time for us. I will send the time and place of our first meeting.

Stay psycho,

Love you. XOXO

“THANKS FOR LETTINGme stay.”

“You didn’t even have to ask.” Paris skipped into the room. Both arms were loaded down with DVDs, a remote, a bag of popcorn, and two soda cans balancing dangerously on top of it all. “We’ve been planning this Doctor Who night for forever.” She lost her smile. “I wish it didn’t have to happen this way though.”

I helped her lay out the stuff on the pink ottoman at the foot of her bed. I had to make room among the muffins, cookies, and chips. I pegged her as trying to cheer me up.

I needed it even though she didn’t know the full reason why.

After leaving the hill, I waited for Frankie at my stop. I thought of going back to campus. Where he walked the grounds, waiting for the perfect time to steal me away.

I tried to get off at the stop and my feet wouldn’t move. Frankie closed the doors and set off again. The next time they opened, I was a ten-minute walk from Bay Avenue.

The gate guy called Paris. Her voice sounded through the speakers and my ability to lie deserted me. I told her flat out someone grabbed me during the brawl and dumped me in the woods. I told Cairo the same thing.

“They’re dead,” he growled. “It was the Crows. They took you like Legend did that long-haired bastard. They wanted us going mad searching for you.”

My pulse picked up at the thought me going missing would’ve driven them mad.

“Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine,” he replied. “Roan was stabbed. He didn’t see who did it.”

“What?” I cried.

“Stay there. We’ll get you in the morning.”

Thus our conversation was over, but at least the guys didn’t think I ran off and ditched them at the first sign of trouble.

“And this is trouble,” I muttered. “Do you think it’s true, Paris? Do the New Boys have enough support to chop our town into pieces?”

“I still don’t understand what happened today.” She bent next to the DVD player, flipping through discs. “I’ve been getting texts all day, telling me fifty different versions. All I know is from the last two years I’ve spent studying government, nothing is ever that easy. Jeremy and his buddies can whip those cowards into a mob. Doesn’t mean he can get them all into the voting booth.”

“That’s true.”

“The only thing he accomplished today,” Paris said, “was pissing my brother and his friends off. They’re going to regret that.”

She dropped the statement as a fact of life.

“They will strike back, and when they do, they’ll crush any resistance under their boot.”

“Geez,” I breathed. “Did you not scare yourself saying that?”

Paris’s gaze grew out of focus. “They can’t have Bedlam, Rainey. No one can.”

“They won’t. I’m sure it’s like you said. Mob mentality is easy. Critical thinking about the future of this town, isn’t as easy to control.”

Paris shook herself. Her bright smile returned. “Bet your ass it’s not. So, which Doctor are we feeling? Nine, ten, or eleven.”

“Ninth for sure.” I picked her phone off the nightstand. “Do you mind if I make one more call?”

She waved me on. “Go for it.”

I went into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I did have to make a call, but it was the letter I pulled out, not the phone.

I read it too many times to count since racing from the woods and climbing on the bus with Frankie. Backward and forward, it didn’t make sense to me. If not for the standard sign-off, I’d have thought the letter was written by someone else.

The way they wrote to me, the message was almost... tender.

The Letter Man spoke like all of this had been a coming-of-age ritual and I’d finally proven myself to him. The trials were over, now for celebration.

It is finally time for us.

I hugged myself, rubbing my arms. Sitting on the hill among the roses that were my altar, a terrible feeling sunk into my bones and forced me to purge bile.

What if the Letter Man did not hate me at all? What if it was just the opposite?

But that was not the case for Cavendish. That man hated me only slightly more than he hated himself, and I’d have said the same about his friend before I received this letter.

I “killed” Verlice. I proved I was willing to sacrifice with the ultimate sin to protect my friends. Was this what they wanted all along? Is it over now?

I tossed my head, pacing the length of the bathroom. If that was it, why didn’t it end with Cavendish? Why did Letter Man 2.0 come for me like I murdered his best friend, and then suddenly do a one-eighty? Why take the risk and snatch me off campus? Why bring me to Black Widow Hill and place me on the grave? How did they know about it?

Groaning, I slid down the wall. All those questions in my head, there was one rising above.

Would their next letter be a time and place to meet them, and would I go if it was?

He thought I was ignoring him and he sent me notes even more deranged than the last. Threatening me, my friends, and my secrets. If I didn’t show up, what would stop him sending a tip to the police about the body? Why wouldn’t he direct Sheriff Jack to Cavendish’s killer?

Am I willing to die for my secrets? I could show up and be gifted an arrow in my heart.

Or you could show up and gift one in his.

I raised my head from my hands, gazing at the letter. My choices were simple, weren’t they? They were what they had always been.

One: Involve the police and have them meet the Letter Man in my place.

Two: Ignore the request to meet and endure the wave of violence he’ll swear to unleash on the few people I have left.

Three: End this menace over my life once and for all.

The police were never truly an option. At least not any officers that were Sheriff Jack or worked under him. For Paris, Frankie, and Bella, I could risk his involvement. Their safety was bigger than me. But for me, the last place I’d put my safety is in his hands.

To ignore the Letter Man was to continue in this endless cycle. He’d prey on all of Bedlam while I remained ten steps behind a phantom.

Doesn’t that leave the only option I ever had?

I could confront him. I’d find out why they chose me, and I wouldn’t arrive unarmed. I’d have my bow aimed at them the entire time. It was a certainty they couldn’t strike before I did. There was only one problem with this option.

I couldn’t kill again.

“Ahh,” I cried, tears dripping down my face.

“Rainey? You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

I tore off some toilet paper. My revenge fantasies were just that. The thought of actually making that decision again—of releasing that string and falling into the calm place. Righteous fury made me a victim.

Enjoyment made me a monster.

I picked up Paris’s phone and dialed Ivy’s number. Whenever I needed her, she was there. She had to sense I needed her more than ever.

The call rang and rang.

Giving up, I pulled the cell away.

“Rainey?”

“Ivy?” I straightened, banging my head on the wall and barely noticing. “Is that you?”

“It’s me.”

Of course, it was her. That smoky, mature voice and the slight lilt to the way she pronounced Rainey.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” I sobbed. “Oh, Ivy, I’ve missed you so much. You don’t know what it’s been like here without you—”

“Rainey.”

“I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have said those things. I didn’t mean it.”

“I know,” she replied. “Your voice mails all said the same.”

My lips trembled. “I meant it. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know you’re sorry. It just doesn’t change anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s time we both had our own life. You were happy to live on the farm till you were eighty years old, rocking your great-grandchildren to sleep on the porch. You were horrible for what you said to me,” she said, voice shaking. “But I think a part of me was looking for a way out, and I found it. I have friends, a home, and a boyfriend here. I’m happy.

“You need to find your own happiness, Rainey, and that’s something you have to do alone.”

“But... why does that mean we can’t talk? I’ve been calling you for months, Ivy.”

“Why?” she repeated. Her tone changed in a snap. “Because you’re a rancid bitch who said I didn’t love the woman who raised me. We’re done, Rainey. Stop calling me.”

Click.

I lowered the phone, placing it on the bathroom mat. Unhurriedly, I moved to the sink, washed my face, picked up the letter.

I wasn’t mad. Ivy said what I knew she must’ve felt all this time. Why else would my calls have gone unanswered?

An awful thing to hear during what she intended to be our last conversation. Even so, she left me with an older sister’s wisdom one final time.

It was time to find my happiness.

I brushed my fingers over the card.

And discover why you’re determined to take it.

In the end, there was only one option. I had to find my way out of the darkness, and cut down anyone who tried to stop me.

“Paris.” I came out, grinning to crack my face in half. “Bring on that big-eared, leather-loving, alien from the north.”

CAIRO

Rain hugged Paris, waved bye to Esteban, and came down the drive. She was making herself at home with my family, and she was welcome to them. She was either to be with us, or right where I could find her. Life was simple now that she understood that.

I shifted to the mirror and the hand-stitched gash above my eye. Alright, simple wasn’t the word.

Rainey climbed in and reached for me. She was dressed in one of Paris’s outfits. A blue dress that brought out light flecks in her eyes. Undoubtedly, she had an enjoyable time hanging out with the sibling who had all of a sudden become her best friend, in her mansion of eleven rooms for three people. She’d have eaten fresh muffins made by their housekeeper, Laurent, and possibly took a quick dip in the hot tub with those girls who were always hovering around Evie.

Compared to a leash, collar, and doghouse on the living room floor, it’d have crossed anyone’s mind to trade up. Paris was the kind of bleeding heart to convince Nora to let the homeless farm girl stay with them.

Did Rain realize that if she chose to break free of me, this house was the only place in all of Bedlam she’d be safe. The one place I wouldn’t enter.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she did know. Paris wasn’t one to keep shit that wasn’t anyone’s business to herself.

Still, she willingly climbs in my car like she waited on the hood for us after I claimed her.

I couldn’t stop asking why. Something in her eyes said I wouldn’t like the full reason.

Her touch skated my brow. “Are you okay?” Real concern laced her question.

“I’m upright, aren’t I?”

She chuckled. “Yes, but your serfdom just rose up against you. Bet you’re wishing now you used honey to attract more than mouths to your dicks. Could’ve paid to be nicer to people.”

“I can tell you with certainty.” I removed her hand. “People don’t pay when you’re nice.”

“What’s the deal with these payments?”

I started the car, rolling down Bay Avenue.

“I assume there’s a reason you make everyone give you a cut. But when you’re taking their money, and the New Boys are giving it to them, it kinda makes it easy to pick favorites.”

“Nothing is given for free.” My temper leeched out. “Once they find out the strings attached, they’ll be hanging from them.”

“What are you guys going to do? How can you stop this?”

I cut the engine off before a home six down. Grasping her hips, I tugged her toward me. Rain came willingly, settling on my lap.

“You ask a lot of questions.” I skimmed up her thigh, finding the place those shapely legs met. “You also showed up, attached to my sister’s arm, right as Jeremy and his crew blew into town.”

Bright spots of color stained her cheeks—from the question or the finger I slid inside her, hard to tell.

“What are you getting at, Cairo? I did what I did to Cavendish just to get an in with you g-guys?”

Another finger joined the first, scissoring her open. Rain tripped over her word—a flash of discomfort crossing her features. Didn’t stop her bracing against the steering wheel and easing me deeper.

“What a fantastically stupid plan that would’ve been.”

I grinned. Amazing how she could be so obedient and so brash in the same breath.

“You could’ve just as easily handed me to your father. Lots of snooping I would’ve done in jail.”

“Destiny brought us together, Rain, I’ve never denied it. Doesn’t mean destiny didn’t bring you other opportunities.”

I worked her with the other hand, sinking four fingers in that deliciously tight pussy. Rain whimpered—squeezing her eyes shut—and took every digit. My cock strained painfully against my zipper.

I went up against guys twice my size who couldn’t take half as much as her. They bitched and moaned over a few taps to the jaw, while I brought Rain past the limit multiple times and she refused to flinch.

Maybe that’s why it was infinitely more satisfying hurting her.

All the things I’ve done—the people I’ve hurt. No one believes I see the judgment in their eyes. That I indulge the pain without remorse. In that, they are correct. I did not feel bad for a single broken bone, bloodied body, or destroyed life, but the former was not true.

I hear their screams and pleas for mercy. I see the betrayal etched on their face. How dare I hold them accountable when every other weak bitch lets them slide? How dare I prove they were one of them?

That judgement irritated me. It kept me going past the point they had enough. They brought this side out of me. They taunted the beast—dropped scraps of meat to lure it out. Then they got mad at what they found.

Not my Rain.

She met him. Smoothed her hand down his hackles. Traced his snarl. Exposed her throat.

I looked in those eyes and saw many things, but never judgement.

Never fear.

“I’d spend the rest of my life hurting you, Rain.” I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet, minty scent. “I’d keep you even if you betrayed me. Ran from me. Turned your arrow on me.”

I felt her swallow. “Are you thinking any of those are a possibility?”

Humming, I continued down, tugging her dress off with my teeth. “Arsenio told us about your chat with Ellis.”

“I told him.”

“Smart move in case we found out from someone else. Can’t say you were hiding it when you came clean on your own.”

She rocked on my hands—little pants dropping from her lips. “What are you getting at, Sharpe?”

“You take his bribe and play for his side, while coming to us promising you’ll feed him lies and play for us.”

“You’re a suspicious person, aren’t you? Won’t share your secrets in front of the family pet because you don’t like how he stares.”

I laughed. “You’re angry.”

“Yes, I’m angry,” she snapped. “I wouldn’t tell Jeremy or the New Boys shit. I trust him even less than you guys.”

“You don’t trust me?” My smile widened.

“Why would I? You haven’t given me reason to trust you, whereas I have. What information could I give Ellis that’s more damning than the trip Arsenio and I took to the Highland Arms?”

I shrugged, picking up the pace. Rain jerked and fell on the horn, blaring our fun to the entire street.

“Maybe you’re waiting till you have that agreement in writing.”

“Fuck you. You should know that—”

“That what?” I sliced in.

“That I wouldn’t give anyone power over you while you have power over me. The only end to that story is we all end up the New Boys’ bitches.”

Rain tossed her head back, lifting her dress uncaring of anyone driving by. The sight of her overstuffed hole nearly undid me. I haven’t come in my pants since my bout of wet dreams as a teenager. Fuck if she wasn’t about to break my streak.

I freed myself, letting the guy breathe while I continued my work.

“That’s your only reason?” I probed.

“What are you looking for, Cairo?”

Biting a curse, I drilled her, slapping a palm against her clit. What the hell was I looking for?

I didn’t understand Rainey de Souza, and with every passing day, that fact needled me harder. She hated my father, but why? The guy spent his life shuffling papers around his desk or drinking himself to death. When did he have time to make an enemy out of a college girl?

I gave in and asked him about her the other night while I helped him upstairs to bed. Dad blathered on about his regrets, but didn’t answer the question. I knew he heard me.

Now Jeremy Ellis is stalking my girl through libraries, and fuck knew the real reason why. He may have told her it was to spy on us.

Bullshit.

We kept Quinn around for months. Fucking her and letting her live in our house. Jeremy was quick to snatch her up. Five minutes into her scorned-woman ranting, he’d figure out she didn’t know anything worth using. We never took her on collection runs. Arsenio didn’t bring her on outings. We never let Quinn get an inside on what we do.

Ellis didn’t have a reason to believe it’d be different with the girl we had for less than three weeks.

So what does he really want from her? Why did Cavendish choose her? Why does my father refuse to talk about her?

“I want to know what makes Rainey de Souza so special.”

“Ask yourself that,” she forced out, squeezing on my fingers. Her nails pierced my shoulders, breaking skin as her orgasm took her.

“You’re the one who chose me.”

RAINEY

Cairo shifted my boneless heap to the passenger seat. I had no idea what prompted his sudden desire to give me an orgasm. Maybe he thought it’d scramble my mind and make me easy to question. Either way, I was his to tease and torture once again.

Cairo hopped out of the car and casually strode up the drive. Dressing quickly, I chased after him, and curled around his arm.

“Where are we?”

“Legend’s parents’ place,” he replied. “Ellis and his crew are staked out at ours.”

“Goodness. A brawl is broken up by gunfire and campus police, and they’re out looking for another fight?”

“They didn’t get what they wanted the first time. Naturally they’ll keep coming after us until they do.”

“What do they want?” I asked.

“Surrender.”

I traced the lines of his hard, handsome face. I didn’t have to ask the question. I already knew.

The Bedlam Boys would never surrender. There was a single outcome acceptable in a situation like this, the total annihilation of the enemy.

The blood of revolutionaries runs in our veins.

Cairo retrieved a key and let himself inside the mansion. The home of the famous St. Jameses was what I expected of the larger-than-life man whose face took up every advertisement, and voice boomed through the factory floor during distillery tours.

A fountain two stories high claimed most of the driveway. It splashed little droplets on me as we made for the grand glass doors. Inside, Christopher St. James greeted me with a beaming smile, a gorgeous brunette, and his supernaturally handsome son.

Their portrait took over the front wall, standing taller than me. You could put it down to the things I’ve come to know about the man, but if you looked closely at that smile, you’d see the hard set to his jaw and the almost hidden sneer.

Gran hated working with Christopher St. James. He never missed a chance to undercut a deal, reject produce, or try to negotiate the bill even though it was the same as the delivery before, and the delivery before that.

The guys were waiting in the chef’s paradise Legend called a kitchen. Jacques looked like he was in the middle of making another smoothie. The guys lined up along the island arguing back and forth.

Cairo slipped out of my grasp to join them. I hung back in the foyer.

“—this happen,” Legend gruffed. His perfectly coiffed hair was a tousle of flyaways. As wild as the fire in his normally shining brown eyes. “They came for us in our town, in our home! The rumors they spread about the factory going under have spiraled.

“Workers are giving notice, looking for new jobs. We say we’re doing fine and they think we’re hiding something. Whispers are going around about a strike. If we’re doing so well, we can afford to increase wages.”

He brought his fists down on the countertop. “It’s obvious what they’re trying to do! The workers get riled up, go on strike, production shuts down, we lose money, and Foundry swoops in ready to buy us out.”

“Foundry?” I whispered.

“Ellis admitted his father wants the distillery,” Jacques said. “It employs half the town. If Steven Ellis becomes the boss, he’ll have a hold on half the voters.”

“He won’t have shit,” Legend snapped. “He’s not getting the distillery. The return of Crystal Canyon will never make it on the ballot.”

Legend riled up was a rare sight to see. He paced the length of the kitchen—a caged beast searching for its way to you.

“The Crows, and Steven Ellis, have been planning this for a long time,” Arsenio said. “They came in too fast. Outsmarted us too quickly. They must’ve been watching us, taking note of our weaknesses. The collections were the perfect pain point to dig in.”

“We’re the evil tax collectors, and Jeremy and his Crows are the messiahs,” Legend said, “come to save them and create their own promised land.”

“Seems to be their plan.”

He leaned over the counter, boring down on Arsenio. “How are we going to stop them? You going to pay them a visit?”

I tucked further in the corner. Was Legend serious? They’d kill the Crows for unseating their thrones and causing a little worker unrest?

Arsenio didn’t answer right away. My lungs failed me as the silence stretched.

“No,” Roan spoke up. “That’s not the right move. I don’t need to tell you what’ll happen if Foundry gets what they want. That cannot happen, but if Ellis knows, he knows. Getting rid of the Crows won’t stop him. Getting rid of him won’t either if he’s got Foundry’s board in on it. The mass murder of an entire board of directors right before they acquire property in a town with a bloody history, is bound to attract some notice. Plus, right now our own people are happy to offer us up as the main suspects,” Roan said.

I found myself nodding along. Incredible that of all people, Roan was the one talking sense and calm.

He rubbed his bandaged arm. “If we strike back with violence, we’re going to jail.”

“Then what do you suggest? Huh? What?”

No one replied.

“Fuck!” Legend swiped a fruit bowl off the counter. It crashed at my feet in a shower of glass and oranges.

The guys looked up at my cry. Legend narrowed on me.

“The place is yours,” he told them. “Do what you want. Stay as long as you fucking want. Folks don’t come back for another week and a half.”

He stalked toward me. I jumped—jerking back like I was going to run. Legend ended any thought of that by tossing me over his shoulder.

“I need a distraction. Don’t wait up for us.”

“Distraction?” I repeated. “What are we doing?”

“Yoga.”

Legend carried me upstairs, bypassing the towering portrait. He brought me into a bedroom that had to be his.

A massive canopy bed dominated the middle of the room. That placement was odd for anyone else. The more I learned about Legend St. James, the more it made sense the activities that went down on that bed would take center stage.

“Wait for me.” He set me on the couch. “Don’t move.”

And go where?

Legend walked out, leaving me to scope out his place in peace. It seemed the typical guy’s room if obsessively clean. He didn’t live here anymore, so it wouldn’t be messy. That fact didn’t tell me anything about him.

I got up despite my orders, searching for something that would.

Music posters covered every wall. Green Day, Papa Roach, Evanescence, Finger Eleven. If I hummed along to their songs while Ivy blasted them upstairs, they were on this wall.

Poking my head in the closet, I spotted mostly suits. These were left behind in favor of the normal college-student clothes. I moved on to the entertainment setup. A big-screen television was penned in by two shelves stacked with DVDs. I bent to look when I heard someone coming.

I hurried back to the couch. Legend carried something in his left hand.

“A balance ball?”

“Correct.” Legend stepped down into the sunken living area, complete with my couch, two gamer chairs, and a coffee table. The coffee table was moved out of the way and the balance ball put in its place.

Legend looked at me, trapping my gaze as he unbuttoned his cuffs. Loosened his collar. I couldn’t place the emotion in them. Couldn’t name why it made me sink in my seat.

“What’s the word you have with Cairo?” he asked.

“It’s... fate.”

He approached me, tipping my neck as he towered. “What’s our word?”

“What’s ours?” My mouth was suddenly dry.

“What’s our word?”

“Um, it’s—” Legend traced my trembling lips. “It’s gentleman.”

“Cute,” he said, smirking. “I like it.”

Legend went into the closet. I craned to see what he was doing, and saw nothing but his shadow moving about amid bangs and thumps.

“Get up,” he called.

I did, getting to my feet as my more-than-a-rich-boy emerged. Something hung off his fingers.

“How good are you at yoga?” Legend came closer, giving me a proper look at the leather spanking paddles and whip.

My lips parted and nothing came out. How had I missed that hiding in his closet?

Squinting, I noticed something etched in the paddles. Legend kindly held them up for me to see.

SLUT.

BITCH.

SLAVE.

“How much do you know about yoga?”

“I did a few online videos,” I rasped.

“Disappointing,” he said, circling me.

The guys did that more than was normal. But then, they knew what I knew. I was their prey.

“This might not be as fun as I want it to be. Get on the ball.”

I climbed on, wobbling and falling off twice. The third time I caught my balance and watched him place his tools on the coffee table.

“It’s a simple game. You do your yoga without falling off or I”—he ran a finger down the whip—“help you try harder.”

“But I can’t do it without falling off.” Which is clearly the point.

Legend winked. “That’s quitter’s talk, baby. Forward bend.”

I didn’t move.

“Legend, I know you’re angry. The Crows are coming after your family business. They started a brawl and someone tried to stab Roan.”

His expression hardened.

“Let’s not do this while you’re upset. We can just talk.”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s talk,” he said. “Let’s talk about why I’m protecting you. You’re the one who killed Cavendish, and because Cairo wanted a pet, I have to put up with the suspicion.

“The Crows are turning the town against us. They’re whipping my employees into a strike, and how much do you want to bet they’re using a certain murder investigation to make the lies go down sweeter?”

I raised my chin, chest rising and falling.

“Why shouldn’t I do this while I’m angry? Did you think you were forgiven?” He ate the distance, knocking me off with his mere presence. “Don’t tell me you thought your punishment was over? That we’re your boyfriends now.” Legend pouted. “Ah. How sweet.”

“No,” I said, hiding my balled fists behind my back. “I didn’t think that.”

“Didn’t you?” Legend moved behind me. “You’re a toy, de Souza. A pet. A distraction. A consolation prize at best.” His breath was hot on my neck. “Cairo can fuck you. Roan can use you. Jacques can play with you. Arsenio can mold you. But that’s all you’ll ever be. Say you understand.”

The words burned coming out. “I understand.”

“Good ’cause right now, I’m playing with my toy. Forward bend.”

I bent at the waist, reaching for my ankles, and pitched off the ball.

“The dress,” Legend said. “Take it off.”

Tugging the dress down, I glanced at him over my shoulder. It was hard to recognize the smiling, flirty man who teased my nipples and made me blush in public. Why was I surprised? Looking at the company he kept should’ve clued me in. I didn’t know everything about Legend St. James.

“Grab the chair arms.”

I did, knowing what was coming.

Pain erupted in my left cheek. I bit my lip, smothering a whimper. Legend did not hold back.

“Back on the ball.”

I climbed on in nothing but my lace hipsters. Legend twirled the paddle around his finger. He opted for slave.

“Eagle pose.”

My jaw clenched. For eagle, I had to twist my arms and legs around each other, then stand on one foot. The pose was impossible for me on solid ground.

“Waiting for something?”

I raised my foot an inch, and fell over. I couldn’t catch myself and dropped face-first on the couch.

“Get on your knees.”

“Legend!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” He selected slut from his collection.

I shakily got my knees under me, clutching the couch cushion. The paddle whistled cutting through the air.

“Ah!”

“On the ball.”

I whipped around on him, glaring furiously. “This isn’t going to make you feel better. It won’t change a damn thing.”

Legend was power, and fury, and sex contained in one mortal body. His thick thighs strained the fabric as he crouched. “Why not? It makes you feel better. We’re not all so clueless, baby, I know why you got in our truck. I’ve always known.”

“What?” I whispered.

“You want to be punished. You want us to make it hurt on the outside as much as it does on the inside. It’s the only way you can live with yourself.

“It’s the only way to breathe.”

The words rapid-fired from his smirking, cruel mouth. There was no chance to take cover.

He laughed—a terrible, harsh sound. “I know a little something about that, and if you want to hurt, love, I have always been your man.” Legend winked. “You didn’t have to burn a guy to get my attention.”

“Leg—”

“On the ball,” he ordered.

I shoved up.

“Ah.” Legend stopped me with the paddle. “Lose the panties.”

I pulled them off and threw it at him. Legend laughed as they bounced off his face.

“Chair pose.”

I fell off three times trying to get back on and find my balance.

Straightening, I raised my hand to do the pose I was meant to fail.

“You’re a pet. You’re a toy.”

I lowered slowly and the ball wobbled. It threw me off its back.

Landing smack on the carpet, I groaned at the jolt through my sore backside.

“Get up. Hands and knees.”

“That’s all you’ll ever be.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“No,” I cried.

“Get on your knees, toy.”

“Screw you!” The torrent burst. Snatching up the ball, I flung it at him.

Legend ducked, cursing. I ran for the door.

Closing on the knob, I yanked it open. Legend was on me in three bounds. He slammed his hands on either side of my head—ripping it free of my grasp and banging the door shut.

“This is what you wanted,” he growled.

“Not like this!” Sobbing, I slid to the floor, forehead pressed to the wood.

“What else is there?”

Legend pressed me in tighter—blotting out my light, sound, and my escape. “You did indulge your little fantasy that we were your boyfriends. Well, let me be the one to break it to you, this is all there is.

“We’re not waiting for you at the end of it,” he gritted in my ear. “There won’t be grand confessions of love, or sweet speeches about wanting you all along, and now we can finally be together. You wanted this.”

Legend punched the wood, stealing a cry from me.

“The pain. The choking. The begging for it to stop before it gets worse. We’re sweat, blood, and agony. We’re the last lost mile on blistered feet. I’ll force you to go on, Rainey, because it’s the only way to get to where you’re going.

“Atonement.”

My tears slowed. Hiccups softened.

“If it’s too much for you, say the word, run out of here, and don’t fucking come back. Otherwise, get on your fucking knees, pet. You chose your jailers, now take your punishment.”

Rising up, I moved as he did—getting to my knees and Legend’s weight disappearing.

“Face me.”

Legend was an immense being blocking out the sun itself. He reached for his zipper, and my soul quieted.

“You’re terrible at yoga, but maybe your talents lie elsewhere. Do a good job and I won’t have to imprint another lesson into that lovely, unblemished skin.”

Another game I’m meant to fail?

How could I do a good job? I’d never given a blow job.

Legend unveiled in all his thick, smooth, uncut glory. He pressed against my lips—demanding entrance.

I parted, accepting him. Legend drove home and filled me to the brim.

I gagged at first, but forced myself to relax, breathing through my natural reflex. Planting my hands on either side of him, I bobbed my head, sinking to swallow as much of him as I could. Pulling back to suck and lick the tip.

He grunted. “Shit.”

Picking up the pace, the noise spurred me on. Maybe this was all there is and all there should be. I changed since I received that first letter. I’d done the unspeakable and dragged others down in my selfishness. The Letter Man said I didn’t understand the meaning of sacrifice. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I sacrificed my sister for vengeance. I sacrificed truth to live in peace. I sacrificed the Bedlam Boys to escape the consequences for both.

Any connection I felt with Cairo, admiration from Arsenio, or understanding with Jacques could not overshadow the simple truth that they are not my boyfriends.

They are my sacrifices, and they put me on an altar to burn.

I stroked Legend’s balls, earning filthier curses and the flip of his on switch. He started pumping—fucking my mouth slow at first, and then faster as he lost control. I fought to accept him.

Choking and sputtering, Legend’s mercy was to tangle in my hair, tugging my head back to open me wider. Tears streamed down my face. My gag reflex was out of control. But I gripped Legend tighter, nails piercing his hips, and determined to take all he had to give me.

He seized—muscles going rigid between my touch. Popping out, Legend exploded hot, dripping cum all over my face.

He propped against the door as I knelt there, blinking in wide-eyed shock.

“Terrible,” he gruffed, voice ragged. “You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re doing, but damn if that hot little mouth isn’t tasty. Let’s split the difference, shall we?”

“No more spankings?”

He grinned, cutting a track through the mess on my cheek. “No more yoga.”

Legend spanked me until “the message sunk in.” Over and over again, not letting up after two screaming orgasms and another blow job to win my reprieve.

“That’s enough.” He dropped the paddle, leaving bitch to lie with slut and slave.

The good news was I didn’t know any more pain. My ass fell numb half a dozen slaps ago.

Pushing myself up, I made for the door.

“Where are you going? I don’t sleep alone.”

Legend swept me up in his arms and carried me to bed. It didn’t occur to me to fight him as he tucked me in the silk sheets. Why would it? It was the moment he slid in next to me, throwing his arm over my waist and pulled me close that gave me pause.

This was everything Legend said wouldn’t happen. Closeness. Tenderness. Shouldn’t he be carrying me to my new doghouse in the basement right now?

I relaxed, letting my eyes fall shut. It didn’t matter if this wasn’t real or the opening of what would be a cruel joke. All I knew was what I felt. This was not my jail.

This was home.