Chapter 23 – ELLIE
ELLIE
The concrete floor is cold against my knees through my sweatpants. I shift slightly, trying to find a position that doesn't make my ass go completely numb, but the chain attached to my collar limits my options.
Five feet of freedom.
Enough to sit at Kade's feet like a good little pet, not enough to do anything remotely resembling escape.
Jinx lounges on the throne next to Kade's, pretending to scroll through his phone, but I can feel his eyes tracking my every movement.
Kade is reclined like an underworld god in repose, one hand resting on the armrest, the other occasionally tugging the leash attached to my throat when I shift too far from his immediate vicinity.
Like I'm a dog that might get up and wander off.
The humiliation should be eating me alive. But honestly? After sucking Kade off while he white-knuckled the leash like he was the one losing control, kneeling on concrete feels almost boring.
It feels like we've been waiting over an hour for this supposedly urgent business, but the guy still hasn't showed up yet and I can feel Kade getting increasingly agitated with each passing minute.
Tank and Cyrus aren't here, but I have no idea what they're doing since no one fucking tells me anything.
One, two, three, four, five.
My fingers tap against my thigh, the only movement Kade allows without tugging the chain. He notices—of course he does—but doesn't comment. Just watches me with those gray eyes that used to look at me with worship instead of… whatever this is.
He'd better not be getting fucking bored.
I'll chomp on his dick next time.
"Bored, Princess?" Kade's voice makes me jolt.
I don't answer. Can't. He made it clear I'm not allowed to speak this weekend unless given explicit permission and I'm not sure if answering rhetorical questions counts. The rule feels arbitrary and cruel, which is probably the point.
I am bored.
Bored as fuck.
And I'm in a weird mood after everything that just happened. Maybe it's whiplash from sucking Kade's cock after he walked away the first time and then getting tugged by a leash to some kind of mobster bullshit.
Maybe it's Maybelline.
"I asked you a question." His fingers find the chain, give it a sharp tug that forces me to lean toward him. "You're allowed to answer."
"Nope," I mutter. "Not bored."
"Liar." But there's amusement in his voice now, like my discomfort entertains him. "You've been shifting around for the past ten minutes. Can't get comfortable?"
I press my lips together, refusing to give him the satisfaction of complaining. My legs are starting to cramp up, but I'll sit here until I turn to stone before I admit it bothers me.
Kade's laugh is low and dark. "Stubborn as ever. Some things never change."
Everything changed, I want to scream. You changed. I changed. Everything about this entire situation is fucking insane.
But the words stay locked behind my teeth.
I hear footsteps in the hallway outside and get freshly irritated with myself for hoping Tank is going to walk through that door.
Jinx straightens slightly on the couch, his hand moving to something under the cushion. A gun, probably. The casual way he does it—like reaching for a TV remote instead of a weapon—is yet another reminder of what he is now.
The door swings open, and a man I don't recognize steps through.
He's built like a bouncer, as heavily muscled as he is tattooed, with a shaved head that gleams under the fluorescent lights.
I can smell the cigarettes and gods know what else bleeding through his sweat.
His eyes sweep the room, landing on Kade with immediate deference before sliding to me.
His gaze lingers. Traces down my body with interest that makes my skin crawl. I see the moment he registers the collar, the chain, the way I'm positioned at Kade's feet like some kind of fucked up trophy.
I look away, focusing on a stain on the concrete that might be oil or blood or both.
"Boss." The man's voice is pure gravel. "We got a problem."
"There's always a problem, Marco." Kade doesn't move, doesn't shift his attention from whatever he's reading on his phone. The dismissive gesture is clearly intentional. A power play showing this Marco guy exactly where he ranks. Especially after he made Kade wait. "What is it this time?"
"It's about the shipment from the docks. The one we were expecting Thursday."
Now Kade looks up, and I see the shift in his expression. Business mode, Cyrus would call it. The calculating mind that's kept them alive and profitable in a world that eats people like us for breakfast.
People like we used to be, I correct myself.
"What about it?"
Marco's eyes flick to me again, uncertainty crossing his face. Like he's not sure if he should talk freely with me here.
"She's fine," Kade says, catching the look. His hand drops to my head, fingers threading through my hair in a gesture that's both possessive and oddly gentle. "Speak."
The casual way he gives me permission to exist in his presence while simultaneously petting me like a fucking cat—or a dog, considering I'm on a leash—makes fury spike through my numbness.
But I swallow it down. Stay quiet. Stay still.
"Right." Marco clears his throat. "So our supplier's been skimming. Taking product off the top, selling it to the Southside crew for markup."
Kade's fingers tighten in my hair, just enough to make my scalp sting. It's nothing Jinx didn't tell him, but I can tell he's testing Marco. Making sure the story doesn't change. "How much?"
"About twenty percent of each shipment. Been going on for three months, maybe more."
The math is simple enough even for my distracted brain. Twenty percent over three months adds up to serious money in this kind of shady ass business.
"Names," Kade says, the temperature in the room seeming to drop a few degrees along with his voice.
"Carson and his crew. The ones handling distribution on the east side."
I know that name. Or at least, I've heard it. Eli Carson is one of the notorious drug lords Todd's been promising to put behind bars for years. He's never done it, but the empty promises keep his donors happy.
And he works for Kade.
The disappointment that floods through me is sharper than the pain in my knees. I look up at Kade and see the coldness in his eyes as he processes this information.
Kade must catch my expression because his smirk turns vicious. His fingers stroke through my hair again, the gesture almost affectionate if it weren't for the chain attaching me to his belt loop. Am I his pet or his keychain?
"Something to say, Princess?" he asks, voice dripping false sweetness.
I press my lips tighter together.
Now I know why he brought me here. He wanted me to know. For there to be no denying that everything he said before was true.
They're not the boys I left behind.
Not anymore.
"That's what I thought." He looks back to Marco. "Tell Cyrus to track every transaction Carson has made in the past six months. I want to know exactly how much he's stolen, who he's selling to, and every dirty little secret he's got buried."
"Already on it, boss." Marco pulls out his phone, typing rapidly. "Cy's been monitoring since we got the tip."
"Good." Kade's hand slides from my hair to the back of my neck, gripping just tight enough to be a warning. "Set up a meeting. Tonight. Tell Carson I want to discuss expanding operations. Make it sound like I don't know about his side deals."
"You gonna kill him?" Marco asks it casually, like he's asking about the weather instead of murder.
"Depends on how cooperative he is." Kade's thumb rubs circles on my neck, and I hate how my body responds to the touch. How my pulse jumps, and not because of the violent conversation happening above my head. "But probably."
Probably. Like it's nothing. Like ending someone's life is just another business decision to be made over coffee and spreadsheets.
I close my eyes, trying to reconcile this Kade with the boy who got sent to juvie for burning a mailbox just so Tank wouldn't be alone. Who made me a bracelet in metal shop and wrote me poetry.
Every fire needs something to burn for.
Guess he found his fuel in blood money and violence.
"Anything else?" Marco shifts his weight, and his eyes land on me again. This time, the interest is more blatant. More invasive.
My stomach turns.
Kade notices. His hand tightens on my neck, and the gesture feels almost protective even as it reminds me I'm property.
"We're good," Kade says, his voice carrying an edge that wasn't there before. "Get the fuck out."
Marco moves toward the door, but not before throwing one more glance my way. "Nice pet you got there, boss. You let me know when you're done with her and I'll handle Carson for free."
The temperature drops another ten degrees.
Kade's hand doesn't move from my neck, but I feel every muscle in his body go rigid. Jinx sits up straighter on his throne, his hand more obviously on whatever weapon he's hiding now.
"What did you just say?" Kade's voice is quiet. Like the quiet that comes before explosions.
Marco seems to realize his mistake, but he's already committed. He tries for casual, fails spectacularly. "I said she's pretty. Just making conversation, boss. No disrespect."
"No disrespect," Kade repeats slowly, like he's tasting the words. "You think commenting on what's mine isn't disrespectful?"
"I didn't mean—look, I was just—" Marco's backpedaling now, hands up in a placating gesture that screams guilty. "It was a joke, yeah? Just guys talkin'. Didn't mean anything by it."
I feel Kade's pulse through his fingers on my neck.
I feel the all-consuming rage building like pressure in a sealed container, threatening to spill over and burn through him.
My own heart hammers against my ribs, some animal part of my brain screaming a warning that something very fucking bad is about to happen.