THE CLAY PATH beneath my shoes was lined by stripped tobacco stalks for nearly as far as the eye could see. I’d ventured beyond the lawns, gardens, tennis courts, and past the pool, until the harvested fields were all around me. The manor was but a dot in the landscape, and I prayed that I’d found the place beyond Alton’s security.

In my solitude, for the first time in nearly a week, I wasn’t alone. Fingering the tracker necklace, Nox’s voice reached beyond my ears to my heart. The tidal wave of relief brought on by his presence, even though only through the phone, staggered my steps.

“I’m so sorry… I didn’t want to…” My feet stilled as I gripped the small phone tighter. My blurry gaze darted about the landscape as I tried to catch my breath, determined not to cry any more than I already was. I couldn’t waste our precious minutes as a broken-down mess.

“Princess, it’ll be all right.”

His tone rumbled through me, weakening my knees until I collapsed upon the hard Georgia clay.

“You don’t understand,” I said, barely able to get the words out before my voice broke. “I-I kissed him.”

“What?” His one-word question held no judgment. Instead, there was restraint, as if Nox were doing his best, not only to stay calm himself, but also to keep me that way too. That was what he did: despite what would be his justified anger or hurt, he still put me first.

“When Isaac gave me the phone, Bryce recognized him—”

“Shit!”

“But,” I continued, “the Vitoni thing worked. Alton checked and it all was verified. I don’t know how you did it, but thank God you did. I convinced Bryce that even though he might have looked like your driver, he wasn’t. They searched my backpack.” I hiccupped a suppressed sob. “They’re watching my every move. I hate it. It’s so much worse than…” I didn’t want to say worse than him, because that wasn’t what I meant. I understood Nox’s need to keep me safe. Alton’s need wasn’t based on protection but on control. It was different.

“Clayton?” Nox offered.

“I want Clayton back.”

“Is that the only person you want back?”

“Oh God, no. I miss you so much. There are so many things I need to tell you.”

“Tell me why. That’s what I need to know.”

Exhaling, I laid my head back upon a grassy patch near the path and looked up at the blue sky. Small white clouds moved slowly across the expanse, forming shapes and images that continued to change and morph. The small vision exemplified my life. No matter how much I hated that things stayed the same in Savannah, things that I wanted to remain the same changed and morphed like wisps of clouds.

I wanted Nox, New York, Columbia, and even Clayton. I missed Deloris, Lana, and my classmates. I missed our routine. I missed the life we’d made.

Another cry bubbled from my chest. I’d tried to be strong around Alton and Bryce, even Jane, but this was Nox and I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t pretend, not with him.

“My mom, oh, Nox, she’s so sick.”

“Princess, you’re not alone. You know that, don’t you?”

I nodded as tears coated my cheeks.

“I’m watching you,” he continued. “You’re a blue dot, the most beautiful blue dot I’ve ever seen. Clayton and Deloris are watching you too, and so is Isaac.”

His words, their timbre, washed through me, taking away the shame that had been left from giving into Alton’s demands and refilled my depleted strength.

“I was afraid you’d give up on me.”

“Never. That’s not even an option.”

“When I saw him… James,” I said, recalling his fake name. “You’ll never know how much it meant to me. Despite all I’ve done, seeing him made me feel like you still believed in me.”

“Of course I do. I always will.”

A reassuring silence settled over us. Just hearing his breathing calmed me.

“It’s good to hear your voice,” Nox said, “but I’m a greedy son-of-a-bitch. I want more than your voice. I want every part of you. We’re getting you out. We have a plan.”

I closed my eyes. Everything inside of me wanted to let him come and get me, but I couldn’t. “Nox, you can’t.”

“You’re wrong. I can. We have it all worked out. During the party on Saturday, Patrick is going to help—”

“Stop.” I couldn’t listen to his strategy and go through with mine.

“No, Charli, you need to listen. It’ll work. According to Patrick there’ll be a lot of people.”

“Nox, I can’t leave. If I do, the provisions of the will go into effect. I can’t do that to my mom.”

“Have you seen the will?”

“I’ve seen the part that’s important. I want to see the whole thing, but I’m biding my time. You don’t understand how tyrannical Alton can be. I can’t rush it.”

I hadn’t even been able to arrange an appointment with Dr. Beck. Nothing was within my control.

“Fuck, Charli, you haven’t rushed anything. It’s been five days. That’s not rushing.” His voice softened. “Talk to me. Are you safe? Has anyone hurt you?”

Instinctively I reached for my arm, the place where Bryce had gripped it. The skin was tender, making me wonder if it would bruise. And then I lifted the tips of my fingers to my left cheek. It seemed to be everyone’s target. Maybe that was because Alton and Suzanna were both right-handed. I couldn’t overthink it.

“Charli?” My name came as a question and a warning. Nox wanted an honest answer, and he wanted it now.

“No,” I choked out my response.

“No, you’re not safe or no, no one has hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Nox. Really. I just miss you. I miss my life. I-I don’t want this to be my life, but it has to be for awhile.”

“You’re killing me. What about Columbia? What about your dreams?”

I loved that he cared. “I spoke with Dr. Renaud. I’m watching classes via teleconferencing and submitting my work online.” Nox sighed. “Thank you for my school things, they arrived yesterday.”

“Did you find everything?”

I lifted my head. “Tell me there wasn’t anything in there for me. By the time it made it to me it had all been inspected—for my safety.” My tone alone on the last part said more than my words.

“No, princess. I wanted to. I wanted to write you a ten-page letter. I wanted to tell you how much I love you and how we’ll get you out, but I was advised against it. That sounds like it was good advice.”

“It was. They’re watching everything. They saw Isaac—I mean, James—give me the case. I don’t know what made me hide the phone and put lipstick in the case, but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to you now.”

“It’s because you’re smarter than them, than the whole lot of them.” It was like his encouragement that I’d imagined, only better. “Charli Collins, you can do this, you can save your mother and yourself. Deloris is working on getting your grandfather’s will. The problem is that it’s only on paper. If it were electronic, she’d already have it.”

“Nox, I love you. Please remember that. I wish we were together. I wish I were in your arms.”

His tone lowered. “Princess, if we were together, by now you’d be over my knee.”

My cheeks rose. “As long as I ended up in your arms.”

“You’d start there and finish there, but in the middle, I’d redden your beautiful ass for putting us both through this hell. Tell me why you got in that car.”

“I told you. My momma is sick, so much more than I ever imagined. If I didn’t go with Alton, he wouldn’t let me see her. If I don’t do as he says, he’ll let her suffer. He’ll take away all her money.”

“Isn’t it hers? That’s what Deloris has said.”

“It is,” I confirmed. “According to the part of the will I saw, if I don’t marry Bryce and stay married to him…” The words hurt, not just saying them, but also knowing what they must be doing to Nox. “…all of Montague will be liquidated and the assets diverted to Fitzgerald Investments. That includes the corporation, the manor, the investments—all of the assets. Everything. My momma and I’ll be left penniless.”

“You know I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“I can’t… I can’t accept that from you. My mother isn’t your responsibility. Neither am I. And you know that if this just concerned me, I’d walk. I did when they took my trust fund. If she were well, I’d seriously consider it. But she isn’t.”

“You are my responsibility.” His tone was final and decisive. “And with you comes whomever you want. Your mother will never be indigent.”

“That’s the word he used.”

“He’s a bastard and he’s playing on your emotions. Charli, let Patrick help you get to the old road, the one where he used to pick you up after family gatherings.”

My chest swelled, not only with the memories, but also the idea of Nox and Patrick talking, planning, and working together to support me. I considered his offer. It would be easy to be saved, to be rescued. But Nox had told me he wasn’t Prince Charming, and I refused to be the damsel in distress. This was my fight. I needed to see it through, not just for me, but also for my momma.

“I-I can’t. It won’t work. It’s a long walk from the manor to the road. By the time I get back, they’ll notice. I can’t possibly be gone that long during the party.”

“Fuck, you aren’t going back. While I’m getting you, Isaac will get your mom. It’ll happen before anyone knows what hit them. Then you’ll both be safe. We’ll get her all the medical care she needs in New York.”

I took a deep breath. “I want that. With all my heart, I want that, but if we leave, he wins. I don’t give a damn about Montague, but it’s what my momma has worked for her whole life. He can’t win.”

“He won’t. You do what you need to do to get to me on Saturday. Just don’t fucking kiss him again.”

My skin prickled with shame. “I had to think of something. He was about to find the phone. I tried to distract him. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I hate it. I hate the idea of him in the same fucking room as you. Touching you. Kissing you.” Each phrase was deeper, like a growl. “I hate it, Charli, but it’s him. I don’t hate you. I don’t blame you. I want you safe. And while I know firsthand how distracting you can be, come up with another distraction.

“You should probably know that once you’re safe, he’s going down and so is your stepfather. They aren’t winning, unless body bags are prizes.”

Why didn’t that upset me? It should, but it didn’t.

“Nox, this isn’t your battle; it’s mine. I have to fight it.”

“Princess, you can, with me by your side.”

“I’ll call you whenever I can. I can’t make any promises. Just know that I’m safe.”

“One more thing,” Nox said. “Take care of Chelsea.”

My neck stiffened. “Why would you say that? You have no idea. I can’t even process. She helped them, luring me back here. She barely looks at me, and she’s with—”

“I know more than I can say, especially now. We need time to talk, but she’s trying to help you.”

“No, Nox, she isn’t. She’s living my life. She used me for four years and I never saw it. I thought she was my friend. She’s no better than them.”

“Princess, you have every reason to lash out, but she’s not the right target.”

I sat up as my volume rose. “Fuck that. You haven’t seen her. Ask me to stay safe. Fuck, ask me to stab Alton in his sleep, but don’t put Chelsea on my watch list. I’m sure as hell not on hers.”

“You’ve said it yourself: things aren’t always what they seem. Would I lie to you?”

“I don’t know, Nox, would you? Because this seems out of left field.”

“No, I wouldn’t and I haven’t.”

“Then tell me why I should take care of her? As far as I’m concerned, she and Millie can start their own harem. Let them be Bryce’s distraction. I don’t care.”

“Do you trust me?”

Nox’s question set my mind spinning to every time he’d asked me that, to satin bindings, hot wax, and crops. My skin tingled and core clenched. “Yes, I trust you.”

“Then do it—help her. Saturday night we’ll start with you in my arms.”

“I-I can’t promise…”

“I can. I love you, Charli. Hold on until Saturday.”

“Nox, I love you, too. I probably should go. Please don’t give up on me.”

“Never.”

Begrudgingly, I disconnected the call, wiped my tear-stained face, and attempted to pull myself together. The severed connection ripped a hole in my chest, creating a void that longed to be filled. For only a few minutes it had. I could have talked to him forever, but my mind was a ticking clock, and for today, my time was about to run out. I needed to get back to the manor.

Sadness and fear bubbled through me, paralyzing me to my near future. The road Nox mentioned was closer than the manor. Could I go there and call him, have Isaac come today?

My body tingled with excitement… I could.

No. I couldn’t.

Like a clear sky after a storm, the excitement disappeared. All energy was gone. For only a moment my weary body collapsed back onto the grass. Overhead, the white clouds were filling with colors: multiple shades of pinks and purples.

Dusk was looming on the horizon.

Saturday.

Hold on until Saturday.

I could do that. I could make it for four more days. I’d survived five, but at what cost?

The impending twilight propelled me up and forward. I couldn’t be late for dinner. Heaven forbid. It was always at seven.

As I began walking back toward the manor, my thoughts returned to the scene in Alton’s office. I detested what I’d done, but saving the phone and speaking to Nox made it worth it.

The end justified the means.

It wasn’t a legal defense, but sometimes it was true.

Seeing the phone’s charger sail across the shiny table had made my heart skip a beat. In that second I knew one thing: I hadn’t zipped the inside compartment and the phone could easily be next.

When I’d moved my lipstick, I should have secured the phone. But then again, I’d never expected the search and interrogation. I’d never imagined that I was being so closely watched.

The crimson shades of the Savannah sunset intensified as I continued walking, not seeing the world around me, but reliving this afternoon’s scene.

 

I searched Bryce’s gray eyes, looking for a sign of the person I used to know, a clue that the boy I’d considered a friend still existed somewhere beneath this Alton clone.

The shutting of the door echoed through the silence, alerting us that we were alone.

Bryce looked from me to my backpack and to me again. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you want me mad?”

My mouth went dry as I looked up to him. “Because you were right.” His eyes opened wider. “About what you said the first day you took me to see my mom. You said that you were either my only friend or my worst enemy. I seem to have enough of the latter; I could use a friend.”

“A friend?” he asked, lifting my left hand and looking down at the diamond.

My eyes closed, lingering in the darkness, encouraging me to continue. “I never asked for more.”

“Sometimes life gives us surprises, gifts we never knew we wanted or in my case, never knew were possible. You see, Alexandria, you’re my gift. I’ve wanted you and you’ve shut me down, time after time. Yes, I dated the great Alexandria Montague Collins. I had a reputation, but never did I get from you what I wanted most.”

I tried to move away, but my body was captive between him and the table. “Can’t we go slowly?”

He caressed my cheek. “How fucking slow do you want to go? Any slower and we’d be in reverse. You’re not a scared kid and I’m not a fumbling teenager. I know what I like. It’ll happen. And you’ll like it too. Let’s get past that and move on.”

“I don’t want our first time to be something we’re getting past.”

His thin lips twisted into a smirk. “Darling, things have changed. It’s time you learned to accept it. You aren’t in charge of this. The only reason I’m not fucking you on this table right now is out of respect for what we once had. Each time you screw with us, each time you think you’ve worked a way out of this, another bit of that respect is chucked out the proverbial window.” He took a step toward me, but there was nowhere for me to retreat. The table’s edge bit into the back of my upper thighs as his hips pressed closer. “It’s up to you, because I’m ready to take you and make you mine. I’m ready to wash all memories of Demetri from your mind. Because once my dick is buried inside of you…” His smirk grew at my uncontrolled grimace. “What’s the matter, darling, you can dish out the language to my mother, but you can’t take it?”

I swallowed the bile. “Go on, Bryce, if it makes you feel like a real man to threaten to rape me, go on.”

“I’m not threatening and I’m not going to rape you. I’m going to make my fiancée mine. I’m going to fuck you so good, you won’t remember ever being with anyone else.”

I was certain that wasn’t possible.

“This wasn’t the discussion I had in mind,” I said, “when I said I didn’t want you to leave angry.”

“Then what do you propose, Miss Collins?”

I willed the repulsion to diminish. It was just a kiss, a means to save the phone, a means to get to Nox. I could do it.

“A kiss, a real kiss.”

Bryce stood taller. “I want to make love and you’re offering me a kiss? That’s kind of like offering a starving man a cracker. It may sustain me, but it won’t ease the hunger.”

“With Chelsea around, I doubt you’re starving.”

He shrugged. “McDonald’s is hardly satisfying when I have caviar in the palm of my hand.”

I took a deep breath, hoping to get away from the food analogies. I didn’t want to think about him and Chelsea. Not that I gave a shit who he screwed as long as it wasn’t me. Then again, maybe I did care, enough to also wish it wasn’t her.

“I get it. I’m not in charge. I understand that the decision is now yours.” With each phrase his expression softened. “But I also believe that we’re more than fiancés. We were friends. It’s something Alton and Momma didn’t have. I’m asking you to please not ruin that, not to take that advantage away. I meant what I said: I want you as my friend, even after we’re married.”

The words came easier than I expected.

“You scared me when I got home.” I went on. “I don’t like seeing you that way. I want my friend.”

His hand slipped behind my head, down to my neck. As it did, all hopes of a chaste, friendly kiss evaporated.

“Show me, Alex.”

I exhaled. Alex. For the first time since I’d returned, he called me the name I wanted to be called. Lifting my chin, my lips met his. With everything in me, I wanted to back away, but I was trapped. Instead, I closed my eyes and imagined full, possessive lips, ones below light blue eyes.

Bryce’s tongue pushed against the seam of my lips.

With a warm tear descending my cheek, I granted him access. It was a small concession, I reminded myself. I’d kissed him before when we were young. I’d given in this much. This was no different. This was for Nox. This was for the phone.

With increased fervor, Bryce’s fingers entwined in my hair and he pulled me closer, bruising my mouth and flattening my breasts against his chest. I struggled to breathe as his tongue probed. My body fought the urge to fight, to take in air and rid myself of his invasion.

When Bryce finally loosened his grasp, his gray eyes searched me, looking for my true emotion. I was slowly blinking mine open, only showing small openings to my thoughts. I couldn’t let him see my feelings and I was too upset to hide them; instead, I lowered my chin, rested my forehead against his chest, and concentrated on breathing, each inhale deeper than the last. While I worked to keep my revulsion at bay, Bryce stroked my hair with a newfound gentleness, one he hadn’t shown during the kiss.

I’d calmed him, if only for a moment.

“I want this too,” he said.

An answer wouldn’t come, not without crying. I simply nodded.

Bryce lifted my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. “I’m not mad anymore.”

“Friend?” I managed to ask.

“Fiancé.”

“Thank you.” I didn’t know why I was thanking him, but it seemed right for the mood we’d created. “For being patient.”

“My mother is waiting for you.”

I nodded again, lifted my backpack, and walked toward the door.

“‘I’ll run this up to my room, and then I’ll be out.” After I brush my teeth and gargle for ten minutes. I didn’t add the last part.

Bryce reached for the bag. “I’ll take it. Mom said you have an appointment.”

I forced a smile. “Yes, for wedding dresses. I appreciate your offer, fiancé.” I lifted myself to my toes and brushed my lips over his. “Alton is waiting for you. Of the two, I think your mom will be the easiest to pacify.”

With his eyes wide and a growing grin, Bryce shrugged. “You’re probably right. I’ll see you tonight. We’ll be back.”

Damn, couldn’t he eat at his own house? “We’ll?”

“All of us. I’m hoping this new—or renewed—friendship is still present.”

Did all of us include Chelsea? I didn’t ask. Instead, I took a step toward the stairs. “I’ll see you tonight.” Before he could answer, I hurried upward with my backpack in hand and visions of cool mint toothpaste.