His head snaps back at the use of his nickname. “Don’t fucking judge me, Sweet Cherry.” There’s a sharpness to his sneer that anyone else would call cruel. But I know him well enough to hear the stung, wounded thing within it. “I had no idea what I was getting into when he told me to do it, and I didn’t have a choice.” He throws his arms out wide. “Debts get paid! The fuck do you want me to do?!”
“What does he want you to do?! He won’t stop. You know he won’t! Which means you’re involved with trafficking some poor girl for whatever Daniel has planned for her, and he has proof of it!” I press my fists into my stomach, a wave of nausea rolling over me. “I can’t believe you’d do something like this.”
“Story,” Killian says, meeting us around the front of the truck, “This isn’t just some random chick we’re talking about. It’s Lavinia Lucia. Do you know who she is?”
“Lucia.” I blandly repeat the name, a memory sparking in mind.
Killian nods. “The King of the Counts, Lionel Lucia. She’s his daughter.”
I gawk at him. “That makes it worse! He’ll come after us!”
“You don’t understand,” Tristian says, slamming his door. “He knows. He’s involved. All those fuckers are involved. There are some parts of this game you have to play, regardless of who gets hurt.”
“Really?” My face screws up in disbelief. “That’s all women are to you? Collateral damage in your bullshit game? Is that all I was when he put me in the pit?”
“Don’t be dense,” Killian snaps, fisting his keys until his knuckles turn white. He thrusts a finger at Dimitri. “Rath fought for you! I put a fucking bullet in my father for you! We take care of our own.”
“And this girl? Lavinia?” My horrified gaze passes between them. “Who takes care of her?”
“I do.” Nick slams the truck door, stalking forward with a hard expression.
“You?” I bark an incredulous laugh. “The guy who was going to fuck an unwilling girl in front of a hundred strangers, just because his boss gave him the order? Yeah, you’re a prize. She must feel so reassured.”
Dimitri shakes his head. “Story, she’s not our problem. And in case you missed it, we have plenty of our own.”
“Correction,” Nick says, shooting Dimitri a look. “She’s your problem. At least until we get her moved into the Hideaway.”
Disgust roils in my gut so sharply that I stagger back, voice cracking. “The Hideaway? They’re imprisoning her in Daniel’s whorehouse?”
I always knew he wanted me for something nefarious and perverse, but seeing it so tangibly laid out in front of me is like a slap to my face. That’s what he wanted me to be. A little doll to lock away, ready to be used and exploited.
The steel veneer over Dimitri’s expression crumbles at whatever he sees in my eyes. “Baby, come on.”
I let him drag me into his chest because I’m weak. I breathe in the scent of him, cool against his leather jacket, and am selfish enough to let it soothe away the jagged edge of betrayal. “She’s there because I’m not,” I whisper, begging him to understand. If I hadn’t run—if I’d let Daniel take me, have me—then maybe this girl would be living a nice, normal life. Maybe I’ve set something into motion. Something terrible. Something unconscionable.
“She’s there because her father made the choice.” He touches the back of my head, pressing me close. “This isn’t on you.”
But it is. I feel it in my bones. “We could get her out, couldn’t we?”
Killian is the one who answers, voice sounding closer than I expect. “If it were just my dad, then maybe we could. But, Story…”
“It’s the Kings,” Tristian says, and I know when I feel a flutter against my neck, it’s his fingers, sweeping my hair back. “All of them, combined. They’re too big.”
Of course, they’re right. Daniel and Saul Cartwright are the only Kings I’ve met, but even facing down the two of them at once seems a daunting task. All five Kings, with their combined power and influence? It isn’t just David and Goliath. It’s David and MechaGoliath.
Grabbing onto Dimitri’s jacket, I beg, “Please don’t do this.”
His chest swells with a stilted inhale. “Who would you rather be there? Me or some other asshole? You know I’m not out to hurt this chick.” He rubs my back, ducking down to speak close to my ear. “I can’t say the same for anyone else Daniel would send. Guys like Ugly Nick are a dime a dozen.”