Page 46 of Goldsin

“Julian,” I whisper, taking a hesitant step toward him. “What’s going to happen now?”

The words I don’t say stay locked inside of me: What’s going to happen nowwith Lucian? With us?

Without even turning to me, he replies. “Whatever needs to happen for me to protect my family.”

And then he shuts the door.

The weight of his words settles around me like a shroud. Suffocating and inescapable.

He may be wearing my hair tie, but his heart and his loyalty are elsewhere.

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I’m sitting in the back seat, the airthick with tension, as our silence gets interrupted only by the crunch of the gravel road.

It feels like the entire world is holding its breath, waiting for all hell to break loose.

The missing pages burn a hole in my skin.

I won’t be so lucky next time. I need to be more careful. With my hands tied, Julian could have grabbed them from the hem of my underwear effortlessly.

Why didn’t he?

“Would you two care to explain why we’re being summoned by your father as if we’re his personal pawns?” I snap, my frustration getting the better of me.

“If you didn’t want to be treated like a pawn, you shouldn’t have gotten involved with our family,” Julian growls, not bothering to look at me.

“Involved?” I scoff. “You mean like when your brother seduced me and dated me to then fuck other girls at parties like this one? Or do you mean when you showed up and started treating me like your personal plaything?”

“Enough,” Adrian interjects. “We can argue about this later. Right now we need to focus on getting to Father before he loses his temper.”

“Whatever,” I mutter, seething with anger.

As we continue through the forest, the moonlight creates eerie shadows of the trees, casting an unsettling atmosphere over the road.

An hour or so later I see the ominous outline of the Harrow penthouse looming in the distance. Its dark windows stare back at me like the empty eyes of a predator.

I shudder involuntarily. I feel like I’m walking straight into the lion’s den.

Adrian turns us down the underground passage into the parking lot, the black metal gate opening automatically when it catches the sensor in Adrian’s car.

And we’re in. No escaping now.

We get out and head to the elevator. A lick of fear goes up my spine in anticipation of what could be waiting for me.

We arrive at their floor in record time. I’m one step away from the imposing door when Julian grabs my arm.

“Stay close,” he warns.

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat as I fall into step behind him.

Adrian leads us down the candlelit hallway. The art pieces framing the walls look like living nightmares in the scarce lighting, nothing like the happy picture frames in our home. I feel increasingly out of place in this cold, posh tomb.

“We’ll find out soon.” Julian’s hand brushes against mine for a brief moment, sending a bolt of electricity up my arm. I glance up at him, feeling the striking difference between the Julian of now and the one of just an hour ago, in the forest.

We reach a set of double doors guarded by two burly men.

“We’re expected,” Julian says.

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