Page 2 of Provocation
Shade nods. ‘You both have that. So do I. We work together to get through hazing. We eliminate the competition if necessary. We do what it takes to get in. Deal?
I nod and so does Mav.
‘Deal.’
Chapter One
DAISY
I’m aware that I’ve been staring blankly at my stepfather for a few more seconds than is the social norm.
What did he just say? I must have heard him wrong. But I know in the fiber of my being that I didn’t.
‘Thank you,’ I hear myself echo automatically, as, internally, I scream.
He’s sold me.
To Marcus’ brother.
To the Bandervilles.
Like a strip of land or a horse.
I feel Shade’s tense hand at the small of my back. He’s next to me, shaking slightly. I wonder if it’s the dinnertime revelations that are upsetting him, or if he’s afraid I’m going to throw something.
What if Shade knew this was coming? What if he had a hand in it?
No.I can’t think that, not right now. Not while I’m in the wolf’s lair. I have enough to worry about in this moment.
I look properly at the man John is offloading me on for the first time this evening. His hair is short and black. It’s slicked back and shiny. His teeth are white and straight. His face isyoung, but there are faint lines near his eyes. His cheeks are hollow. He must be in his late twenties, maybe thirties. He’s fit. He goes to the gym, probably. He’s nowhere near as buff as Mav, but he clearly works out. Outwardly, there’s nothing amiss. There’s nothing about him that I can pinpoint that would have me on edge other than the fact I’m beinggivento him like we’re in the sixteen-hundreds. And yet my palms are sweating. My body is jittery. I feel like prey.
I don’t like it.
My heart is humming in my chest, making me feel lightheaded.. My thoughts are stuttering, coming from all directions like my brain is misfiring. I feel my polite smile tugging on my lips a little as I drain the rest of my water. My expression is steady and still, unwavering and serene. It’s been on my face since dinner was over. I’ve practiced it in front of the mirror a million times, so I know I won’t let myself down.
Okay, not a million. A few thousand, probably.
Enough that none of them will notice anything more than theappearanceof me…so long as I’m purposeful in what I do next, anyway.
‘Would you please excuse me for a moment, gentlemen?’ I ask, my voice sounding calm and collected, and not even choking when I call these sharks gentle.
I’m pleasant just as I was conditioned to be over the past decade.
One of the men nods. The older one. Banderville senior. He’s still assessing me, even now. That’s what this dinner was about. Ogling the goods.
I don’t wait for John’s permission as I move away from Shade’s comforting presence. Really, he’s just a placebo anyway. He can’t help me here.
I feel all eyes on me as I make my way slowly across the room to the closed door. My instincts are screaming at me toleap away, to flee, to fling the door open and run from the house. The urge to do just that is so strong. I already feel as if there’s a monster chasing me. Panic wells up from my abdomen and makes my stomach twist.
But I do none of the things my body is demanding. I open the door slowly, staying poised and uptight, my heels clacking on the floor as I cross the threshold and carefully close the door behind me. There’s no one in the hall and the lights are dim.
Taking stock of where I am on an almost unconscious level, I finally give in, and I promise myself safety. I know I can hold on if I tell myself there’s somewhere I can go.
I walk to a nondescript door much more slowly than I want. It leads to the backstairs, and I ascend them as if there’s someone watching. For all I know, there is. John can be paranoid. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’s put cameras in the stairwell to secretly observe his staff going about their duties.
On the next floor, I open the narrow door a crack and peer into the wide corridor. Seeing no one, I emerge, walking quickly to the bedroom that used to be mine.
It’s not anymore. My pretty-colored possessions, my stuffed animals that I was so attached to, have all been cleared out, and my pink walls painted over at some point to make way for some–no doubt hugely expensive–decorator to install a hotel-like room of grey and beige.
