Page 18 of Broken Discipline
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know what your obsession is with me and my kids, but you need to—”
Finn grabbed my shoulders, shoving me against the wall. His full weight sinking into my body. An earthy scent enveloped me, swirling around me like a smoky haze. His cock twitched as he rested his boot on top of my foot, gently pressing down, reminding me that he could crush me instantly. My stomach curled in, my thighs clenching together.
“I don’t give a fuck what you want,” he said. “I’m not here to be your friend, Ramona. I’m here to protect you and the twins. And if you don’t like that? You’re going to have to kill me.” He pressed his lips to my ear. “And believe me when I say that I’ve waited too fucking long to get my hands on you. I amneverletting you go again.”
My heart pulsed in my chest. He stepped back from me. I leaned against the wall, giving us as much distance as possible, my chest quickly rising and falling. It terrified me to think that he had been waiting for me since that Masquerade years ago.
He nodded toward the bed. “Sleep,” he ordered.
“What?” I asked. “Now?”
“Shall I physically force you onto the bed,Ramona?”
His lips pressed together as if my name on his tongue visibly filled him with annoyance. As if he hated calling me that. My chest filled with anticipation and dread. Part of melikedthat he was going to take care of me whether I let him or not. Almost like this protection wasn’t a choice for him either.
I crawled back onto the king-sized bed, the sheets slick on my skin. Finn moved to the rectangular window, staring out at the well-lit grass, the night dark beyond the Carter Compound.
***
The next morning, a jitteriness swam through me and the morning went by in a blur. I had to figure out what was going on, because part of me didn’t believe the idea that Finn had purchased me. Maybe it was too good to be true, or maybe there was another reason that Finn had bought me, like Upchurch had mentioned. Maybe the exchange had to do with a fortune that somehow related to the twins.
Or maybe Finn hadn’t bought me at all. Maybe Finn hadstolenme.
Maybe Bruce was gone.
I didn’t love Bruce. He was my husband in an arranged marriage; at most, I respected him and everything he did for Leon and Larkin, and I accepted that sadistic, voyeuristic side of him that needed me to give up everything. And after four and a half years of marriage, there was comfort in knowing what to expect. We kept our distance,exceptfor the Masquerades; I only had to survive that night, and then Bruce left me alone. In a way, he was reliable, and the distance that he gave me was soothing. I had gotten used to our life. And now, I had to know what happened to him, and one of the best places to find the answers was the Marked Blooms Syndicate.
After dropping off the kids at the academy, I drove Tank through Opulent Gates, watching in the rearview mirror as Finn’s SUV followed me. The Bloom Estate was situated in the far back corner of the private community. Gore Bloom was the director of the board, a position that had been in the Bloom family for centuries. The driveway wound through the Bloom Estate like a private road. Magnolia trees spread throughout the space, pristine andominous,like they were hiding secrets behind their beauty. I parked Tank off to the side, then walked the rest of the way to the front entrance, my footsteps crunching underneath me. Finn parked at the end of the driveway, watching me from his car.
I knocked on the bright red double doors. They opened quickly.
“Mrs. Carter,” the estate manager said. My throat tightened. She was already calling me that name, just like the police, nanny, and principal. “Mr. Bloom wasn’t expecting you.”
“I need to speak with him immediately,” I said, as sweetly and as firmly as I could. “It’s urgent.”
The estate manager led me to a white room with tall windows and a view of a pond. A soft brown and white duck floated across the liquid surface, a string of ducklings close behind her. I bit my bottom lip, practically gnawing it off. I didn’t know what to expect. The only time I spoke to Marked Blooms Syndicate members was during the Masquerades. I tapped my fingers on the table, my body humming with nervous energy.
Finally, the door opened, and a man with red cheeks entered. His belly hung over his pants, but he looked powerful, like every ounce of him wasmeantto be there. I stood, bowing my head in respect.
“Mr. Director, sir,” I said.
“Oh, please, Mrs. Carter,” Bloom laughed. “Don’t do all of that for me.”
My stomach dropped. He was calling me Mrs. Carter too. It should have been a dream come true, but I knew better. There was a hidden, ugly truth in this. Nothing good ever came that easily. My chest tingled, like a beehive rumbling in my chest.
“What can I do for you?” Bloom asked.
I cleared my throat, pulling at the collar of my blouse.
“When I signed the contract, agreeing to an arranged marriage with a member of the Marked Blooms Syndicate,” I started, “I was under the impression that I would always be Bruce Astley’s wife, not Finn Carter’s wife.”
Bloom nodded, then motioned for me to continue.
“That’s just it, sir. I don’t know Finn Carter. I don’t think Bruce truly had any relationship with him either. Not for a few years now. And yet Finn claims—”
“That Bruce sold you to him,” he said, finishing my sentence. “These things sometimes happen within the Syndicate.”
I sighed, hating how dismissive he was of my entire situation.
