Page 37 of Dollhouse

He carries me all the way to their house and straight up the stairs, neither of us saying a single word to each other.

Once we reach my bedroom, he throws me on my bed and walks out, slamming the door behind him and then I hear the click of the lock.

My heart is still racing, and I know this isn’t the last time I try to get away from them. I may have failed today, but you know what they say.

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Tate tried to escape.

She tried to fucking escape.

King and I had only been gone twenty minutes when he received the notification on his phone that the cabin alarm was triggered. He pulled up the cameras and replayed the video from when motion was detected, and there on the screen, plain as day, we watched Tate run out of the house.

We have cameras all around the house and hidden in the woods. She ran out of our cabin and straight toward the shed where our four-wheelers are located. We keep them nearby for times that we need to venture further into the woods. They’re not often used.

We usually keep them in the front, but since we haven’t needed them lately, they’ve been in the back shed. They needed a few repairs and that’s why we’d taken them back there.

Immediately, I flipped my car around and sped back toward the cabin. I’d turned down the driveway just as she was nearing the road, and for a second there, I didn’t think she was going to stop.

We were playing a dangerous game, but I wasn’t going to crash into her. At least I don’t think I was going to.

She was in survival mode. She doesn’t know that we decided not to hand her over, so I really couldn’t blame her for being worried and trying to escape.

She tried and failed and had her little fun, and this once, we’ll let it go. But if she thinks she can try that again, she’ll be sorry.

Rowen locked her in her room, and that’s where she’ll stay until we’re ready for her. Even King wasn’t interested in paying her a nightly visit.

It’s Wednesday night and we’re on our way to our meeting location with the Westside Disciples.

Rowen and I brought King up to speed with our new plan, and no surprise there, he was perfectly content with going along with it. He’s willing to do anything necessary to protect Tate, even after her attempt to escape.

The poor bastard is already smitten with her, and I knew that from the moment he laid his eyes on her months ago.

He’s had a weird obsession with her that’s only grown since they’ve officially met in person, and she’s been staying with us. Staying unwillingly, I might add.

Of the three of us, King is the one that’s the most sensitive. He hates hard and loves even harder. Though it does take a lot for him to hate a person.

He may be a cold-blooded killer, but he’s sensitive with his heart. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that he and Tate have been so close the last few days.

As long as she doesn’t shift our dynamic, I don’t see an issue with it. Not yet at least.

I already know that she’s the one who’s fully capable of ruining us.

She could be the end of us, and that thought terrifies me. We’ve never allowed a woman to come between us, and I don’t want to start now.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I turn my attention to Rowen who’s engaged in an intense stare off with Tate. They’ve been scowling at each other, starting from the moment she was let out of her room.

We brought backup with us tonight, Nico and Vlad, just in case the Westside Disciples decide to be stupid, and we’d need either backup or to get away quickly. They don’t always come with us, but they have our backs when we need them.

We haven’t yet told Tate that she’s staying with us. Rowen wanted to keep her thinking she was being traded, so that’s the story we are sticking with. For now, at least.

I nudge him in the shoulder to get his attention, and with a sigh, he turns around.

We’re sitting in the backseat while King and Tate are sitting in the third row. She’d said something snarky to Rowen, and he’d turned around to shoot daggers at her. They’re acting like damn children, and I was ready to kick both of their asses on the side of the road.

They’re on my last fucking nerve right now.

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