Page 23 of Dark Knight

I didn't know which was better or what to choose or do, so I'd fumbled my way through my high school years and found my way into college. Not just any college, either–the prestigious Welhurst University.

As I was thinking and chewing on a spoonful of sweet, sugary flakes, I realized neither of these men knew that about me. They didn't know I came from such a strange background. They didn't know I went to Welhurst. They didn't even know Sampson was the one who took me. All they knew was that I was desperate and had agreed to do pretty much anything in order to get away from that situation.

I wouldn't change the choice that I made, but realizing how little we knew about each other was strange. We had never talked about how I came to be at the auction, just that I was there. To them, I was a commodity–one that could be used to irritate one of their rivals, which was fine as long as it kept me away from the cult.

"If you won't let me go back to classes, then would you at least let me go back and pick up a few things from my dorm that have sentimental value? I don't have much in this world, so what I do have means a lot."

Hudson cocked his head to one side at my words while Dylan sipped on his smoothie thoughtfully.

"Dylan!" Theo's voice came from the hallway. "Boss, where are you?"

"Kitchen," Hudson called.

Dylan held a finger up to me, telling me silently to wait, and I was fine with that. I wanted to at least have a discussion and not be shot down with no room for recourse.

Theo's bleached hair was the first thing I saw as he came in, his gaze somewhat downcast, but not as much as the first time I had seen him. He hurried over to Dylan. "Boss, I need to talk to you." His tone was frantic, so I expected the three of them to disappear from the room to let me eat my cereal in peace.

Surprisingly, Dylan said, "Just say whatever it is you need to say."

"But what about her?" Theo's head jerked in my direction, though he didn't look at me.

Dylan replied with confidence. "She's fine," he said easily. He seemed to think there was no chance I could betray them or leak information about them. I wouldn't, even if I was given the chance. They had done too much for me to be repaid like that.

Theo was torn, that much was obvious. Whatever it was, he didn't want to say it in front of me.

I ignored the entire thing, pretending to be super absorbed in what was written on the back of the cereal box.

"Someone's dead." Theo's words were so faint I could barely make out the few syllables.

"What? Just say it normally." Dylan swirled his smoothie in the glass before taking another sip.

Hudson's words were clipped with annoyance as he said, "Dude, it's fine."

"Sampson's dead."

My hand dropped, smacking into the bowl, the spoon ringing out against the porcelain as the entire bowl flipped to one side. Milk and flakes went spraying across the kitchen table. "What did you say?" The words sounded like they came from somewhere else as my body pushed up from where I'd been sitting of its own accord.

The three of them looked at me with interest. "Sampson's dead?" Theo repeated, though he sounded unsure now, like my reaction could have changed reality.

"Sampson, as in related to the Sterling family? That Sampson?" I asked, my heart starting to pound in my chest like a racehorse galloping along a track.

Theo glanced nervously at Dylan, who just gave him the tiniest nod. "Yeah, that Sampson."

The room spun. Suddenly, the guys weren't where they were supposed to be and I could see the ceiling instead.

"Shit!" Someone yelled.

I blinked.

When I opened my eyes again, it turned out to have been a very long blink.

The room that surrounded me was one I'd never been to before, and that was about all I knew. Leather furniture creaked under me as I tried to push up into a sitting position only to have my head spin once more.

Defeated, I flopped back down as I tried to make sense of the words I had heard. Sampson was dead. Theo had announced that clearly, and when I made sure that it was the Sampson that I was familiar with, he had confirmed it. The man who kidnapped me was gone.

The door opened and footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor before Dylan appeared in front of me, pressing a cool towel to my forehead. "Oh, you're awake." Hud appeared over his shoulder, as though he needed to verify Dylan's words.

"Do you guys ever get tired of spending time together?" I asked him and Hudson, who was essentially Dylan's shadow. I hadn't meant to ask the question aloud, but I was struggling with my filter. It was something I'd wondered about for a while now. After all, they were constantly around one another.

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