“So, I can come and go as I please?”
“No,” Roman says. “You are confined to this castle just as we are. However, you have freedoms within our home. Consider yourself part of the family. We will train you how to better protect yourself, feed and clothe you, but if you try to run from us again, your freedoms will be taken from you and you will not like the consequences. We rarely give second chances, and you are currently on your third.”
I swallow hard and nod before turning my gaze to Marcus. “What about your hand?” I ask nervously. “Do you still plan to punish me for that?”
His gaze narrows on mine as he taps his fingers on the armrest of his couch. “That’s a good question,” he murmurs, deep in thought as his gaze shifts to the dark scar on the top of his hand. “I am undecided on your punishment, but I won’t lie, seeing that fire in you when you stabbed me is part of the reason why I’m so intrigued by you. Perhaps there is still a chance that I will let you off the hook.”
“Really? Because last time you hung me from a hook, I liked it.”
His eyes burn with a raging lust, igniting the fire deep within me, but Levi’s tone pulls me out of my trance. “So, we have a deal? You won’t run.”
I nod. “We do, but I want one thing in return.”
“What’s that?” Roman questions hesitantly.
I take a breath and slowly let it out, knowing this could blow up in my face. “I want to get to know each of you, and not just the callous, cruel versions of yourselves who slaughter men in warehouses. I want to know who you really are. I want to hang out with you guys, maybe even become friends.”
“You want to hang out with us?” Levi questions, completely stumped by my request.
I nod. “Yeah, what’s so wrong with that? We’re hanging out now and it’s not that bad. It might even be nice if we were talking about something other than me developing a wicked case of Stockholm syndrome.”
“Okay,” Roman finally says. “You can get to know us, but I can guarantee that you’re not going to like what you find.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I tell him as a wicked grin stretches over my lips. “And here I thought you guys didn’t have pets, just weapons.”
“Don’t you worry,” Roman fires back. “We have nothing but time to turn you into our most lethal weapon yet.”
Well, shit. I should have seen that one coming.
I stand and adjust my sweatpants. “Are we done here?” I question, glancing down at Marcus and Levi while trying to ignore Roman’s narrowed stare.
“What’s your rush?” Roman asks, a deceiving sparkle hitting his obsidian eyes. “I thought you wanted to hang out and learn about all the things that my brothers and I like to get up to.”
I swallow hard. “I do,” I insist, meeting his stare with one of my own. “But I’ve had your brother pouring out of me for the last twenty minutes after discovering one of the things that he likes to get up into, and I’ve happily sat here without complaint, but now it’s dripping down near my knees. So, if it’s alright with you, master, I’d like to go and shower.”
He doesn’t respond, but assuming everything they’ve just said to me was true, then I shouldn’t have to wait for his approval. I turn on my heel and start stalking toward the entryway of the living room, hating just how dark the rest of the castle is. My hand hooks around the side of the wall and just as I go to fling myself around the corner, Marcus calls out. “Shayne, wait.”
I stop and glance back at him, my brows furrowed as I wait to figure out why I’m needed. “I just have one question,” he says, making his brothers pause. “How did you get out onto the roof?”
“Oh, umm … Snow White’s room right up top. There’s a hole in the wall. I had to pull out a few pieces of stone but eventually I was able to squeeze through.”
Levi pushes away from the couch and steps toward me, his brows low in confusion as both Roman and Marcus stand too. “Who the fuck is Snow White?”
“You know, the Disney princess,” I explain, realizing too late that these guys probably would have been deprived of all Disney movies as kids. “She was poisoned by the old bitch and then she was put in a glass coffin, just like you have that dead woman in upstairs.”
Marcus drops his chin and I’m reminded of the fearless man I saw in the warehouse. “What dead woman upstairs?” he questions slowly.
I find myself backing up a step as I look between the two other brothers only to find them as equally confused. “You know, the woman in the glass coffin. Long black hair, looks like she’s been rotting in that thing for years. If it weren’t for the freezers, she’d probably be a skeleton by now,” I watch them cautiously, flicking my gaze between each of them. “You guys really have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”