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Chapter 52: Charlotte, Part 2
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The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 53: The Intrusion, Part 1
NINEDays pass, and I don't see him. At the party, I couldn't avoid him; he refused to let me out of his sight. Now, he avoids me as well as I avoid him. He writes me down for house duties, keeping me busy, and I don't know if it's punishment for volunteering my help without his permission. I make sure to steer clear of the library, despite every cell in my body begging me to go. He is in my veins like an addiction, but I know it isn't healthy. I know the feelings I'm developing for him are disastrous for us both. I need to keep my wits about me. I need to ensure the line between us doesn't blur more than it already has. On the eighth day, I'm in the Unfortunate bathhouse, alone, after a ten-hour kitchen and laundry shift. I reach for the taps and turn them. Cold water shoots out of the circular shower head above me, and I gasp as it drenches me. It wakes me up and soothes the tension in my muscles. In a few deep breaths, the stream turns from cold to hot. Steam billows, rapidly fil
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 54: The Intrusion, Part 2
I walk two steps behind Vince through the manor, and he never turns to see if I'm following. As he escorts me away from the Unfortunate quarters, it dawns on me that he has other plans. Swallowing hard, I clench my tunic at my sides and wring it in my grip. "You said you would walk me to my quarters…" I murmur, and he grins over his shoulder. "I am. You sleep with Kade in his bed, don't you?" I stammer, caught off guard. "N-no." "No? Do you want to rethink your answer or stick with your lie?" "I fulfil my duties in his bed. It's not where I seek relaxation or reprieve." "You fulfil your duties in my mother's library, mostly." He snorts, casting me a knowing smirk, and I feel the blood drain from my face. "That's right. You and Kade aren't as clever as you think." What else does he know? Kade and I haven't spoken about the assassination of his father since we had dinner on the balcony of his mother's office. If anyone else knew, surely we'd be dead by now. I slip under a mask of
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 55: Omittance
KADEHe turned and rested against the door, his hands behind his back. He flickered his gaze over his Unfortunate, who had guilt written over every slice of her flesh. What did she do? Why was she with Vince? It took everything in him not to grip her small biceps and shake the answers from her. "You two are friends now, are you?"She pulled a face. "I'd sooner hang myself with my bed sheet." Nine turned and strolled into the sitting area, stopping only when the large, leather lounge was between them. He pushed off the door and wandered closer. He moved along the back of the lounge, and, with every step he took, she took one too, keeping the space, always keeping something between them. "I am only here because he brought me. I had no intention of intruding on your intimate moment with Miss Charlotte." "Intimate?" Kade huffed a gentle laugh. "Try again, Unfortunate." He had never been, nor intended ever to be, intimate with Charlotte. He didn't care about her or what they were doing
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 56: Unfortunate
NINESwallowing, he pushes my hair off my shoulder, then glides his palm into the nape of my neck. I stare at him. I stare deep into his midnight irises. I know better than to be here, to allow him to make me comfortable, warm, and content. I lived the last eight days as an Unfortunate should, and he lived his as a Fortunate should. We didn't intertwine, not for a second. And it was the loneliest eight days of my life. Irritation flickers in my chest. How dare he groom me. How dare he make it so my life is mundane and miserable without him? How dare he make me crave his company and his touch. I lift myself a little higher, moving my face in line with his. I glance at his mouth, then back to his eyes. They flash, igniting a fire in the pit of my belly. "Careful, Unfortunate. You shouldn't tease the man who's spent the last seven nights fucking you in his mind." My ears burn, and I can't help myself. I kiss him. I glide my hands around his neck and move into his lap. I wrap my legs
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 57: Caught
NINEMy eyelids flutter, and I twist under the blanket, searching for a more comfortable position to sleep on Kade's bed. Beside me, he sleeps peacefully, but I can't. Every creak and groan of the manor startles me awake, and the intimidating shadows of the enormous room morph into Vincent. And Michael. And Henry. And Elizabeth. Fear and guilt eat me up, and hot flushes of anxiety crawl over me. I should feel safe. I should be at ease, but I'm not because I'm breaking the law, and Vince knows it. No matter how powerful Kade is, he can't save me from the structure and laws of society. Intrusive thoughts of Vince send dread hurtling through me, further progressing my anxiety. If Kade ever finds out what happened in the bathhouse...I shudder at the thought of what he'd do. I shuffle my head on the pillow, moving closer to Kade. He sleeps with a frown, and my lips quirk at the crease between his brows. I reach out and graze the pad of my thumb along it. It smooths out, making my hear
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 58: Irreversible
KADEHer answer was the justification he needed. She cared for him, and as long as he took care of her, she was loyal to a fault. She would do anything he asked; of that, he was certain. He couldn't say the same about many other people in Freeport, and if he wanted to climb the ranks, if he took over the family, he needed loyal people around him. "We made a deal, Unfortunate, that night on the balcony. You remember," he said to Nine, ignoring the drop of blood rolling down her throat. She opened her eyes, and he saw her resignation. It was the same look she had in her eyes in Michael's recording. Vincent ambushed her in the communal Unfortunate bathhouse. She did the only thing she could do; get through it, and it'd be over soon. Nine gave her head a minute shake, but it was unavoidable. Michael would die tonight. The knife tucked into the waistband of the back of his pants dug into his flesh, and he welcomed it. Since he was a boy, he made a habit of sleeping with a knife, and a g
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 59: Enough
NINEKade deals with Michael's body alone, and I stay on the lounge, staring at the fire, watching the flames as they dance. Every second he takes is torture. I don't know if he's okay or if he's been caught. I don't know if the shock of it all is too much for him to bear. I said I would help him. I should be out there with him. Exhaling, I throw off the fleece blanket and swing my legs off the edge of the lounge. I sit up, wincing at the pain radiating down my neck and glance over my shoulder to the bed. I can't help him carry Michael's body, but I can help him clean. I can get the room ready for when he returns. I lift off the couch, unsteady on my feet, and walk to the bathroom. I go through the cupboards, looking for anything that cleans blood splatter and leaves no trace, but there's nothing besides hair soaps and razor blades. I leave the basin and enter the linen closet behind the bathroom door. I pick out a new fitted sheet and duvet and place them on the lounge. Then, I mak
The Unfortunate Trilogy Chapter 60: Thirteen
KADEHe stuck to the cover of dense shrubbery and the long shadows it cast. His hands felt light without the weight of his father's body in them. His muscles trembled, and his thighs vibrated. The air was loaded with chaos, with the promise of much-needed rain, so he marched as quickly as possible, hoping to beat it. The walk back from the incinerator was much quicker than the walk to it. The scents of burning flesh and fabric still hung in his nose but lessened every second he spent in the fresh air. The incinerator was a big hike. Every major family had one of their own at the back of their property line. They burned trash, yard clippings, and the occasional Unfortunate. Lucky for him, it was trash day, so the incinerator was turned on at midnight to heat up for the day ahead. Michael's body didn't disintegrate immediately. It wasn't hot enough for that. It was a slow burn. Like hellfire, it slowly consumed the fabric, then Michael's flesh, then his bones. Kade ran his hands ove
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