Beautiful Trouble by B. B. Hamel
Winter
My lower lip throbbed.
I stared at it in the mirror. The bleeding stopped soon after I got back to my room, but it was still plump and tender and swollen.
He bit me hard enough to break skin.
I couldn’t believe it. That fucking animal.
And worse—
I liked it when he kissed my neck.
The pleasure mixed with the pain and surprise sent a heady dose of endorphins screaming into my skull.
He kissed me.
Or got close to it.
That was the second time he used this strange, messed-up attraction as a weapon against me, and I hated him even more for it.
I hated that he knew I wanted him. And I despised myself for these feelings.
Every time he touched me, it was like I needed to throw my body against his. Like he was a planet and I was a meteor destined to crash into his surface.
When I finally did, I knew it’d be painful and incredible and raw.
But something was happening in this house, and it wasn’t just this war with Roman.
Something with his sisters.
He was protective. I understood that, or at least I could pretend to. I didn’t have any close family of my own, aside from my mom, but she was out in Vegas dealing blackjack to drunk millionaires. We spoke on the phone a few times every month, but otherwise, I was alone in the world.
Which was why Cassie meant so much.
Except she was gone now too.
Darren, though, that piece of garbage monster, had his sisters and his brother. I didn’t understand what was going on between these people, but I got the sense that the Servant household wasn’t normal.
How could it be?
I pulled myself from the mirror and got changed. Provoking him like that wasn’t a good idea. Parading around in front of him in skimpy outfits was only going to make him want me more—and prove to him that I couldn’t control my impulses.
I had to be better. I had to come up with a new plan.
I grabbed the bracelet from the nightstand and reluctantly snapped it onto my wrist as I headed out into the hallway. My two guards detached themselves from the wall nearby and followed. I called them Jekyll and Hyde—the tall, skinny one was Dr. Jekyll, and the muscular, brutish one was Mr. Hyde. They trailed along at a respectable distance as I stomped through the corridors, took the stairs, and pushed through the back door and out into the sunshine.
The manor house and grounds were beautiful. Inside was all dour and dark and stuffed full of dead things—dead antiques, dead paintings, dead people—but outside was incredible. I was so used to Sea Isle, which was one long, hyper-developed island, a mixture of sand and concrete.
But this was nature. The grass was mowed and controlled and the hedges were kept neat and clean, and everything was manicured and kept in perfect little rows. I breathed the air and strolled along, heading toward the edge of the forest.
The forbidden trees.
I got within ten yards when Jekyll whistled. When I looked back, he shook his head sternly.
Do not pass go.
I skirted the woods. I didn’t step into them, but I got as close as I was allowed. Jekyll and Hyde weren’t happy, but they didn’t stop me, either.
Whatever. It was fun to piss them off.
I gazed out into the dark forest, and wondered how far it would be to salvation. Somewhere out there, Cassie and Roman were trying to rescue me—or at least I thought they were.
Maybe they weren’t. And that was okay.
There was something between Roman and Darren. I saw a glimmer of it every time Darren spoke his name. A long feud, some past transgression that left both men angry and scarred. This fight between them was about more than a power struggle.
It was intensely personal.
Only I didn’t know why or what happened.
Finding out might get me one step closer to freedom.
Or it might land me in that murder basement after all.
I turned toward the house and spotted a figure hurrying toward me. I thought it was Penny at first, until I realized she was staring at her phone as she hustled down the lawn. Erin looked a lot like her younger sister, only leaner, more intense. All her features were stretched and sharpened, and while she was pretty, she didn’t have that same soft beauty.
I slowed as Erin approached. She tapped away at her phone and looked up at the last second like she was surprised to see me standing there. She frowned at the guards and waved a hand.
“Go away.”
Jekyll opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut. He turned and walked off with Hyde on his heels.
I laughed, unable to help myself. “I can’t believe that worked.”
“They’re paid to listen to the family.” She tilted her head and her eyes pierced me with an incredibly deep, searching gaze. I felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane, her attention that was distressing and intense. I was glad she normally stared at her phone, because I wasn’t sure I could handle this level of scrutiny all the time. “So you’re my brother’s new obsession.”
I blinked rapidly. “I don’t think I’d put it that way. More like his new captive.” I held up the bracelet.
She ignored it. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s distracted and agitated. Darren’s usually very single-minded.”
“I’m sorry to disrupt your harmonious little family.”
“I don’t think you are.” She shoved her phone into her pocket. “Walk with me.”
She didn’t wait for a response and stomped off. I considered ripping off the bracelet and running into the woods—I had a good head start on Jekyll and Hyde and might be able to get away—but decided that could wait.
Erin was more interesting.
I caught up and fell into stride with her.
“I found my brother’s file on you.” Erin stared straight ahead as she talked, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep her guts from spilling out. “I know your name isn’t Winter.”
I flushed. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that other one.”
“I assumed you wouldn’t want me to, considering how much trouble you went to distance yourself.”
“It’s hard to start over.”
She glanced at me, frowning. “It really is.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“What does it mean that I’m distracting your brother?”
“I don’t know, but it’s interesting. When you first came here, I thought you were just another tool he was using to get his way, but now I wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
She didn’t elaborate and changed the subject. “Why do you hate your father?”
“No, thanks, I’m not going there.”
“This isn’t that kind of conversation. It’s more like an interrogation. I ask, you answer.”
“Okay. Pass anyway.”
She looked frustrated, like she wasn’t used to someone telling her no, which was probably true. She was older than me, closer to Darren’s age than to mine, but she acted like a teenager.
A spoiled, insanely rich teenager.
“What about your mother? Are you close to her?”
“We talk but we don’t see each other much.”
“Why did your parents get divorced?”
I stopped walking. She kept going then turned to face me, head tilted to the side.
“Has anyone told you that it’s insanely rude to ask that sort of stuff?”
“Yes,” she said earnestly. “And I don’t really care.”
“My parents got divorced because my dad’s a psychotic asshole obsessed with image and my mom got addicted to pain killers. Okay? Are you happy?”
“Not really, but I’m glad you answered. Darren will find that interesting.”
I clenched my jaw. “So you’re just trying to discover more ammunition to use against me then?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I do know that you’re trouble.”
I started to tell her to go jump off a high branch but stopped as someone barked Erin’s name from up near the house.
Darren stalked toward us with Jekyll and Hyde in tow.
Those two little bastards told on her.
Erin smiled. She was pretty when she smiled. “I guess our discussion is over. Thanks for talking to me.”
“Wait,” I said as she took out her phone and began typing again.
But she walked off without looking up from the screen.
I stood there dumbfounded. What the hell did she want to know about my family for? My mom and dad had nothing to do with what was happening to me here—that was all about Roman and Cassie.
I didn’t have time to stew for long. Darren appeared and steered me back toward the house while the guards lingered nearby.
“What were you doing talking to Erin?” he asked, anger radiating off him like steam from water. His fingers dug into my arm.
“Let me go, asshole, and I’ll tell you.”
He looked down at his hand like he hadn’t realized he was gripping me so hard and eased off. I rubbed the spot where his fingers dug into my flesh.
“I told you not to speak to them.” There was a warning tone in his voice.
“I’m sure your little pets informed you that she approached me, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And what was I supposed to do? Run away? Scream?”
“Running and screaming is a good idea when Erin’s involved.”
I glanced over toward where she disappeared into the house. “What’s her deal, anyway?”
“She’s Erin.” He said it as if that explained anything. When I gave him a look, he elaborated. “She lives in her own world with her own set of rules. What did she want to know about you?”
“My parents. Their divorce. If I was close to my mom.”
“Interesting,” he said softly, frowning into the distance. “She doesn’t normally care about family stuff.”
“What the hell is with you people?”
His gaze snapped back to me. “If my sisters approach you again, walk away. Come find me. Do anything but engage. Especially with Erin.”
“This whole vague and threatening thing isn’t going to work. If you want me to steer clear of Erin, give me a reason.”
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Something happened a long time ago and she took it hard. We all took it hard, but I think she was the worst. It took her years to come out of her shell again, but she’s still a little—broken.”
I watched him for a few seconds before nodding. “I think that was the most honest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
That seemed to annoy him. “I’ve never lied.”
“Not lying and telling the truth are two different things. But okay, I’ll leave Erin alone, although this wasn’t my fault.”
He shoved open the back door. “You’ve done enough damage today. Maybe you should stay in your room.” His eyes glanced down to my lower lip where he’d bitten me.
It was still pink and swollen.
Plump, delicious.
Fucking bastard.
“How’d your meeting go, by the way?”
“The Ukrainians are going to kill more Italians.” He deadpanned as he steered me inside. “And thanks to you, Roman is distracted. I’ll make sure the Libertos are out of his control by the end of the month.”
“Why did you just tell me that?” I stared at him, not sure how to take any of this. He shook his head, as if he felt the same way.
“You said your life is involved in what I do, and you’re right. So if you want to feel like some of this blood’s on your hands too, then I’ll be happy to keep you informed.”
“I’m not killing anybody. You’re the one pulling the trigger.”
“And yet plenty of people are going to die because you’re here.” He touched my cheek.
I slapped his hand away. “That’s not my fault. It’s yours.”
He only laughed and walked off.
I watched him go, fuming.
That man drove me absolutely wild with rage. One moment he acted like he wanted to rip my clothes off, and the next he seemed like he might tear my throat out from my mouth. To be fair, I wasn’t exactly playing the part of the submissive, quiet captive. I fully planned on making his life hell.
But he’d make mine just as bad—or worse.
