The Unfortunates (Unfortunate #1) (17 page)

∞ Nine ∞

The woman I walk with, Kathryn, she’s yet to talk, but every now and then, she’ll stare at the side of my face, smiling. I’ve never been creeped out before—not in this way—and the feeling is unsettling. Every tenth step I take, I inch away from her.

“How are you liking Freeport so far, Nine?”
she asks, finally breaking the silence.

“
I like it very much,” I reply. It isn’t a total lie. I prefer being out here than behind the walls of the camp. It’s just a shame such earthly beauty is ruined by overcompensating manors and the tall skyscrapers in the distance. 

“And your Fortunate, Master Kade, is he good to you?”

I eye her sideways. Her invasive question doesn’t sit well with me. Why would she care if he treats me well or not?

“I’d rather not say
,” I tell her. “If that’s okay with you?”

I don’t think Master Kade will appreciate me telling people he treats me very well for a Fortunate. I don’t think he’d appreciate me sharing unwarranted horror stories
, either.

“Fair enough.
I shouldn’t pry into another Fortunate’s life.”

With a polite smile, she drops the conversation.
In a few long strides, we reach her table and, as luck would have it, Elizabeth is sitting pretty at the head of it. Where I stand, I’m three tables away from the side door that leads into the kitchen and I don’t hesitate in my steps towards it.

“You’re going to walk away without being dismissed?” Elizabeth snarls, stopping me in my tracks.

I turn around and open my mouth to explain that I already have orders from my Fortunate to go to my room, but Kathryn cuts me off.

“She’s under current order by Kade
Sario to go straight to the house.”

Elizabeth, wearing a pretty violet gown with glistening silver straps, narrows her irritatingly perfect eyebrows.

“He’s not coming to dinner?” She taps her red fingernails on the table in the vacant space next to her. I assume it’s for Kade.

“He’s a little caught up,” I tell her. “I’ll let him know you’re upset when he comes inside.” I can’t help it. I say it with a curve in my lips. My gaze flicks to Kathryn
, who lowers herself into her chair and quickly brings her wine glass to her mouth to hide a rapidly growing smile. I feel a nervous giggle bubbling in my chest. I purse my lips together to stop it. When I look back to Elizabeth, the urge to laugh fades along with the curve on my lips. She has her own smile, one that sends regret hurtling through my chest.

“
I’m
not allowed to toy with you, but Kade never said anything about making someone
else
toy with you.” She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. “River!” she calls and I frown.
Oookay…

An arm brushes against mine and I startle, moving to the side.

“Yes, Miss Elizabeth.”

I peer sideways at the boy.

“This is
my
Unfortunate. River.”

I take in his golden skin, bright green eyes and unkempt, jet b
lack hair. I guess all Fortunates make sure their personal slave is well taken care of. Not one bruise, scratch, or scar paints his flawless skin. I survey more of him, taking note of his fingers that twitch nervously around a small tray of drinks. He’s tall, much taller than me, and lean, too. Decent ropes of muscle can be seen as they make up his thick arms. He’s very masculine, but what kind of name is River? Why would she choose that for someone like him? He’d suit something a little more… tough. Like Blake or Tony.
Then, her words float back to me;
‘this is my Unfortunate’
This is
her
Unfortunate? Doesn’t he make Kade jealous, like I make her jealous?

“Now that she’s met your Unfortunate, let the girl go to bed
,” Kathryn interrupts. “Master Kade will be furious if she’s not where he told her to be.”

“All in due time, Kathryn. First, we’re going to have a little fun.”

Fun?
Fear awakens in painful spikes all through my body.

“
You know what River likes to do? He likes to kiss.”

I clench my jaw imperceptibly and beside me, I hear River swallow.

“Why don’t you show her?”

“This is ridiculous,” Kathryn protests and I’m right on her heels.

“You can’t make me kiss him.” I peer over Elizabeth’s shoulder and see Kade talking to a larger man at a single table. They’re engaged in a serious conversation—too serious to notice the events that are unfolding not far from them. I desperately will for his eyes to find me, to see me. Only he can stop this from happening. If I act out right now, these Fortunates can create any story to get me killed and it won’t take long for a moderator to be convinced. I wouldn’t put it past Elizabeth. She’s probably looking for a reason to end me. She’s consumed with jealousy and as far as she’s concerned, Kade is hers and I’m threatening that—not that she makes much sense. If Kade and Elizabeth decide to get married, personal slaves are the first to go. Only uncommitted Fortunates are allowed a personal Unfortunate, and besides, Kade doesn’t want to get married. He wouldn’t have offered me freedom inside his home otherwise. I’d tell her that if I wasn’t petrified of the repercussion from Kade.

“I’m not making
you
do anything, Unfortunate. I’m asking
my
slave to kiss you. You can just stand there, if you want.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Kathryn, shut it.”

In a huff, Kathryn pushes her chair back, rises to her feet and storms off. There goes my only defence. Beside me, River places his tray of glasses on the table and angles his body to me. I take a minute step backwards, willing him not to do this with my eyes.

“Stop moving or I’ll force him to put more than just his tongue in your mouth.”

He advances on me quickly then and forcefully takes my face in his hands. My heart beats in an unsteady rhythm, threatening to hammer up my throat. I shake my head at him, as best I can, but he
doesn’t care. He has an order from his Fortunate and he’ll do anything to honour it. How can he be scared of Elizabeth? How can she punish him? He’s so much bigger than she is. As my thought finishes, River crushes his mouth to mine and my eyes flutter shut on instinct. I screw my face up and grip his hands, trying desperately to get away. His tongue pries open my lips and his taste floods me—the taste of bread, stale bread. Over the heavy thrum of my heart, I hear Elizabeth and her friends cackling. The cackling goes on forever—an incessant irritation filtering through my ears and lingering at the back of my skull. Then, River’s mouth is torn from mine, and the laughing ceases. My eyes shoot open and I see Kade towering over a cowering Unfortunate. I don’t have the courage to stop him from hurting River, not when there are so many Fortunates around.

“You want to put your mouth on something that belongs to me?”
he growls before punching River in the mouth. The sound of flesh slamming into flesh spikes my adrenaline. If my heart was beating fast before, now it’s off the charts, going so fast I’m sure any second now it’s going to rip a hole through time and space. When Kade lifts himself off of River, I see blood leaking out of his nose and gushing from a deep cut on his lip.

“And you!”
he snaps at Elizabeth, making the whole yard fall silent. Colour drains from her face, but she holds an expression of complete confidence. “What did I tell you?”

“It wasn’t me
,” she lies, flashing soothing palms to Kade. “He kissed of his own accord. He followed his own desire.”

“That’s a lie
,” I tell Kade.

How dare she not take responsibility
for what she did? Her Unfortunate is lying bloodied and beaten on the floor and for what? What did she achieve by forcing River to kiss me? If she wanted Kade’s rage, she got it. Elizabeth’s features darken.

“Fine. I made him kiss her, but only for dinner entertainment. That’s all.”

Kade steps closer to the table. Against his tense form, his suit looks tighter and I’d hate to be on the receiving end of an expression so fierce and frightening. “I’m going to tell you
one
last time, don’t touch her, don’t talk to her, don’t even look at her. Understood?”

She makes no sound.

“Do you understand?” he booms, making everyone within earshot jump.

Elizabeth slumps into herself, defeated, but I still don’t miss the dark threat in her blue eyes. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Kade’s fingers curls around my bicep. His grip is incredibly tender, his fingers barely digging into my muscle. Before he drags me away, he gives Kathryn a subtle nod of the head that she sincerely returns. That’s where she went… to get Kade? Why would she help me? I glance at her from over my shoulder as Kade pulls me away. She doesn’t smile, but the look in her eyes says more than her lips ever could. Again, I ask myself,
why would she help me?
And naturally, I assume she has some kind of motive. She’s a Fortunate, after all.

Kade pulls me through the house and with every step he takes, his grip tightens, growing more aggressive and violent than soft and caring.

“You’re hurting me,” I whisper harshly as I pull against him.

Ignoring my complaint he tugs me up the stairs
, and when we reach the hallway, I notice immediately that we’re alone. So I dig my heels in. The balls of my feet glide over the polished wood, refusing to grip on and help me.

“Kade—”

He whips around on mention of his name. “You kissed him?” he demands, his eyes darker than dark and fear bubbles in my chest.

“No, I didn’t.”

In the next heartbeat, his hands are on my shoulders and I almost stumble over my own feet as he slams me into the wall.

“You
let
him put his fucking lips on you?”

I feel my face heat up as tears blur my vision. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“You could have run. I would’ve defended you.”

I shake my head. “It’s not that easy. As an Unfortunate, every move I make is life or death. If I have to let people kiss me in order to stay alive
, then so be it.”

His irises darken. “Is that why you’re helping me?”

I nod and the movement is enough to cause a tear to spill over the rim of my eye. “You think I want to be used? You think I want to have sex with people I feel nothing for? No, I don’t, but I’ll do it because a useless Unfortunate is a dead one. I’ll do it because I know it’ll give you what you want, and I hoped by helping you, you would help me in return.”

Kade’s face softens, but his grip doesn’t. “I promised you freedom once we’re finished and I’ll give it to you.”

“But it’s not
real
freedom though, is it? It’s an illusion—a guarantee to get you what you want. What if you marry? Then I’m as good as dead.”

I suck in an inhale to calm my racing heart. The fresh air barely makes it down my throat before Kade gingerly presses his lips to
mine and sucks it back out again. His mouth on mine doesn’t feel claiming… it’s, dare I say, kind. As if he’s trying to fix my wounded soul. The kiss goes all too quickly and when he speaks, there’s too much distance between our lips for my liking. “Earlier tonight you said you trusted me.”

“I do
,” I whisper.

“Then show me. If you trust me, I can take care of you, Nine. I can keep you safe.”

The question I’ve been asking myself since I met Kade falls from my lips. “Why? Why would you do that for me?”

“Someone once told me that I should always give back to those that help me.” He clears his throat and softly shakes his head. “Besides, once I destroy your life, it’s only fitting that I try and repay you for your sacrifice.”

Frustration pricks at me. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Open up and be nice, then shut me out with cruel words?”

His eyes rake my face in a way that makes my blood run cold, but my inside burn hot.

“Because Unfortunates aren’t the only ones who have to toe the line… I have to watch myself or I’ll end up dead, just like—” He catches himself and swiftly puts an end to the conversation by turning his back to me. I push off the wall and curiously step forward.

“Like who?”

His broad, beautiful shoulder squares, and despite myself, I reach out and touch the hard back of his bicep. He snatches it away and snaps around to face me. “Stop being so damn curious.”

“I’m not. I-
I just want you to talk to me.”

“And what good will that do? Whether or not we become friends or whether or not we fall in love—you will do this for me. You will fuck whomever I want you to fuck. You will sit, beg, crawl
, and talk whenever I tell you to and you will do it without complaint. I can tell you everything there is to know about me and you can describe your pathetic life to me in detail, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s something I desire more than pussy, companionship, and love.”