Chaotic (L.O.R.D.S. #7) — Chapter no 11

ELEVEN

EV ERETT

“Lullaby” by Niykee Heaton blares from the speaker that I have sitting on the floor by the stairs that lead up to the balcony.

The song carries through the large cathedral as I stand next to the Lords’ altar, taking my time on the guy who lies on it. His arms are tied above his head, and his legs are spread wide.

He’s sobbing behind his gag while I thread the needle through his ashen skin. He’s lost a lot of blood from the razor blades. The Lords did a number on him tonight.

I find it ironic that they torture themselves. Maybe they’ll eventu ally kill all the Lords off.

A few times, I’ve thought about setting the place on fire while they have a confessional. If I locked all the exits, I could probably kill over a hundred at once. Including myself. But every time I think about it, I tell myself to wait. Another time, another day. Why settle for a hundred when you can kill a hundred and one? I just need the right op portu nity.

The sound of the double doors creaking lets me know someone is here. I don’t bother looking up, but the naked Lord starts screaming into his gag as if they’ve re turned to cut on him again. De manding more blood in payment.

I tie off the thread and cut it before setting aside the needle and scissors.

Looking up, I see a Lord sitting in the front pew. He’s leaning back, arms spread wide and a smirk on his hand some face. I re move the bloody gloves from my hands and pause the song before I speak.

“Two visits in the same week. Why am I all of a sudden so unlucky?”

Kashton’s smile grows. “Angel.” He winks at me, and I want to shove my needle and thread through his lips and sew his mouth shut

so he can’t call me that ever again.

“Come back for more drugs?” I tease.

“Care ful, Eve. Fool me once… Next time, you’ll be the one drugged.” His eyes lazily look over my body. “But I won’t leave you all alone. When you wake up, you’ll be naked and hog-tied.”

I almost trip off the side of my heels but manage to stay upright.

That’s what he wants. To see me kneel for him. “What do you want, Kash?” I walk around the altar, ignor ing the sobbing Lord, and come to stand in front of Kashton. I pop a hip out and place my hands on them.

His blue eyes drop to my heeled lace-up ankle boots and slowly run up over my fish net tights and miniskirt before lingering on the black halter that has my breasts shoved up to my neck. He tilts his head to the side, looking over my high pony before meeting my gaze. I try to look unfazed, but my body is tingling.

“Look at me, Eve. Eyes on mine…fuck, you’re goddamn perfect.”

It was like he knew what I needed to hear. I hadn’t felt like that with a man…not willingly, anyway. And it was just his fin gers. I’d had a few drinks that night, but I wasn’t on any drugs. There was no reason for me to be that worked up for him.

His face grows se rious and his eyes dart to the naked Lord behind me. “May we speak in private?”

I give a rough laugh. “You’ll have to try harder than that to get me alone.”

He stands, and I have to look up at him through my lashes. Even with my boots on, he’s still quite a bit taller than me.

“It’s important, Everett.” He places his hands inside his hoodie.

As far as I know, he’s only ever known me as Eve. How does he know my name is Everett? I get a sickening feeling in my gut.

“Sure,” I say and walk toward the side door.

He beats me to it and holds it open. “Ladies first.”

I want to roll my eyes but instead mumble athank you and enter the hallway. He follows me to the office where he again opens the door for me. Once we enter, I whirl around on him. “What’s so im‐

portant that you’re here at three in the morn ing, Kashton?” Not like the Lord tied and gagged on the altar is going to tell anyone his se‐ cret.

Kashton unzips his backpack and tosses something onto the desk.

I pick it up and stiffen when I see what it is. “Where did you get this?” It’s a picture of the dead woman I found.

“Do you know Tyson Craw ford?”

Of course I know of him. “He owns Blackout.” We’re not friends or anything, and he has no idea who I am.

Kashton nods, sitting on the couch. “He has a deal with a detective.

We had a meet ing earlier this evening, and everyone there was given these re ports.” My eyes meet his. “And your name was men‐ tioned.”

Well that explainsEverett. I frown. “What do you mean my name was mentioned?”

“He announced to the room that Everett Sinclair found the body that was dumped in the cemetery behind the cathedral.”

Fuck! Since when do the cops work with the Lords? I try to calm my breathing so he doesn’t see I’m now on alert. Does this have to do with the phone call I made after I re ceived that text? Surely those aren’t connected to the body I found.

He leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Tell me every‐ thing you know about her.”

I give a rough laugh and toss the papers next to him on the couch.

“I know nothing.”

“Bullshit.” He stands and I take a step back. “Who ever did this to her carvedYou’re next into her back, then dumped her in the middle of an aban doned cemetery that you seem to visit. A lot. I mean, sure, you can call that a coincidence, but…I don’t believe in those.”

His eyes hold mine when he adds. “And she just so happened to be left on the very same grave I see you sit at.”

I knew it was a sign, but this confirms it. “What are you implying?”

I cross my arms over my chest.

“That warning is for you,” he says matter-of-factly.

I swallow nervously. “It’s not—”

“What do you know about Dollhouse?” he interrupts me.

“Nothing.”

His hand reaches out and wraps around my neck so quickly I don’t have time to re act be fore he’s yanking me to ward him.

“Kash—”

He cuts off my air, and my hands grip his tatted arms to try and rip free with no success because of the sleeves of his hoodie. His blue eyes darken as they search mine. “I can’t help you if you lie to me, angel. So I’m go ing to ask you one…last…time…” He lets go, shoving me backward, and my ass hits the desk, making it rattle. “What do you know about Dollhouse?”

I rub my sore neck, taking a deep breath. “I know it hasn’t been in

operation for several years.”

He frowns. “Not true.”

I snort. “You calling me a liar?”

He nods. “I am.”

I huff, looking away from him, unable to meet his stare as I lie. “No one has been there in a long time.”

“How much do you know about Isabella?” he questions.

“I don’t—”

“I did meet you at her party.” He’s re fer ring to the night on her and her husband’s mega yacht. When I let this monster touch me. “The man I killed was paying you—”

“He was going to rape me,” I correct him through gritted teeth.

He tilts his head to the side. “Someone was getting paid for it. So he was either your job or you were his whore. Which was it?”

My pulse races. “My life is none of your business, Kash.” I will not let him know about my past. That will open too many doors for him.

“Were you one of herdolls?”

My knees threaten to buckle at his question, and it makes me want to vomit.“You’re going to be such a pretty dolly.”

He goes on, stepping closer to me. “Maybe you were a prisoner of Dollhouse, and she was pimping you out that night?” He reaches out and runs his hand through my ponytail. “A beau tiful whore, wrapped in silk. Who wouldn’t want to fuck you, Eve?”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I say through gritted teeth.

Breathe, Eve. Get your shit together.

yg “I know that the mo ment I saved you, you threw your self at me like a drunk woman on a Saturday night.” He smirks. “You wanted to re pay me…and like a good whore, you spread your legs for me —”

I slap him across the face so hard my hand instantly stings. “How dare you.”

He grips my throat again and tosses me onto the couch. Straddling my hips, he pins me down, giving him the advantage. I slap at his face, but he stretches his arm out, and I’m unable to make contact with his reach. I yank on his hoodie, but it doesn’t do any good.

“Let me tell you some thing, angel.” His eyes are soft, but his words are as hard as the mus cular body he’s holding me down with. “A room full of Lords think you’re part of the problem. And if I don’t bring them answers, they’ll come after you for them. Do you under‐ stand that?”

My lungs burn, and I squirm in his grip, try ing to get a breath.

Where are my drugs when I need them? I try and buck my hips, but it does no good. All of his weight is pinning me to the leather cush‐ ions.

Panic grips my chest, and my face throbs from the lack of oxygen. I kick my legs, the heels of my boots digging into the couch, and try to twist and turn to get a breath, but it does no good.

His hand tightens more on my throat while he lifts his hips off my waist, and his free hand shoves my miniskirt up before gripping my fishnets and ripping them. His eyes scan my exposed thigh before he does the same to the other. Once he’s done looking at them, he places his weight back on them and his eyes find mine. My vision is fading in and out as my eyes grow heavy.

“These Lords have wives, babies on the way. And I prom ise, they won’t think twice about dangling you as bait to make sure that their families go untouched.” Letting go of my neck, he gets off me, and I roll off the edge of the couch, landing on my side, coughing and sputtering.

As I get to my hands and knees, he crouches in front of me and cups my chin, forc ing my watery eyes up to his. His free hand gently pushes away the loose strands of hair that fell from my ponytail dur‐

ing our fight. “I’m the only ally you have right now, Eve. I can pro‐ tect you.”

I give a rough laugh, still trying to breathe. “I…don’t need your pro‐ tection.”

His eyes roam my face and linger on my parted lips. I’m gasping, sucking in deep breaths, my chest burning. “You’re not untouchable, Everett. All I had to do was get you alone in a room and wrap my hand around your pretty neck.” He gently runs his tatted knuckles down my burning throat, and I lift my chin higher at the touch. “And within seconds, you were on your back with ripped stockings. Imag‐ ine what a room full of Lords could do to you. It won’t take much for them to strip you naked, tie you down, and make you the offer ing they need.”

If only he knew how close he is to my past. I’ve been there, and I refuse to go back. “Are you going to pro tect me or lead them to me?” I arch a brow.Don’t trust anyone is what I’ve learned along the way.

“They already know where you are, angel. It’s a matter of time be‐ fore they show up at your door.” With that, he gets to his feet, grabs his backpack, and ex its the office, leaving me on all fours.

KASHTON Ju nior year at Bar rington University I enter my father’s office to find him and his broth ers all at their desks. I walk over to my father’s. “I know who I want for my cho‐ sen.”

“You don’t get to choose.” Garrett, Haidyn’s dad, speaks as if I was talking to him. The thing about the Spade broth ers is that they all think they’re your dad.

My father looks up at me from his computer and sits back in his chair. “Name,” he asks, picking up his pen.

“Eve,” I answer.

His pen pauses on the piece of paper, and he looks up at me. “Eve

what?”

“That’s all I know,” I say hones tly.

He drops his pen. “Does she go to Bar rington?”

“Not that I know of.” I’ve never seen her there before. I would have re membered her, but it’s a huge college. So it’s always a possibility.

He sighs, and I hear the others laugh. “Well…how the fuck do you know her?” my father demands.

I think about that for a second and decide I can’t lie to him. Not about this. I want her more than anything for my se nior year. “Dur‐ ing my initiation. On the Isabella.” That was last month, and I can’t get her out of my head. Where the fuck did she go? We were on a yacht. Did she jump off it after she left me? I searched everywhere for her, only to come up empty. The only thing she was wearing was my suit jacket. She didn’t even take her heels. No purse. No phone.

Nothing. Did she get killed for what I did to the Lord she was with?

She probably had a pimp and was punished for not doing her job.

My father frowns.

Garrett’s laugh gets my attention. “Son, if she was on the Isabella, then she’s a prostitute…”

“Meaning she’s not a virgin,” my father adds.

My teeth grind. I al ready knew this. All Lords get a chosen their se‐ nior year at Barrington Univer sity. After we’re initiated into the Lords.

But only the Spade broth ers are re quired to take a virgin. “I want her.” I don’t give a shit who she’s fucked.

“If she was on that yacht, then we’ve probably all fucked her.” My father shakes his head, and I fist my hands at the thought of them raping her like that Lord was going to do. “The answer is no.”

“Dad—”

“No, Kash ton,” he snaps. “You will not take a whore. She will be a virgin, and I will pick her out.” He places his attention on his com‐ puter. Conver sa tion over.

I lie in my bed back at Carnage, staring at the TV, but I don’t hear it. Eve is heavy on my mind.

She doesn’t have the barcode. Could that mean she was telling the truth? I don’t know. Just because Adam’s chosen had one doesn’t mean they all get one. What if that barcode was a breadcrumb for Adam and not Dollhouse itself, and we’re just wrong?

A conversa tion that night on Bill’s jet comes to mind.“What’s on her inner thigh? What does it say?” Saint asks, looking at the photo

gyg p of Adam’s chosen tied to the chair.

“It’s a barcode. All slaves at Dollhouse have them,” Bill answers.

Haidyn and I were both forced to kill our chosens. I say forced be‐ cause it was either that or a life of rape and torture. Sometimes death is all you have.

I made the decision to end her life. Was I wrong? I’ll never know. I re member beg ging my father for Eve to be my chosen. I’ve never been more thankful that he said no. I don’t know if I would have been able to kill her when Isabella took us in for training.

It’s easy for me to say yes. That I want to think I would save her from such a horrific life, but she wasn’t the bleeding woman who was tied up and naked, beg ging me to help her.

I’ve been looking for Eve for years, and now here she is. Dropped in my lap like an answered prayer. The only thing is, a Lord doesn’t pray.

I want to question it, but I want her more.

Everett Sinclair will not get away from me this time. If I have to drag her to the basement and leave her chained there like a dog, she will not slip through my fin gers. She’ll wear my ring and have my last name.

My father raised me to be a Spade brother, and I will treat her as a prisoner if I have to.