Alice lay in the street, hunched over and sobbing so loudly she'd started a chorus of howls from the neighbourhood dogs. She was pulling at her own hair as she cried, fingers curled like talons as they attacked her scalp.
Caleb stood and stared, unsure of what to do or say. He considered walking away.
 
"Do you think your mother treats you differently from your brother?" Dylan asked.Caleb shrugged. "No, why?" he asked.
Caleb locked eyes with Kate, warning her not to cause a scene. She was definitely the type who craved drama, much like her younger sister.Kate seemed to get the message. She smiled up at the Bouncer and told him there was no problem.
Caleb racked his brain. Why would he order a drink if he planned to leave before taking a single sip? It was a fair question.He felt the weight of Dylan's gaze as he desperately tried to formulate a response.
'Shit,' was all Caleb could think. 'Shit, shit, shit. What now?'Caleb considered the options. He could admit the truth and throw himself at Dylan's mercy.
"Oh shit," Alice muttered, staring down at her phone in dread."everything went according to plan," the message read. All lowe
Alice thought she might be sick. The journey to Dylan's house was only a twenty-minute walk, but it felt like hours as every horrible possibility cycled through Alice's mind. It was the waiting that killed her. Not knowing what he would do to her... or make her do."Dylan, why are your parents never home?" Alice asked. She wasn't fishing for information—intel was going to have to be Caleb's job at this point—she was genuinely interested.
It was tempting to sit in a tree outside Dylan's property with a pair of binoculars, but he knew the sneaky bugger had camera's set up out there. Alice had assured him she would be fine, that she could handle anything he threw at her, but honestly... that was bullshit.She wasn't as weak as he and Dylan had originally assumed—she was a warrior—but Dylan had ways of finding people's weaknesses and exploiting them. He was a genius when it came to inflicting suffering
Alice read over the contract as Dylan used her phone to message Caleb. With any luck, Caleb would see through whatever lie Dylan dreamt up. He was too smart to fall for it. She had to cling to that hope.As she poured through the contract, her eyes almost crossing as the horrid font began to look like ants crawling across the page, she found a spark of hope.