Chapter 5: Night Three Starts Early

I drove through the dark streets with the address glowing on my phone screen and every red light feeling like it was designed to slow me down. Theo is with him. If I am not there in twenty minutes something will happen that cannot be undone. My hands stayed locked on the wheel and my breathing stayed shallow as I turned into a quiet industrial street lined with low buildings that looked empty and forgotten under the yellow floodlights.

The address led me to a black door with no sign and no windows. I parked and stepped out into the cold air with my keys still clenched in my fist. The door opened before I could knock and Sable Quinn stood there looking as calm and unreadable as she always did. She stepped aside without speaking and I walked into a long hallway that smelled of old concrete and metal. At the end of the hall a single door stood open and the light spilling from it was the only thing that guided me forward.

Inside the room Theo sat in a chair with his wrists resting loosely on the arms and his eyes wide with fear when he saw me. He was not tied down yet the way he held himself told me he had been told not to move. Riven stood near the far wall with his hands in his pockets and his expression completely controlled as if taking my brother was the most ordinary thing in the world.

You came alone, Riven said. Good. That is the first correct decision you have made tonight.

I walked straight toward Theo but Riven’s voice stopped me before I could reach him.

Do not touch him yet. We have things to discuss first.

My feet froze against the floor while my heart beat so hard I could feel it in my throat. Riven pushed away from the wall and walked slowly between us until he stood close enough that I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes.

Your brother is unharmed for now, he told me. Whether he stays that way depends entirely on how well you obey from this moment forward. Night three has already begun and the rules are changing. You will stay here until morning. You will do everything I say without argument. And you will stop asking questions about the letter until I decide you are ready to hear the rest of the truth.

Theo’s voice broke the silence in a shaky whisper. Nora what is he talking about? What letter?

Riven turned his head slightly toward my brother. She will explain later if she survives the night. Then he looked back at me. The gentleness disappeared from his face.

You should not have tested me by almost involving your ex, he said. Jonah was a mistake. I do not like mistakes.

I forced myself to hold his gaze. You took my brother to teach me a lesson?

I took your brother because you needed a reminder of what is actually at stake, he replied. The contract was never only about sex. You keep treating it like it is. That ends tonight.

He stepped closer. The heat of his body reached me and the familiar scent of his skin made my breath catch even in the middle of the fear.

You will spend the rest of night three here with me, he said. Your brother will remain exactly where he is. If you follow every instruction I give you he will walk out of here at dawn without a scratch. If you refuse even once I will make sure he understands the cost of your pride.

My stomach dropped. The air in the room felt too thin.

And if I agree?

Then we continue the nights as planned, Riven said. And you finally stop pretending you still have choices.

I looked at Theo. His face was pale with confusion and rising horror. The demand hung between us like a blade. For the first time since I signed the contract I felt the full weight of what one hundred nights could truly cost.

Riven waited without repeating himself. The only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the lights above us and the rough sound of my own breathing.

I knew that if I refused Theo would pay the price. I also knew that if I obeyed something inside me would shift in a way that could not be repaired.

What do you want me to do first? I asked.

Riven’s eyes stayed on mine. Sit down in the chair across from your brother. Do not speak to him. Do not look at him unless I tell you to. We are going to have a long conversation about honesty. And when the sun comes up you will understand exactly how little control you have left.