9

ROSE

I thought by now, I would have been immune to certain things, but apparently not. Or if I was trying to be more specific, nothing about the brothers would ever make me feel calm or relaxed, especially not when they had their sights trained on someone who didn't deserve it.

The air in the car was thick with tension, tension from the words that had just slipped past their lips. Only a fool would think that they didn't mean it. Hell, I wasn't sure they even spoke if the chances of them doing that thing wasn't high.

My heart hammered wildly in my chest, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to calm down. Beads of sweat lined my forehead, and even though I knew that if I didn't put an end to this now, I might very well pass out, it did nothing to stop me from hyperventilating.

“Calm down, Rose.” I muttered the words to myself. “Calm down.”

I didn't speak immediately. I didn't even look at them. Instead, I just got out of the car and walked right past Levi, my heart hammering against my ribs. I didn’t look back, even when I heard him gasp and call out to me.

“Rose?” He'd sounded uncertain, like he wasn't sure I'd heard him. When I slammed the door in his face though, I guess he got his answer. “Rose! Pleased babe, open up. I need to speak to you.”

I paid him no mind, as he continued, the heavy thud of his fist against our front door increasing by the second. For his sake, and mine, I had to be cold, I had to pretend that I wasn't feeling guilty or the least bit sympathetic towards him. If Enzo or the others saw him lingering, I knew they wouldn't just break his heart, they’d break his bones.

They could kill him too and not bat an eyelid for it.

A small sigh slid past my lips as I gave the door and last glance before heading inside. Inside, my father looked up from his chair, his brow furrowed.

“You're back.” Father peeped behind me and to the door, like he wanted to confirm if all that noise was coming from where he thought it was. "Who was that at the door?"

“Yeah, closed early today.” I forced a heavy sigh, trying to keep my voice steady. Just so he won't bother me about it, I added. "And it was Levi. He’s here to beg for my forgiveness because suddenly, he still has a girlfriend even though he’s the one who cheated on me.”

“Hey, kiddo. You okay?”

I nodded. In that area of concern, I was. “Yes Dad. I think so. He lost his mother days ago and I think that’s why he’s here.”

I felt a bitter sting in my throat the minute the words slid past my lips. My mother was gone too, but I wasn't running into the arms of an ex for solace. Instead, I was selling my body, letting three men ravage every inch of me just to keep my father’s world from crumbling.

Great, just fucking great.

Thankfully, dad didn't say anything about it. I watched his face morph into something unreadable, but that was it. Before he would pick the hint to speak up though, I beat him to it.

"I’ve been thinking, Dad. I think it’ll be best to move back to the school dorms." I said, the lie tasting like ash. "Juggling school and this new job is too much. I’ll hire someone to stay with you and help around the house."

"Rose, you don't have to do all this.” He looked at me with those weary, kind eyes. “I could just sell the company, and we could be done with the stress."

"No," I snapped, a little too quickly. I wasn't getting pounded into the mattress by three predatory men just for his life’s work to go under. If that happened, then I was going to kill myself. "You worked too hard for that. Plus we’re not quitters, right?"

Dad didn't say anything after that, but I saw the hope in his eyes, and just then, I knew that there was no way I was letting him down.

I kissed his cheek once before making my way to my room for a well-deserved rest.

Monday at school was a living hell. I was exhausted, my body still hummed with a lingering, bruised heat from the weekend. I was heading to the library to get some work done when Levi intercepted me. He looked worse than I did. And his eyes were red with something primal.

"You’ve been avoiding me for a while, Babe. You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?" Were the first words he used, and believe me when I said I didn't expect it. The question was more of a demand, and as he stepped into my personal space, I couldn't help but feel cowered. "That’s why you never responded to any of my calls or texts."

I stared at him once, and the audacity of it made my blood boil. In the blink of an eye, my palm collided with his cheek, and the loud “smack” echoed in the hallway.

"How dare you?" I hissed. "The nerve of you to ask me that. Haven’t you been the one cheating on me with your ex?” Memories of how much it hurt then flooded my mind. I still recalled how much I’d tried to reach out to him and for two whole weeks even though I could see him around in school or online on i*******m, he never responded to me. “I know you were with her while you were ignoring me. So she’s not 'comforting' you enough now that your mom is gone? Is that why you're here?"

He paled, but as a crowd began to form, his grief turned into something ugly and defensive.

"You just had to go there, didn’t you?" he shouted, his voice gaining volume. "Fine then. But you’re the one I saw at the hospital, at the gynecologist center! You were with three men, three massive guys who looked like they owned you. What were you doing there if you aren't fucking them?"

The shame hit me like a physical blow, and I hated that I recoiled, even if it was for a split second. Before I could tell myself that I was going to get over it, the whispers started instantly. I slapped him again, harder this time, and turned on my heel.

Another gasp filled the air, but I didn't stop. I just kept walking, not caring where my feet led me. Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Levi: So I was right. You’re fucking them. You’re going to regret this, you slut.

I swiped at the message once before I ducked into the library, my vision blurring with tears.  I'd barely taken a seat, before Cathy found me huddled over a textbook I couldn't even read.

 "I called it off," I told her before she could ask. “It's over.”

Her expression softened. “About fucking time, girl. I honestly don’t know what you saw in that jackass.” She didn't bother hiding her smile. “It’s time to move on and I know just the thing you need.” She wiggled her brows suggestively. “How about we go out, bills on me.”

“Tempting Cathy, but I can’t” I cut her off slowly, careful not to hurt her and attract the others reading of trying to study. “I have to catch up with school, I can’t afford a night that won’t pay me right now.”

Luckily for me, Cathy seemed to understand. She gave me a small smile and a tight hug before leaving me to read. As I tried to focus on my notes, I realized the library air seemed to thicken. Suddenly, I wasn't looking at equations anymore. I was seeing Enzo’s dark, hungry eyes. I felt the sensation of Nathan’s fingers stretching me, and the ghost of Rowan’s weight on top of me.

A wave of heat rolled through my body, making my pussy throb and my nipples harden painfully against the lace of my bra. I felt slick, my body betraying me and acting on its own, remembering the way they had filled every one of my holes until I couldn't scream anymore. It felt like they were right there, their shadows looming over the bookshelves.

Realizing I was now sweating from so much tension between my legs, I gathered my things. I had to be crazy to be like this and it was a problem.

I didn't bother to check if classes or school was over. I rushed home, desperate for the safety of my room, but the house was empty, and that only made my stomach churn in fear.

I tried to tell myself that it was okay. Maybe dad was in the backyard, or perhaps the basement? Hell, I wouldn't even put it past him to be in the attic right now, the same one I'd warned him about so many times.

But as I went through those places, I realized my father wasn't here. Not in his favorite chair, and not in bed either.

"Dad?" I called out a few more times my voice hitching. I got no answer, so I called his phone. Nothing changed, and panic, cold and sharp, clawed at my chest.

My first thought flew to the fact that maybe Enzo and his brothers had done something to him, I didn't have their numbers, so I did the only thing I could, I was on my father’s office.

The drive there couldn't have been any longer, but eventually, I made it. I barged into his private suite, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I threw the door open to find him sitting at the head of the conference table, surrounded by a group of men in sharp, expensive suits.

"Dad!" I cried out in relief, my knees nearly buckling. “Hi, you're here. Oh thank goodness…”

"Rose?” He stood up, looking shocked. “What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here.”

"You had surgery a few days ago!" I scolded, forgetting that there were others in this room. "You didn't answer your phone. I thought... I thought something happened."

I trailed off after that, not trusting myself to not break down in front of everyone else. It was one thing to bathe in there and embarrass myself, but it was an entirely different thing to break down in front of them.

Without wasting so much as a single second, I apologized to the men for the interruption and waited in the hall until the meeting broke. When my father finally emerged, he was already apologizing.

"It was an emergency, honey.” His voice sounded genuine. “Investors were pulling out, and I had to be here."

I started to cry then, the sheer weight of the secrets and the fear finally breaking my dam.

"I was so scared," I choked out. “I honestly thought I'd lost you.”

"I'm sorry, Rose.” He hugged me. “I'm so sorry."

Heaven knows I would have wanted nothing more than to remain in his arms forever, but we were interrupted by one of the investors who had stayed behind. He was an older man, his eyes cold and calculating, reminding me far too much of the men who currently owned my life.

"Your daughter is a devoted girl," the man said, his gaze lingering on me in a way that made my skin crawl. "I’m hosting a dinner at my estate tomorrow night to finalize the terms of our investment. I insist that you both attend. Your daughter must be present."

I felt a chill go down my spine at his words. The way he said it wasn't an invitation, it was a command.