“Says the guy who’s been walking around for the past three days with a chip on his shoulder and a woman locked away in the dungeon. When were you planning on finally dealing with that?”
My spine locked in place, a tension so painful even rolling my neck and shoulders did nothing to abate it.
“She tried to run.”
“You set her up to run.”
While it was true, I’d set Isabelle on Lisbeth with the offer of freedom, it still surprised me to learn that she’d taken the offer. It was a test, one Lisbeth failed the minute she stepped foot outside.
Turning, I locked eyes with my best friend.
Jacob shrugged, the towel wrapped around the back of his neck, ends hanging over his shoulders.
“What? It’s true. And if you want to be mad at her for it, that’s fine. But if you ask me-“
“I didn’t ask you,” I barked.
It only made him smile wider.
“Too bad, because in my opinion, her running didn’t mean she’s the same spoiled bitch you’ve always hated. It just means she’s smart.”
My lethal silence meant nothing to Jacob. Jacob would challenge me regardless of the violence that rolled off me in tantalizing waves. He continued to goad me even with the threat of an actual fight looming over him.
“Face it, Callan, you’ve been torturing her since she returned. And I get the reasons why, but at some point you need to kiss and make up. You want her. She wants you. It’s obvious to everyone in this place, except for the two of you. Fucking stubborn. Both of you.”
A low growl vibrated in my chest, but he wasn’t wrong, and my frustration was only getting worse with every day that passed.
After catching Lisbeth in the maze, I’d dragged her down to the lower floors. For what purpose, I still wasn’t sure, but she hadn’t stepped foot from the room she was assigned to for anything more than using the bathroom and showering.
Colton reported to me that she’d attempted a hunger strike the first day, but quickly gave up the rebellion when he threatened to strap her to a St. Andrews Cross and teach her what her rebellion would cost.
Not that the threat had any meat to it. Colton knew Lisbeth was off limits until I decided what to do with her.
The only problem was making the decision. When we were apart, all I felt was anger, but when we were together, all I wanted was to show her body what it does to me. To tempt and tease her with the truth of a hatred that walked the same line as love.
And such a fine line it was. The two halves blending until black and white no longer existed, just an aggravating shade of grey that crept in like smoke to distort and disguise everything around me.
“You can’t leave her down there forever.”
I dropped my weight on a bench, leaned back against the wall, my eyes lifting to Jacob’s face.
“Technically, I can.”
He grimaced, grabbed the towel with one hand and slid it from his shoulders to dump into a bin.
“You won’t make it long. She’s like a damn siren when it comes to you.”
The back of my head fell against the wall.
“Has Haley said anything about her?”
“Lisbeth hasn’t broken, if that’s what you’re hoping for. Haley said her eyes looked dead the first day, as if she refused to see anything around her, but she still holds her head high.”
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I closed my eyes and exhaled.
“Then I’ll need to handle it. Colton can’t touch her. And if sitting in a room by herself for days on end isn’t enough, then she’ll need something more.”
“She’s not by herself.”
My head lifted, eyes pinning his. “What do you mean?”
Jacob’s cocky grin stretched his cheeks.
“Haley told me Lisbeth was shitty the first day, but she has been hanging out with the rest of the girls since. They like her.”
Genuinely surprised by that turn of events, I was quiet while processing it.
“Are you telling me Lisbeth is becoming friends with women who sell their bodies?”
“That’s what Haley told me. Lisbeth is cold toward Isabelle, but not the rest.”
Lisbeth Rose.
A woman who, years ago, wouldn’t deign to speak to a servant was now friends with willing whores.
Unable to believe it, I stared at Jacob while wondering if I’d misjudged her.
As if following my thinking, he said, “She was friends with the cleaning staff, too. When will it be enough for you?”