Page 174 of The Pact

“Thea, those privileges are for good girls and you’ve been very bad.”

Panic rushes through me as he uses Damian’s words against me. Something in Cole has snapped and I’m on the receiving end of his wrath. “Cole, this isn’t like you. You’d never hurt me. You told me that yourself.” Maybe I can convince him he doesn’t want to do this or at the very least keep him distracted from whatever it is he has planned for me.

My wrists stretch against the rope that’s binding me. I’m looking for an inch of movement that I can exploit. If I can stretch it out, then maybe I can get my hands free. Even if I do, I won’t have enough time to untie to my feet and get out the door. Sitting here doing nothing isn’t an option either.

Cole leans down until he’s nose to nose with me. “This is who I am now. This is who you and my brothers have made me into.” His mouth crushes mine, but I don’t reciprocate, so he bites my bottom lip. I yelp and he shoves his tongue into me. “Good luck with trying to get your wrists free,” he muses, pulling away.

I hear muffled ringing. Cole walks over to the couch and grabs my satchel. He digs through it and finds my phone. He stares at the name on the screen and scoffs.

“Probably wondering where you are by now,” Cole says as he rolls his eyes and holds down the button on the side of the phone. I watch as the screen goes black. Fuck.

“Cole, my arms really hurt. Please,” I beg.

He tosses my phone back on the couch and comes over to me. “But isn’t this what you like, Thea? Don’t you like to be tied up and fucked? A little pain with your pleasure.” He smirks in a way that makes a shiver run down my spine.

“Not like this,” I whisper. “I don’t understand how we got here.”

Cole sighs and walks over to the fire. Leaning down, he pushes at the logs with the metal poker. “I thought things would change when I met you. You were perfect. I made sure you were before I made my decision.” He stands back up and plops down in an armchair. Resting his elbows on his knees, he runs his hands up his face and through his hair.

My face screws in confusion. “What do you mean, perfect? I’m not perfect at all, Cole.”

He looks up at me. “You were for me. Those innocent eyes and your tragic past, you needed a savior. Someone who would cherish you, put you first, and give everything they had just to be with you. I was ready to do all of that.”

This all sounds too dramatic. Of course, my past wasn’t anything to write home about, but tragic—that’s a little much.

“We were so similar and I could see us creating a beautiful new life together, healing each other because we understood what it was like being neglected and forgotten.” His eyes soften and I can see that he’s wanting me to sympathize with him.

The wheels turn in my head. Cole has romanticized this entire thing, creating some kind of distorted reality where he’s my hero and I’m his heroine. We’ll rescue each other from all that has hurt us in the past. And while that’s all well and good, he’s conveniently glossing over the fact that he’s also the villain who’s doomed us both.

But I can’t say this—not if I want to make it out of here alive.

I drop my head. “You’re right, Cole.” Looking up at him, I force longing into my gaze. “I needed a savior—that was supposed to be you.” Careful not to lay it on too thick, I continue. “I got confused when they were brought into the mix. I didn’t think I had a choice. And I didn’t want to lose you. I was willing to sacrifice who I was to be with you.”

In the firelight, I see his jaw tighten and I worry I’ve said the wrong thing.

“They always ruin everything. I thought I found my place when I met them, a new family who actually cared about me, who would notice me. I was overshadowed once again. Damian made his own way, making millions with his natural fucking talent for computers. And Sutton with his perfect, accepting family who loves him no matter what. He didn’t even belong with us. We were all cast out or neglected by our families, but not him. Sutton couldn’t be happy with having one family—he needed two.” My heart cracks at hearing Cole talk about Sutton like this, especially when he is fighting for his life. Is he okay or had he… I push the thought away, unable to bear the alternative. “Wesley is always the loveable one. Why does everyone like him so much? He can be such a prick sometimes, but everyone sees this big teddy bear, always pushing his way into the spotlight. He’s so fucking fake. Acting like he’s happy when he’s really wallowing over the women who’ve left him. Victoria. His mom. Jesus, suck it up.”

His words send goosebumps over my skin. Not only by how callous he’s being, but the truth about Wesley’s past. His mom abandoned him? It’s like a blur filter is being slowly pulled from my vision of him. While I understood the pain that Victoria caused, this makes so much more sense. The woman who should’ve been the most important in his life left. And now, he probably thinks I left too.

The tears sting my eyes.

Cole stands and starts pacing. I can tell he’s getting agitated talking about this. I should try to calm him, although I’m still recovering from the blow his words have dealt. “They couldn’t let me have one thing.” He turns to face me. “You. That’s all I wanted. But no, we had to follow the rules of the pact. Share you or toss you aside. You know, I begged Damian to change the terms, literally on my knees begged him—for you,” he laughs cynically as he says it.

“Cole, you have so much aside from me. You have the bakery, you’re unbelievably talented.” He’s made his brothers out to be far better off than him. They’ve all struggled to make their own way.

“No, I have part of the bakery. Damian owns the other part. The rules of the pact,” he says it in a mocking tone. “Damian owns it all. He owns all of us.”

“This isn’t the answer, Cole.” With the revelation that the only way out is death, I’m not sure what the solution is. Not involving me in this twisted pact in the first place would be a step in the right direction. “There has to be another way. Some other option. I can help,” I try to reason.

His eyes study me as if he doesn’t fully believe me, but there’s a flicker of hope there and I need to play on it.

“We can do it together. We can leave them behind. Run away together.” I let my eyes fill with promise, willing him to entertain the idea.

Cole walks toward me and hope surges. Maybe he’ll untie me now. “My love, I wish it was that easy. They’ll never let you go. You know our secrets too. The only way out is death.”

He makes the last part sound more like a promise than a threat.

His hand travels up the side of my neck and to the back of my head. I wince as his fingers find the wound. I think he might pull away, realizing he’s touched it, but he doesn’t. Instead, he grips my hair tightly and yanks my head back.

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