Page 169 of Master of My Heart

“Six.” She turned to look at him. “Do you think he’s a good guy?”

“Richard?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, he’s a little hard-nosed about some stuff, but yeah, he’s a good guy.”

“Did Chase tell you what happened?” she asked, walking over to the couch and dropping onto it.

Jayson nodded. “He called last night.”

“Oh.”

“Asked me to keep an eye on you since you kicked Ethan out.”

“Oh.” She picked at her fingernails. “Have you ever been to those Gathering things?”

Jayson nodded. “Yeah. Chase has invited me a few times.”

“What are they like?” she asked earnestly.

He thought for a moment. “Orgies.”

Sabrina gasped slightly.

“Well, not really,” Jayson continued quickly. “I mean, there’s sex. A lot of it. But it’s not like everyone’s doing everyone else. Men and women, sometimes multiple people doing stuff. There are some rooms in the back if people want privacy, too. Usually it’s just a relaxed place to be free to do as you please.”

It was just like she’d imagined.

“Did you know that Richard’s wife goes?”

Sabrina’s head snapped up. “Kathy?”

Jayson nodded. “Yeah. A lot of wives go. They’re as freaky as their husbands.” He laughed.

She looked away, not sure how to process that. Jayson grabbed her hand. “Sorry. Listen. I can imagine it’s not the easiest thing, knowing that Chase would be going to that sort of thing. But he has to. You don’t cross the Brotherhood. I’ve heard stories.”

“What kind of stories?”

“One time, a guy tried to save some girls who were being abused by an Elder and he was almost killed. Well, he said he should have been killed, but because he was trying to do the right thing, they spared him and just gave him a good whipping.”

“Whipping?”

He nodded. “They whipped his back until it was in shreds.”

Her jaw dropped open in horror. “Why would anyone want to be a part of something like that?”

“They’re not bad people, but rules are rules. You don’t break them. Ever.”

She stared at the coffee table, wanting to run away again. Far away from this life. But where would you go? You have nowhere.

You have no one.

Someone knocked on the apartment door and she got up. When she opened it, Richard stood there, wearing a thick black sweater over a collared blue shirt and khaki dress pants. “Ready?” he asked with a concerned smile.

She nodded and looked back at Jayson on the couch. “I’ll see you later,” she said without emotion and walked out of the apartment.

“You okay?” Richard asked as they walked out to his black sedan. He opened the door and she dropped into the passenger seat.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly as he looked down at her from the sidewalk.

He gave her a warm smile. “Well, I hope I can help you feel better before the evening is over.” He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, slid in gracefully, and started the car with the press of a button on the dash. He patted her hand before shifting into gear and driving away from the curb.

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