Page 88 of Diamond Kisses

I was so proud of them.

I wasoneof them.

They were my responsibility.

My redemption.

And unlike my childhood, I would not fucking fail them.

“Ily!” Skidding to a stop on the deck, I glowered at the star-studded night. Fire rained from the windows above, and embers landed on the deck, sparking with light. Planks caught fire, licking blue, then orange as the stain on the wood became fuel.

“ILY!”

My ears ached for her reply.

Which way should I run?

Where had he taken her?

“Answer me!”

No scream. No sign of which way Victor had gone. No matter. I’d find him.

I broke into a run again.

I leapt over two dead Masters and landed on the grass. I went to charge into the night—

“Wait!”

I ignored the voice.

But a hand clamped onto my shoulder, making me hiss with pain. Without my bandages, my flayed back stung like a motherfucker. Soot and sprinklers, blood and sweat—the recipe ensured my pain added a horrible background screech to the mayhem all around us.

“You can’t go after him naked and unarmed!”

“Letgo of me!” I spun on the man holding me prisoner.

No more.

Never again.

I was done being a toy, a possession, a thing.

I bared my teeth. I went to kill—

I stopped as Ben held up a machine gun and a pair of jeans. “Here. Get dressed at least.”

I froze. “You? All of this…is you?”

He shrugged. “No, not just me. Abby and Pen helped liaise with the jewels Victor didn’t punish. And Stewart reminded me all over again that he’s the best computer programmer I know.”

I had a thousand questions.

But they’d have to wait.

Blinking back panic and rage, I snatched the jeans and hoisted them on. After a month of forced nudity, the scratchy density of denim seemed far too restrictive but also…comforting.

Ben waited for me to zip up before holding out the gun. I needed a belt. My waist had shrunk. I barely recognised myself.

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