Page 68 of Devoured
“I don’t trust him,” she said. “He told Ethan that he needed us to do a favor, something about testing you, but then he backed out last minute. But even before that,” her voice became even quieter, “He has the Adler pawns watching you, Iris. It’s not a security detail.”
“Pawns?” I asked. We weren’t playing chess. “What do you mean, watching me?”
“If he says the word,” she said, pausing for dramatic effect, “you’re gone. The Adlers will kill you.”
I blinked my eyes. None of it made sense.
“But you’re dating an Adler,” I said.
“But you’re not,” she said. “And Roland? He’s not an Adler either. He’s a client. He hired them. They’re business associates. Which makes you a loose end.”
I narrowed my eyes at her but then loosened. My instincts wanted to jump to conclusions, to say that Teagen was overreacting, or to say that Ethan, her Adler boyfriend, was feeding her lies.
But Teagen wasn’t my enemy. There was no reason for her to lie to me. Still, I grit my teeth, upset that I had let my guard down when I should have known Roland was bad. I had seen the signs, hadn’t I? Why did I ignore them?
“What happened to you?” I asked, trying to be playful, to lighten the mood for once. “I thought you were supposed to be the optimist.”
“It’s more like what’s happened to you,” she said, a reluctant smile crossing her mouth. “He’s changed you, Iris. Gotten you to loosen up. And that’s okay. Really. But you can’t let him hurt you.” She shook her head. “Or I’ll never forgive myself.”
I looked back at them. Roland was talking with a produce stand worker as she loaded a reusable bag with too many artichokes. He said something, and the woman beamed at him, then turned to the back table and added a jar of garlic butter. I swear she mouthed the words,On me. That man could charm anyone.
Even me.
“What else do you know?” I asked cautiously. “Did Ethan tell you anything else?”
“You were abducted right?” she asked. “White van? A couple of guys? Left you in the woods? Same as me?”
It had been over quickly. So much had happened since then. I had almost forgotten that night. Especially with the ski-mask man fresh on my mind.
“Now that you mention it, yes,” I said.
“That was the Adlers.”
“So?” I said. “Roland saved me.”
“He didn’t save you,” she said, staring at me.
“What do you mean? He shot a gun at them and—”
I stopped. He had shot a gun, but there were no bodies. We ran into the woods for our lives, and he had insisted on having sex there, giving them enough time to leave. The adrenaline coursed through our veins, making us reach for each other…
Unless—
“It was a setup,” I whispered. My whole body sank under the weight of that realization. I had always known, always had a feeling, but I pushed it down, not wanting to accept what might have been the truth. “What about the guy from the other night? The one with the ski mask? Was that the Adlers too?”
“Maybe?” she shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that, but I wouldn’t put it past them. But with the abduction?” She bit her tongue, then pressed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Maybe it was a kinky thing. I don’t know.” The hair fell in front of her face again. “I didn’t ask. But I know that he hired them to abduct you, and told them where to park so he could quote,take them down, end quote.”
My face drained of blood. Coldness covered me. This shouldn’t have been surprising. I should have known.
Maybe it was a weird fetish—now that I had been on the bottom and knew I enjoyed it, I kind of understood the abduction fantasy—but I knew the real reason he had orchestrated the event.
He had used the abduction to get me to trust him.
We both glanced over our shoulders, looking at the men.
“I told Ethan I wouldn’t tell you anything, but I did because this is important.” She squeezed my arm. “I can tell you like him. And maybe it’s innocent. But don’t let your guard down. Not completely.”
I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t trust many people; it was easier to rely on myself. But Roland had been there when it counted, and he looked out for me. But it still left a few questions. Why not tell me the abduction was fake? And why did he need to watch me so closely that he could kill me in an instant if he wanted to?
His ex-girlfriend popped into my mind. She had died, and Roland had been the main suspect until the case was closed. Had she died of an accidental overdose like he claimed? Or had he drugged her?
Melissa had warned me. Even Scarlett had. And now Teagen, the person who believed there was good in everyone, was wary of Roland?
I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t let it go. When had I stopped asking questions? When had I started trusting him more than I knew I should have?
