Page 46 of Little Bird (Advantage Play 3)

I haven’t left my room. I don’t want to. I’m still pissed, and despite what I’m sure my brother thinks, I’m not pouting, and I’m sure as hell not begging for his attention, either. I just can’t deal with running into Dex, or Kingston, or even Ace right now. I just want to be alone.

Unfortunately, when I hear the brash knock against my bedroom door, I know who it belongs to, and I know he won’t let me hide in here forever.

“What do you want?” I call out, instinctively knowing that it’s my brother.

“Can I come in?”

I scoff. “Since when do you ask questions like that? You always do whatever the hell you want. Why stop now?”

The handle twists, and he comes into view before muttering, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Of course, you will,” I quip.

With a sigh, he takes a step closer but continues to give me plenty of space at the same time. “Still pissed at me?”

“Are you surprised?”

“No.” He rubs his hand down his face in defeat. “Look. I’ve been thinking a lot since you disappeared. I don’t want you to feel like you’re in a prison anymore. You’ve lived like that long enough.”

My heart thrums in my chest like a hummingbird’s wings, his comment taking me by surprise. “W-what do you mean?”

“I mean, I want you to have more freedom.”

He can’t be serious right now.

“The last time we tried that, I was kidnapped,” I point out, though I have no idea why. Don’t I want more freedom?

“We kept you hidden in hopes of keeping your identity anonymous. Once Burlone sent out that email with your picture, I think it dashed any hope of us going back to the original game plan. Which means we have a choice.”

“And what choice is that?”

“Would you like to attend a gathering?” he mentions.

A gathering is basically a master networking party where different families gather together to connect, create alliances, transact business, and even form marital ties. They don’t happen often, and I’ve always been ordered to hide away in my room like a dirty little secret whenever they’ve been held at our estate. Kingston’s proposition to let me attend is…staggering.

Holding my breath, I blink a few times and try to register his words. “Y-you want me to go to a gathering?”

He nods. “Yes. I do.”

“Why?”

With a dry laugh, he says, “I already told you. There’s no putting you back in the bag now. You’re out, Regina. And instead of trying to hide you all over again, I think we should own it. Let you be the queen you were born to be. Let them see that you’re more than a weak girl hidden away in a tower somewhere.”

My mind reels. “A queen?”

“Yeah. I’m not the only one who holds power in this family, Regina. You could own any man in that room, especially when they realize you’re still on the market.”

Aaand there it is––the catch.

“I’m not going to whore myself out for the family,” I spit.

Holding up his hands in surrender, he states, “That’s not what I meant—”

“Of course, it wasn’t,” I sneer, losing whatever respect I’d still had for the bastard. “I can’t believe you’d come in here and say that to me! I love him, Kingston. But you’ve forbidden us from ever being happy together. Why would you do that?”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he releases a sigh. “He’s not good enough for you.”

“Bullshit. In your eyes, no one will ever be good enough for me.”

---