Page 23 of Beautiful Fiend

He simply didn’t want to.

And for some mysterious reason, it feels oddly disappointing to realize that.

5

BILLIE

Fast Forward - You Me At Six

The rest of the way takes us through muddy roads surrounded by trees. It’s only once we’re deep into the forest that Caden tells me to stop. There is nowhere to park, so I just stop along the trees.

“Turn your lights off. Orlight,I guess.” Just as I do, another car comes our way, its headlights blinding us and stopping us from seeing who’s driving. I know it’s a bigger car than mine, higher too, but that’s about it.

Caden opens his door, letting the cold air and smell of the pine trees into the car. “Stay here. Don’t move.”

I watch him walk over to the other car. The window must open because someone hands him what looks like a black cloth. Caden comes back to sit in the car with him.

“Damn, it’s cold,” he says as he closes the door again. “Alright, here’s how it’s going to work. Every week, I will give you a time you have to be here. You show up on time. Then you turn the car off and wait for them. Once you see their cars, you put this on.”

He gives me the cloth they handed him, and I eye it suspiciously.

“What the fuck is that?” But I get my answer as soon as I grab it. “Are you kidding me?” I hiss. “I’m not putting a hood over my head—”

“Put it on. Now.”

Something clicks, and I finally understand who’s giving him the goods. “Brave of you to get supplies from the Wolves,” I say. I don’t know what they’re supplying him with, but it looks like he’s deep into it.

“Smart little thing you are. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you know you don’t want to see a Wolf’s face because—”

“It’s the last thing you see,” I cut him off. The Volkov organization is notorious enough for everyone on the North Shore to know their motto. “But you just saw them.”

“Yeah, well, they make exceptions for fuckers who bring them a lot of money. You don’t make them any money. So you put it on, then you put your hands on the wheel and wait. They’ll come and load your trunk. When they’re done, they’ll tap your window. You wait until you hear their car has left, then you can take the hood off and leave too. That’s the first part. Simple enough?”

I nod despite feeling the fear heavy in my stomach.

“Now be a good girl and put that hood on for me.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I mumble as I put it on with trembling hands. Everything that is Caden-related makes me want to drop everything and run away.

Searching blindly in front of me, I grab the wheel tightly. It’s stuffy in here and it smells of dust.

“I swear to god, Caden,” I say between gritted teeth. “If this is a setup…”

“Then you die,” he says lightly. “Better than your videos being leaked, believe me.”

I startle when someone opens my trunk.

“They’re just going back and forth with the products. Relax.”

“Easy to say when you’re not the one with a fucking black bag on your head.”

I feel him shift before his smug voice reaches my ears. “I can help you relax if you want.”

“Not even in your wildest fucking dreams will you ever touch me again,” I hiss.

Not caring one bit about my opinion, his hand comes to rest on my thigh, and I tense even more.

“Don’t touch me,” I rage. I go to take the black bag off, but he stops me with his other hand.

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