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I am more than willing to continue living in that roach motel if it means keeping myhusbandsalive. We never got the chance to go through with our plans. Were never able to get legally married and have our child together. My father…

Everything changed for me, forusthe moment I told them goodbye that night and returned to my house, only to find my father staring down at the white stick with those two blue lines.

I sit on the bed with a blanket wrapped around me for so long, I’m starting to think they are gone or forgot I’m here.

My stomach grumbles, my mind is still fuzzy from whatever the hell was in that syringe last night, and my heart and head are all over the place.

That first glance up at Kato…I’d wondered if I’d died. Or maybe I was dreaming. It was a face I never thought I would see again. I never thought I would see any of them again.

My heart had swelled and begun to race, until I realized the feeling wasn’t mutual. For any of them.

Male voices rumble outside my door and I push to my feet, hugging the blanket around me tighter. A few seconds later, the door swings open and in walks the men who have carried my heart with them for four years.

From the way they look at me, it’s obvious they couldn’t give two shits about my heart. About me at all.

“I can’t be here, Kato,” I rush out. When he simply glares at me, I look to Brixton and Maddox. “Guys, I can’t be here. You don’t understand –”

“I’ve hired a wedding coordinator. She’ll be here this evening. The date is set for the third of next month. That gives you thirty-one days to pull it all together,” Kato says, cutting me off.

“Wh-what?” I stammer out, my heart thundering so hard I’m sure even the guard standing outside the door can hear it.

Kato crosses the room in long, sure strides. He’s definitely not the boy I loved. He’s a full-grown man and he’s a little scary, but in a hot, powerful kind of way that reminds my body all over again the way these three used to make me feel.

“Thirty-one days. We will be married. Your new wardrobe was just delivered, so I’ll have that sent up. Each day, one of us will pick your attire. If we’re not in here when you wake each morning, the clothes will be hanging on the door inside your closet.”

“Kato, listen to me. Guys…you don’t understand –”

He doesn’t bother with words this time. His hand shoots out and wraps around my throat, tightening until I can’t utter more than squeaks or croaks of protest.

I stare into his cold blue eyes as he pulls me closer and bends until our noses are almost touching.

“I think you’re the one not understanding. You’re mine, now. You’re ours, and you owe us a lifetime. You owe us alife. Youwon’t step a single toe out of this house without a shadow on you at all times. You will do as you're told. Nod if you understand.”

Who the fuck is this guy? Kato,myKato, was so sweet, so loving and gentle. Not that all three of them didn’t enjoy a little dominance in bed.

But nothing like this.

I’m honestly a little nervous.

So I grab his wrists and do my best to nod with the hold he has on me.

Without loosening his grip, he smiles, dips his head to press his lips to mine in a deceivingly gentle caress, then utters, “That’s my good girl.”

And then he releases me and turns on his heel, leaving me gasping for air and staring wide eyed at Madd and Brix.

“Guys. Please,” I breathe out, rubbing at the tender skin of my neck. “My father…if he finds out – "

“He’ll absolutely find out,” Maddox says, a maniacal grin on his face. “The announcement will be made Monday. Invitations are already being printed as we speak. Oh, and I picked your outfit for today. You’re going to look gorgeous.”

The way he’s looking at me, I have a feeling I’m really not going to like whatever the hell kind of clothes he chose for me.

When he steps out of the room, he leaves Brix and I alone. My big teddy bear. The man who held me in his arms hundreds of times.

The man whose back I would ride when we roamed through the woods.

The man who’d held me and kissed me as their initials had been carved into my chest.

This isn’t that same man. This man is hardened. His pretty brown eyes are almost black. A permanent scowl has etched lines between his brows. His hair is long, hanging past his shoulders in thick waves.