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“He convinced me you were lying to me because of that. Fairly easy to believe, because you’d lied before about what you did to Ben. So I thought, once again, that you were here willingly. Until today.”
What I allegedly did to Ben, I wanted to scream. I didn’t bother. “What’s your point, Elias?”
“My point is that I did want you as a captive. At least I thought I did. But the second I found out you might actually be here against your will, it made me fucking sick. And now I know it’s true. I know you’re a prisoner. I know that contract is bullshit.”
I pursed my lips. “It’s not,” I said quietly. It was so hard to say the words when they weren’t true, but I had to. Self-preservation.
Elias sat down again. “Look, I can’t help you if you won’t admit it.”
Don’t fall for it. There’s no help coming. Not from him. You can only help yourself.
“I don’t need your help,” I said stiffly.
“You do. But like I said, I can’t get you out of here if you won’t even listen to me or trust me.” His eyes were wide, pleading.
Christ, he was a good actor.
I crossed my arms. “If you actually thought I was a captive, and this wasn’t just some sick game you’re playing, you’d call the state police and get me out of here. But you haven’t. I wonder why?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Because I have no fucking idea how deep this shit goes, that’s why! My family has a shit-ton of connections. If my father really wants you here—and it seems obvious he does—then he’ll make it happen. I can guarantee you he has connections with law enforcement, especially local. Wouldn’t put it past him to have them apprehend you under false pretenses and bring you right back here.”
I chewed my lower lip. He wasn’t wrong. His father did have connections with law enforcement, as I’d so alarmingly discovered this morning.
“And that’s just my father,” he went on. “There’s no way he’s the only one involved in all this. The rest of the society has connections too. I just need to wait and find out exactly what the fuck they’re hiding. How deep it all goes, how dangerous it is for you. Then I can come up with a plan to get you the fuck out of here and keep you safe.”
“And how exactly would you figure out their secrets?” I crossed my arms. I could feel my curiosity creeping in, getting the better of me. “Hypothetically.”
“I’m working on it. I have a feeling it’s something to do with the third level. I’m so close, Tatum. So fucking close.”
I almost cracked. Almost started to believe him. But then it all came flooding back. All the things he’d done. All the ways in which he’d hurt me. As strong as my feelings for him were, I couldn’t do it. No way.
“Even if your offer was genuine, which it obviously isn’t, I wouldn’t need your help to get out of here, because I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here with you. My Master.” I gave him a sweet smile.
That was what he truly wanted to hear.
I knew if I agreed with him and said the contract wasn’t real and I didn’t want to be here, his tune would change and he would reveal that it was just more silver-tongued trickery. More testing to see what a loyal slave I was. I was sure of it, and I’d already made a vow earlier to never fall for it again. I wasn’t going to go back on that vow within just two or three hours.
No, I was stronger than that now. More resolved than ever. I didn’t need his false promises of help. I had my own plan to get out of here. A realplan.
Elias put his hand on my shoulder again, fingertips slowly stroking me. “I know why you don’t trust me. I get it. You’re scared. But I’m not going to give up. I’ll wait as long as it takes, and when you’re ready to accept my help, I’ll try my best to get you out.”
I let out a sharp, angry breath. “You’ll be waiting forever.”
“Tatum, please. Just think about it.”
My head was pounding again. It felt like my skull was trapped in a vise, and my guts were still churning. “I feel sick. I need to sleep off this flu or whatever it is.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Fine. I’ll have someone from the medical wing come and see you later. For now, I’ll leave you to get some rest. But I meant what I said. I’m not giving up.”
“Right,” I muttered. “Sure.”
“I know you don’t believe me, but at least trust me on this: we need to act like everything is normal. Like I don’t know anything. It’s the only way I can keep you safe for now. Okay?”
Jesus, he was really laying it on thick.
“Okay,” I said.
“I’ll be back later. Don’t say a word about this to anyone.”
I didn’t intend to. Why would I? It was all a load of crap. I nodded anyway, just to keep the peace and get him out of here as fast as possible.
Elias stared at me for another long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he strode over to the door.
As I watched him leave, I could still feel his hand on my arm, the place where he caressed me burning like a brand.