Page 49 of Pretty When She Breaks

Oddly, there had been no security knocking on the door, despite the amount of noise she had made. I’d been prepared to wake her up and send her to head them off, but it hadn’t been needed.

Kaos was lying on the couch, eyes on the ceiling. I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping with his eyes open or just doing that thing he did when he zoned out. Now that the anger that had pushed him here had faded, he was quiet, the usual buzzing static coming from his end of the bond.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s see if she has anything useful recorded.”

Things always seemed a little less strained between us when we were both working, at least. With a sigh, Kaos got up and followed me to Laurel’s workroom.

TWENTY-SEVEN

THE DUCHESS

I’d calmed down, and now it was time to face what had happened to me.

I’d been dark bonded.

There was nothing I could do about it, so I had to find my angle.

If there was a chance of me having any power at all in this relationship, it had to start now. I’d already dissolved into hysterics in front of them, so I had to salvage their perception of me.

Straightening, I wiped my eyes and sat down at my vanity to fix my makeup and hair. I changed out of my clothes, into a pair of neat, pressed pants and a button-up. After shrugging on a blazer, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked confident, and I felt a bit better. I didn’t know what was coming for me, but I could at least keep my dignity intact.

I stood at my door, unable to exit due to the command I’d been given. It was the dark bond at work—whatever they ordered me to do, I’d be compelled to follow. I opened thedoor and saw they were in my workspace. I was more prepared for their scents now, but they still were potent, like breathing a deep breath of winter air.

“I’d like to come out,” I said, crossing my arms.

The skinny one had tucked all his long hair back into a beanie. He was sitting at my workbench, wearing round soldering goggles as he fiddled with my wires. His face looked gaunt in the bright light, and he didn’t acknowledge me.

The other alpha stepped fully into view, regarding me with a tense expression. There was a moment of silence, and I fought back a flare of irritation as he raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t leave,” I said, keeping my voice light, “until you release your command.”

“I think I’d like to start with some ground rules.” The bite mark he’d given me throbbed. “First, you won’t hurt us or attempt to hurt us. You won’t communicate with anyone about us, your dark bond, or our plan. You will do everything you can to conceal that mark. And you won’t lie to us.”

I shivered as the commands settled in place, like a dark weight pressing against my mind. My nod wasn’t required, but I offered it anyway so he could see I was being amenable. Honestly, those rules were…surprisingly mild. Though, if these criminals were planning a play against my father, perhaps they didn’t want to hurt me. For now.

“All right. You can come out.”

I stepped primly through the door, keeping my head high as I continued until I could see both of them properly. I needed to keep a brave face. These strangers were unknown, and I wanted to stay on their good side until I came up with a way out of this mess.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” I said, tilting my head to the side and exposing my neck in a way that should put them at ease.

Beanie turned around, flipping up the shaded part of his goggles to look at me properly. His eyes were large, deep pits of black.

It was doing something to me, though, having him look directly at me like that. Seeing past the shiny smile and trying to catch a glimpse ofme.My father always assumed I didn’t have a brain, and that attitude seemed par for the course with most of the alphas I met.

But I supposed that sitting at my soldering bench might be a clue that my head wasn’t empty.

I took a breath, trying to compose myself.

What would Jule tell me?

Look for your angle. There’s always an angle.

“I’m Laurel Fairchild. Though, can I hazard a guess that you already knew that?”

“I’m Finch,” said the alpha with the glasses. “That’s Kaos.” He pointed at the skeleton beside him. “You’ve already met our last packmate, Ocean.”

“Yes, he was at my suite tonight,” I replied carefully.