Page 73 of Ruthless Prince

“None of the higher members would help, because they know the truth. The regular ones wouldn’t help either, but they’d still wonder what’s going on and start gossiping. Especially the brand new ones, like your friend Simone. So it’s better to minimize attention at thebeginning.”

I shook my head. “This is so fuckedup.”

“Get used to it.” He glanced at his watch again. “You should get some more rest. I need to go and talk to Mal andAdam.”

My cheeks flushed with furious heat. “Don’t you dare leave me in here aloneagain!”

Logan lowered his face to my level. His gaze was cold enough to turn my blood to ice. “It’s cute how you’re trying to fight back, but I’m warning you now: I will get sick of it. Things will go much better for you if you drop the attitude and speak to me withrespect.”

“I’ll speak to you however I want,” I said. “You can claim ownership of me, but I’ll never accept it. You’ll never own me, and I’ll never do what yousay.”

“We’ll see about that.” He rose to his full height, towering over me. “You always pretend to be strong, Willow, but we both know it’s anact.”

I narrowed my eyes. “It’s not. I’ll never give in toyou.”

“You will.” He smiled. “I’ve been watching you for a long time. When you’re in public, you put on this ridiculous show to prove you’re the perfect presidential daughter. You act like you’re strong, smart, friendly, and confident. It’s all bullshit. I’ve seen the real you. Underneath it all, you’re just a weak, quiveringmess.”

His words shot an arrow of hurt straight through myheart.

“Y-you’re wrong,” I said, desperately wishing my shaky voice would stop betraying me. “You made me think I was losing my mind. You made me terrified of everything. That wasn’t my fault. It wasn’tmyweakness.”

Logan lifted his brows. “You were an anxious mess a long time before that. All I did was exacerbateit.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Imuttered.

Logan didn’t reply. He strode out of the room, and a soft click from the other side of the door let me know I was locked inagain.

I lay back on the bed for the next hour or so, stewing in my thoughts. I kept hoping I’d wake up and realize it was all a nightmare or terrible hallucination, but deep down, I knew it was real. I could tell by the stomach-gnawing feeling of dread and the cold sweat on the back of myneck.

When Logan returned, he had my shoes, mauve pashmina and a thick coat. “Put these on. We’re landingsoon.”

I did as he said, refusing to look him in the eye. When the jet finally touched down and came to a grinding halt, he led me out of the bedroom suite at the back and down onto thetarmac.

It was jarringly cold outside. The sky was equal parts indigo and gray, streaked with rosy pink and gold as the sun rose above the horizon to kiss the fluffyclouds.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking around. Nothing but trees and wild grass surrounded thetarmac.

“Private airfield,” was Logan’s only response. He stepped over to a sleek black car idling by the plane and opened one of the passenger doors for me. Then he strode around to the other side and gotin.

Adam and Mal stood by the car, hands clasped in front of them. Their eyes were hidden by darksunglasses.

“Please get in, ma’am,” Mal said, nodding toward the opendoor.

I glared at them. “Are you two really in onthis?”

They didn’trespond.

“You know what will happen to you when I get away and tell everyone what happened to me, right?” I said. “You’ll be just as screwed as theThornes.”

“Some people are above the law, ma’am,” Mal said. He gestured to the car door again. “Please don’t make us force youin.”

“No one is above the law. You’ll all pay,” I said under my breath as I grudgingly slid into the car. The seats were heated, and the cozy warmth made me want to close my eyes and slip into a deep slumber. At the same time, my racing mind made it impossible tosleep.

Logan didn’t speak to me as the car made its way across the pretty green countryside. I didn’t care. I was grateful for the respite from his scathingcomments.

Just before seven, we reached the outskirts of a metropolitan area. My eyes widened as I recognized an old building. I turned to Logan. “You’re taking me back toD.C?”

“Yes.”