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“We just came back into her life,” I say softly. “We can’t mess with everything.”

Sighing as we arrive at her apartment door, I turn so that Lili can grab my kit. She can unlock the door as easily as I can. If I can tuck Rachelle into bed without her waking up, then that’s my mission.

Maybe she’ll sleep better. I just hope she doesn’t wake up to nightmares. I remember how bad they used to be. If I was greedy, I’d say let’s grab her meds and leave, but that also wouldn’t be fair to her. I won’t move her into Lili’s house until she’s ready.

A second later, the door is unlocked, and I step inside to see a cold, unfeeling apartment.

Shuddering in revulsion, I wait for Lili to close the door before I walk to the bedroom and turn on a small lamp.

Rachelle doesn’t so much as twitch as I lay her into the bed, and Lili makes a beeline for the medication on a table.

Taking photos of the labels, she moves to the bathroom to see what else is there while I pull the covers over Rachelle’s body. I hate everything about this place. There’s no light or memories. It feels sad and empty.

It would honestly make anyone sad and depressed.

“Ignacio, let’s go,” Lili whispers, pulling me away with her voice.

“It’s so hard to leave,” I sigh as I walk.

“Let’s come over for breakfast?” she suggests. “We have errands in the afternoon. I want to see how she is. She had three other meds in her bathroom, and one is an antipsychotic.”

“What?” I ask, eyes narrowing.

“Let’s put your research skills on this, baby,” she says as we leave. “Something isn’t right.”

ELIJAH

“Do you think she’ll show up today?” I ask, almost bouncing on the heels of my shoes.

We put hidden video cameras up so we could watch her work. Getting in her face at the shop is counter productive, so we decided that we’d walk her home. I don’t know if Lili and Nacio will insist on doing that.

I hope not.

The journal has revealed some really interesting things. Rachelle has mentioned certain medications that she’s taking, and how she feels fuzzy when she takes something called Haldol. We didn’t see that medication on her table, which means we missed it.

Theo noticed that when she takes that medication, her writing gets very random and her thoughts will stray. I wonder if it’s an older prescription that she isn’t taking anymore. Either way, I don’t like it.

“She’ll show,” Jared murmurs. “I don’t think she wants to be hunted again, and her stepfather said she should continue working at the shop.”

“There she is,” Theo crows, showing us the video feed of her walking through the door. “Let’s get to work, boys. We’ll be able to check on her throughout the night.”

Sighing, I stick my hands in my pockets as I head downstairs to the dungeon. Halfway through the night, in true fashion, my ear comm is dangling on my shoulder, and my earplugs are in place as I watch over everything. For being a sex club, it’s pretty easy going.

I am easily desensitized by my surroundings, and while my earplugs are in, they only block out the background noise. I can easily hear my managers or the people closest to me.

Before I know it, everyone is leaving, and I leave the closing down of the dungeon to the lead manager when I’m not here.

“Night, boss,” she says as I wave goodbye to her.

I want to see Rachelle, know how her night was, and if I can get her to talk to me at all. Even if it’s to tell me to fuck all the way off.

Now that makes me hard. I never said I was normal. Quite the opposite in fact.

“Ready?” Theo asks with a smirk as I appear.

“Yeah,” I say with a tired smile as I pop out my earplugs and put them into their carrying case.

They accept my quirks because they’re a part of me.

I hope we can hold space for Rachelle like that, even if it’s different from normal people.

We crave danger and fear in equal measures with our love.

A part of me even hopes to try to mend things with Ignacio, but I don’t know if things will ever be the same.

He chose her, and we chose wrong.

Slipping through the back door of the shop with the guys, I smile at Brea.

“How were things today?” I ask her.

She speaks more with Theo, so she gazes at the three of us with surprise.

“They were busy,” she says, wide eyed. “It’s been a relief to have Rachel back, though. I think she’ll have clients for as long as she’s here.”

Theo keeps his voice lowered because Rachelle is still in the shop up front. I can hear her chatting with someone as she rings them up.

“How are you handling her tarot card readings?” he asks. “Is the store collecting the money or is she getting it?”

“I tip her out for her readings,” Brea says, affronted. “They’re forty-five dollars each, and she received the full payment.”

“Good,” Theo says, sighing.

“It’s an extra service, is what Theo means,” Jared explains. “We’re grateful she’s adding to the shop’s value, and she should receive that money.”

Brea continues to stare at us as if we’ve grown several heads, and I clear my throat.

“We’re going to head out,” I say. “We just wanted to check in and see how she was doing since she missed work so early in her employment history with us.”

“Bah,” Brea says, flicking her fingers at me. “Sometimes, people are sick and can’t come in. Don’t hold that against the girl.”

After reassuring her that we wouldn’t, I start walking toward the front of the store. Cursing under my breath, I see her hair as she begins to cross the street.

“Don’t chase her,” Theo mutters as we push our way through the door and begin to trail Rachelle. “Let’s avoid freaking her out.”

Knowing he’s right, our long strides catch up to her at the next intersection.

“Fancy meeting you here,” I say with a smirk.

Watching as she purses her lips at me, I tell myself that she’s simply caught between a smirk and a snarl. It’s not my fault she’s stuck.

“What are you doing?” Rachelle asks as she glances both ways and begins to cross the street.

“Walking you home?” Jared asks with a shrug.

“Why?” she asks, sounding tired.

“We wanted to talk to you about something,” I say quickly, glancing at the guys for help.

“I’m listening…” she says.

“Did you have a chance to have dinner before coming into work?” Jared asks, glancing at a diner that’s still open that we’re going to pass soon.

“Um,” her cheeks get rosy as if we caught her doing something wrong. “I had a snack when my alarm went off because I wasn’t hungry at the time.”

“Then why don’t you grab a very late dinner with us?” I suggest, pointing out the restaurant.

She glares at the establishment for a moment, but I’m unsure why.

“Is there something wrong with it?” Jared asks, confused.

“I don’t think I’ve eaten in a restaurant in years,” she admits.

Rachelle has been so fucking sheltered because of our actions.

“Would it stress you out?” I ask.

“Once I’m outside, I tend to be alright,” she says. “It’s psyching myself up to leave that’s the issue.”

“I’ve never been here before, but diner food tends to be all the same,” Theo says, moving toward it.

Rachelle looks caught between wanting to go and not, and I place my hand on her back to help.

“Let us buy you a meal,” I say, applying a little pressure. I know that she could simply use her stun gun on me. It is already in her hand, and notice now that she was walking with it the entire time. Smart girl.

“Fine,” she agrees, her feet beginning to move. “It’s not like I don’t have money.”

“Did Brea tip you out for the tarot reading?” Jared asks, brow raised.

“Yeah, she did. There were four today. I didn’t realize they’d be so popular when she suggested it,” she says.

“It makes sense, and it’s a sound business decision,” I add. “Brea really is the reason the shop is thriving.”

“How are the rest of your, ah, businesses?” she asks as Theo holds open the door.

What she doesn’t realize is that Theo isn’t one to hold open doors or do anything chivalrous. She’s wearing a black jumpsuit today with a lace shirt underneath it, her black lipstick completing the aesthetic she’s going for.

Her hair curls around her, and she looks painfully beautiful. A dead girl come back to life.

There aren’t many people as we go inside, and we choose a corner booth where we place Rachelle in the middle. Her back is to a wall, and after her eyes gaze at the exits and the fact that no one can creep up on her, she relaxes a little.

Handing her a menu from where there’s a pile at the table, I watch as a waitress nods at us before picking up plates for another set of customers.

“What do you enjoy about tarot reading?” I ask her suddenly. It’s something that I’ve been wondering about.

“A lot of people think it’s about fortune telling, but I don’t see it like that,” she explains.

“I like that it gives insight to people’s situations, and that there’s no such thing as a bad card.

It’s more about direction and self-reflection.

I also like the fact that it helps give people peace about what they’re going through. ”

It makes a lot of sense that she turned to reading tarot when her life was so mixed up.

“I watched a couple of your saved videos,” Theo confesses. “Did you use a voice changer?”

“Of course you found my social media profile,” she sighs, tapping something on the menu as if she’s decided. “I did, because I was worried about someone finding me.”

“I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have information that allowed me to,” Theo says in defense. “It’s connected to your phone number.”

“Of all the damn mystic shops in all the world,” she whispers.

“You walked into ours,” I finish, grinning.

Her lips twitch as she hides what I’m convinced is a smile, and I glance at the menu, deciding on a burger. It’s difficult to fuck up a burger, right?

“What can I get for you?” the waitress asks. She has curly blonde hair, is in her forties, but still has a smile on her face despite the hour.

We all place our order while she nods and writes it down.

“I’ll get this into the kitchen, and then bring it out. Our cook is pretty fast,” she says before walking away.

“There’s something about the late hour that always makes me hungry,” Jared says.

“Calvin usually has snacks for us in the fridge, but sometimes I just want junk food,” I admit.

“Calvin?” Rachelle asks.

“Yes, I stole him away from my parents,” Jared says with a wry grin. “I don’t think he wanted to work for them anymore after I finished school.”

“I could always tell that you were special to him,” she whispers, remembering the last time she tried to say something nice about Calvin before glancing away.

“Rachelle,” Jared says gently. Rachelle is blinking quickly, semi-trapped in the past. He tugs gently on one of her curls, the pain effectively helping to pull her out.

“Ow,” she mutters, pulling away.

“I was wrong for overreacting about the photos,” he says.

“Calvin was so damn happy about them, and they were proudly displayed. I was angry because he’s one of the staples in my life.

Outside of my best friends, he’s the person who’s always been proud of me.

I was irrationally pissed about you doing something nice. ”

“I did it for him,” she says staunchly. “Calvin asked me for a favor, and I said yes.”

“Do you always keep your promises?” Theo asks, a strange glint in his eyes.

Fuck, what is he up to now?

“Mostly, yes,” she says with a nod.

The waitress returns with our drinks, and Rachelle opens her straw before sticking it in her water glass to take a sip. Biding his time to ensure she doesn’t choke, Theo watches her.

“What if I asked you to seriously get to know us. Could you promise to give us a chance?” he asks.

“I do know you,” she says innocently. “You’re not good men.”

“That’s not true,” I say. “We may not be the best men, but you don’t know us.”

“You also heard your stepfather. He asked you to spend time with us,” Jared insists. “What will you tell him when he asks?”

“He won’t,” she says. “Emil is a very busy man. He won’t remember something like that.”

Pulling out his phone, Theo pulls up the camera app and holds it up.

“Smile, Rachel,” he says before snapping a phone. While the three of us grin widely, she looks as if she’s a deer in the headlights. I know Theo purposely used her fake name to continue to ensure she’s safe.

Just because we have ulterior motives, doesn’t mean that we want to fuck up her safety from the Kings Society. Rachelle Reyes will remain dead for as long as necessary. Theo texts someone before smirking.

“Your stepfather says he’s glad that you’re giving us a chance,” he says, showing Rachelle the message.

Jared snickers as he reads the rest of the text.

“If you hurt her, I’ll make Liliana cut your balls off,” he reads.

“I don’t doubt that she would,” I say, shuddering. “Liliana has gotten really fucking scary.”

“So what will it be?” Theo asks, waving his phone in the air.

“One date each,” Rachelle agrees.

“Three,” I negotiate. “This one doesn’t count. How else will you learn about us?”

“Two,” she counters. “I still say that I know more than I could ever want to. I also do not have to behave in any manner that you may think I should.”

As the food comes, I refuse to let her words bother me. All I hear is a promise.

She’ll come around. She has to.