The Wedding Debt (Underworld Kings)

Easton pulls back a chair and beckons me to sit. “How long ago did you escape?”

“An hour ago, sir,” I say, staring at the clock.

It feels so much shorter than that.

Like it happened only minutes ago.

“Are they looking for you now?”

I nod. “Please, don’t send me back to them, sir.”

He reaches across the table and holds out his hand. It’s warm and gentle and everything I need right now to make me cry.

“I will do my best to keep you safe, Jill.”

“I can’t go back. Not to my own family or to the De Vos family,” I say. “But I don’t have any money or a place to stay.”

He looks me in the eyes and says, “I will take care of it.”

“I … I …” I don’t know how to respond.

Can Easton really help me?

I barely know him, apart from some conversations we had while my family was having dinner here. He’s a few years older than I am, but he built an empire from the ground up. Maybe this man does know more about the world I come from than he lets on.

Why else would my parents come here so often?

“You can trust me,” Easton says, squeezing my hand.

What other choice do I have than to believe him?

“Do you want me to help you?” he asks. “Think carefully about what this means. You won’t be able to see your family again. It’s too dangerous.”

I don’t need a second thought. “Yes. Help me.”

He sucks in a breath and holds it, his body tensing up. “All right,” he says, raising a brow. “But …”

Of course there is always a but.

“But?”

“My help is not for free.”

I take in a breath. “I understand that.”

I wonder what his price is, though.

“Good. You’ll have to work for me.”

That … seems stupidly easy compared to what I would have to go through if I had stayed with the De Vos family. If Luca had his way with me.

I smile, shaking my head. “That’s all?”

He smiles back in a way that makes me feel welcome. “That’s all.”

Three years later

* * *

When the sewing machine stops, I pull out the little dress I made and hold it over the doll. A big grin forms on my face. It fits perfectly.

“Amazing!” Charlotte, Easton’s wife, says, snatching it out of my hand to look at it. “I can’t believe you made this all by hand.” She puts it over the doll until it fits snugly. “Perfect. Just what I was looking for.”

“Thank you,” I reply.

I always take pride in my work. I never thought I’d end up enjoying making clothes as much as I do, but when Easton told me to get busy with the fabrics he gave me, I never stopped. He probably knew I had a penchant for designing the most extravagant dresses. Though, I doubt he’d realize I’d eventually end up making them for the tiniest of models. And that I’d be working for his wife.

I smile at her. “Do you think the girls will like them?”

“Of course!” Charlotte exclaims, stuffing the doll in a box. She grabs some wrapping paper and covers the box until it looks pretty, sticking on a bow for the final touch. “There. The perfect gift for a kid in need. I’ll need plenty more!”

I blush. It’s really humbling to know that my work will make someone happy, especially when that someone is a little kid who doesn’t have anyone else in the world. I wish I could give them so much more. If I had my family’s wealth, it would’ve all been possible.

I sigh out loud.

At least Easton kept me out of harm's way for so long. It’s a miracle my family hasn’t found me yet. I even wore a wig in the beginning so no one would recognize me, but now I just cut my own hair short and keep my business outside the house brief.

Easton knows just how to avoid the De Vos and Baas gaze by keeping them so close they’d never suspect him of anything. And it helps that he has spies all over town to tell him when I need to lay low for a while.

“Something the matter?” Charlotte says.

“Oh, nothing,” I say, shaking my head. “I was just lost in my own thoughts, that’s all.”

I look away at the door, where Nick, Easton’s most trusted guard, is dutifully guarding the place. Easton never wants Charlotte to go unaccompanied. Not because he doesn’t trust her, but because he involves himself with dangerous men who could try something at any time.

Like my father and …

Just the thought of the De Vos family makes my throat clamp up.

“Oh … Of course,” Charlotte muses.

“Huh?”

“You like Nick, don’t you?”

My eyes widen, and my cheeks turn red. “What? Why would you—”

“Oh, c’mon, I’ve seen you look at him,” she says, winking. “I can tell when something’s going on.”