On opposite sides of her sat Xavier and her lawyer, who looked way too unsure of himself for my liking. We’d sent someone who stood a chance, of course, but Braxton had refused to accept our help. I was willing to bet she’d ate into most of the paltry advance Savant had given her to hire this amateur and all to prove a point.
At least she hadn’t turned away Xavier, not that he would have listened.
Heading in Braxton’s direction, I shook his hand as we passed, and then we commandeered the wall behind Braxton before anyone thought to protest.
“What are you three doing here?” Carl spat from the other end of the table. “I made it clear I’d deal with you later.”
Loren snorted and smiled. “Hilarious. I’ve been utterly bored these last few weeks. Why don’t you deal with us now?”
Rather than get upset, Carl returned his smile as he sat back in his chair and drummed his fingers on the arms. His gaze shifted to each of us before he spoke. “I thought you’d be smarter, knowing what happens to you, yet you’re trying to help her anyway.” Shrugging, he looked down at the papers in front of him as he shuffled them around. “I guess the rumors are true.”
He looked up then to wink at Braxton, and I slammed my arm across Loren’s chest to keep him in place before he could even finish stepping forward.
Fucking up Carl would only make things worse for Braxton.
I didn’t remove my arm even after Loren relaxed. A calm Loren was just as unpredictable as a homicidal Loren. I glanced at Rich standing on my other side to gauge where his head was and if he’d force me to restrain him too.
He was staring at Braxton like he was stuck in time.
She pretended we weren’t even here.
I was pretty certain Jericho hadn’t heard a single word spoken since we stepped inside the room, but I could see the wheels in his mind turning. I could see him searching for the right words to say to her. Even if he found them, this was so not the time.
“Not now,” I whispered to him. Rich gave no indication that he heard me. Not one.
“What happens to them?” Braxton inquired, drawing my attention from my drummer and Carl’s focus back to her.
I heard Rich’s subtle but sharp inhale at the sound of her voice and even felt Loren’s heart lurch through his chest and underneath my arm. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out a way to steer Braxton off this course. I’d given Xavier specific instructions, though he hadn’t agreed, not to tell her a goddamn thing.
She was always meant to find freedom in darkness.
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with,” Carl answered her dismissively. To us, he said, “You see, there was no need for the three of you to ride in on your white steeds. I’m fully prepared to let Braxton out of her contract today. Everyone wins.”
And by everyone, he means Braxton and him.
There would be no salvation for us today.
Carl Cole would get what he wanted, and we helped it come to fruition. I should have been angry, but all I felt was relief. I—
“What. Happens. To. Them?” Braxton demanded.
Her forceful tone had yanked me from my thoughts, startling everyone in the room, including Carl. I could feel Xavier’s stare. I could hear him silently begging me to tell her.
I ignored him.
It wasn’t Braxton’s problem. She shouldn’t have to pay for our mistakes when she was already hurting from our lies.
Frustrated by Cole’s silence, she turned around in her seat to face us.
Just like that, I was catapulted back into her orbit.
I was home.
Braxton’s gaze was stern as she waited for one of us to crack and answer her burning question. “Tell me,” she demanded when our lips refused to move. That desperate note almost broke me, but I held. We all did.
It didn’t matter in the end.
No one, least of all Bound, was prepared for Oni Sridhar to break the weighted silence.
“In exchange for our complete financial support, Savant Records has a vested interest in all streams of revenue earned by Bound, including profits that would normally be denied to us under a traditional deal.” She paused when Braxton turned to face her, tempting me to wipe that patronizing smile from her face. “If they so much as sell a pencil with their name on it, dear, we get sixty percent of the profit. That’s across the board.”
Oni glanced our way, and for the first time, I swore I actually glimpsed guilt in her eyes. I didn’t care, though, not when she continued speaking, thwarting our attempt to protect Braxton from the guilt I knew she’d feel when Oni was done.
If Braxton stayed, I needed it to be because she wanted to.