I hear the person coming closer and I raise my head, a smile pulling at the corners of my lips. I bet it’s Cruz. The footfalls are too quick for King. He likes to take his time, where if it were Grayson, I wouldn’t be able to hear anything until he was already standing right in front of me. He’s a lot like Carver in that way. They’re both silently lethal, and though it’s scary as hell, it’s also one of the most attractive things I’ve ever witnessed.
I turn to face the hallway just as I expect Cruz to walk out in front of my cell. “Where the hell have you been all of my life?” I say, a smirk kicking up the corners of my mouth just in time to see the older version of Cruz step out before me.
My eyes widen as I take in Mr. Danforth, desperately wishing those cringey words hadn’t slipped out of my mouth. I get to my feet and cautiously watch as he walks straight to the door of the cell. He slowly raises his gaze to meet mine. “Congratulations, Miss Ravenwood. You’re free to go home.”
I’ve pictured this moment a million times over the past few days. In my head, I’d run to the door and fly out of it faster than humanly possible. I’d run, I’d cheer, I’d tell everyone I pass that they can go and suck my big dick because I was free. So why the hell am I just standing here gaping at the guy?
“Um … what?” I ask, my face twisting in confusion. “What do you mean I’m free? I thought I was going to be stuck here for months before someone pulled their head out of their ass and changed the vote.”
“It seems that the vote has been changed in your favor,” he tells me, slipping the key into the lock and opening my cell to stand before me. “What are you waiting for? Would you prefer to stay?”
My eyes bug out of my head and I get my feet moving. “Fuck no.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I dart out of the cell, and Mr. Danforth closes the door behind me, causing me to jump at the sharp bang of the metal sliding back into place. It’s a noise that I will never be okay with; it grinds on my nerves and gives me the worst kind of anxiety that, hopefully, I’ll be able to conquer one day. Though, I could save myself a lot of trouble and try not to end up in someone’s shitty cell ever again.
Good plan.
Mr. Danforth silently walks beside me, leading me out of the long hallway, and with each step I take, I pick up my pace. My muscles ache from being so cramped and not being able to really move. My back has been screaming since the first night sleeping on the cold ground beside Cruz, and my neck hates me after attempting to spend the next three nights sleeping on the hard bed.
I can’t wait to get back to my place. I think I’ll lock myself in the bathroom and set up a bath fit for a queen. I’m thinking rose petals, a glass of champagne, I might even pretend to read a book, and then afterward, put on a silk robe that makes me feel like the most exotic creature who ever walked the planet. I’m going to live it up. I’m going to enjoy my freedom and remind myself why the hell I valued life in the first place.
But I just have to make one little stop first.
We walk for what feels like forever until we finally break out into the massive reception room and I find three no-good, deathly enticing men standing at the opposite end. Everything clenches inside me and a wicked smile pulls at my lips.
Fuck, that’s why I love freedom. I think after I spend the rest of the day pampering myself, I’m going to spend the night with King and Cruz buried deep inside of me, and hell, if Grayson is down, then he can join in the party too.
“My son seems quite taken by you,” Mr. Danforth comments beside me, his voice a whisper, yet somehow still traveling the distance of the room and making Cruz straighten and narrow his gaze at his father.
I glance across at Mr. Danforth, my brows furrowed as I try to get a good read on him. “Why do I get the feeling that you don’t approve?”
He slices his eyes forward, keeping them trained on the three guys at the other end of the room. “It’s not that I don’t approve, though don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly thrilled that the woman he’s choosing to spend his time with is someone who’s just been locked away for four days on murder charges. You are the leader of Dynasty, there’s no one better suited for my son. However, it’s not how we do things.”