She’s going to agree.
She’s going to be mine.
My toy.
8
Lexi
If I leave this car, I’ll never get another chance again.
The thought slams into me like a fist to the gut. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to hand out second chances to anyone. This is it. This is the only shot I have to save Axel.
I swallow hard. My throat is dry, tight. “What will I have to do?”
He shakes his head, that infuriating smirk still playing at his lips. “That’s not how this works. It’s not a fucking job interview. You’re either out or you’re in.”
My hands are shaking. I ball them into fists on my lap. “Fine. I’m in. Now tell me.”
An evil grin takes over his face. Slow. Deliberate. Like watching a predator bare its teeth.
I feel uncomfortable watching the ideas churn in his mind, like I can see the gears turning behind those cold gray eyes. What the hell is he planning?
He starts the car. The engine roars to life.
Then he takes off at full speed.
The tires screech. My body slams back against the seat. My hand shoots out to grip the door handle as the campus blurs past the window.
Oh, fuck.What the hell did I just sign up for?
“Axel’s off the hook, right?” My voice comes out smaller than I want it to.
He nods once. Short. Final.
“Do I have your word?”
“Depends if you pass this test first.”
My stomach drops. “Test?”
He nods but doesn’t elaborate. Just keeps driving, both hands on the wheel, jaw tight.
The rest of the drive is quiet. Suffocating. I watch his grip on the steering wheel tighten until his knuckles turn white. Watch his jaw tick, muscle jumping under the skin. He’s terrifying and filled with rage—rage and stories I don’t know and don’t want to know.
I’m scared about what I just agreed to.
If I were a brother, this wouldn’t be happening, right? If I were a boy, my name would’ve been Ethan, and he’d be offering me a job, a place in the hierarchy. But because I’m a girl, because I have a body he can use, I’m something else entirely.
My mind spirals. How is he going to take advantage of me? What exactly does “full access” mean?
I get sick to my stomach.
We leave campus. The streetlights disappear. Buildings give way to trees, trees to nothing. Just dark road stretching endlessly ahead, swallowed by night. And he’s flying it. He doesn’t drive safe, and I think we’re going to crash about five different times. I’m starting to panic.
In the middle of nowhere, he pulls over. Gravel crunches under the tires. He cuts the engine. My heart pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears.
“Run.”
