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  Kai swallows hard as she stares at me, still gripping my hand. Pleading with me to not do this. To let her win. She loves me; she should be the one that sacrifices herself.

  I can’t.

  I can’t lose you. I love you too. I just can’t tell you that.

  “What’s the next game?” Kai asks.

  Milo pretends to think as a waitress comes up and brings him a drink so he can more thoroughly enjoy watching us fight like gladiators to be taken and eventually killed by a man we both hate.

  “Speed. Touch the wall ten times and back. The first one to finish wins,” Milo answers.

  Again, not a fair fight and he knows it. But I don’t care. I just want this over. Rip the bandaid off and force me away from Kai. Because the longer this drags on, the harder it is for both of us.

  We both walk to the far wall and touch it with our hand.

  “Go,” Milo says.

  We start running with everything we have. Kai is fast, but I’m faster.

  Ten turns we run, and I’m thankful this game is something that involves my lungs burning. Running always gives me time to clear my head, and this time is no different. I take the last turn and head to the final wall, with Kai far behind.

  I touch the wall easily, breathing heavily. Kai stops in her tracks, panting quickly herself as she grips her knees. She gave everything she had to the game, but it wasn’t enough.

  Our eyes meet again, and I see the pain and desperation there. Two wins down, one more and it’s over. One more and I win.

  “What’s the final game?” I pant.

  “So sure you are going to win?” Milo looks to Kai. “But then your competition is nothing but a weak whore, so I guess you should be cocky.”

  I watch as Kai’s fists ball, the veins in her arms pop, and her eyes shoot daggers. He just ignited every drop of strength in her body. I have no doubt if we were to redo either of the last two games, she would win.

  I try to get Kai’s attention, so I can get her to calm down. Remind her that me winning is for the best. But she doesn’t look at me. She’s still in a stare-down with Milo.

  “What is the final game?” I repeat.

  “Strategy, bluffing, and a little bit of luck. You will play one hand of poker; the winner wins the third game,” he says.

  Fuck. One hand of poker is more about luck than anything else. It involves very little strategy or bluffing.

  Milo snaps his fingers, and one of his men come out carrying a deck of cards. We all take a seat around the table, and Milo starts shuffling. He knew the games all along. And even though it feels like just the three of us out here, his men are watching.

  I smirk. It’s not just his men who are watching.

  Milo starts dealing and Kai still won’t look at me. She’s too focused on winning, on begging the cards to give her a winning hand.

  I look down at my hand—three aces, a nine, and a six.

  It’s a strong hand.

  I indicate I want to keep my cards.

  Kai glances up at me, looking at me for the first time, and she knows my hand is strong. It’s almost like Milo purposefully dealt me a strong hand. She’s about to lose.

  She returns all of her cards for five new ones.

  There is no reason to bet, you either win it all or lose it all. There is no strategy, no bluffing. It’s all luck of the cards.

  I win with my three of a kind. I know it.

  I flop my five cards over, delivering the blow to Kai quickly.

  When she sees the cards, she exhales all the oxygen in her lungs.

  And then she sadly turns her cards over. A flush. She wins.

  Fuck.

  I stare at Milo, trying to determine if he helped her win or not. But he just shakes her head not believing it either.

  He had planned for me to win three rounds straight. It would hurt her worse to know she was never even a real option for Milo. He likes playing with his food before killing his prey.

  Her eyes light up a little bit when she realizes Milo doesn’t have another game planned. She threw him for a loop, and that means she has a chance because he doesn’t have time to think through his next two games.

  “What’s next? Squats to test leg strength? Shooting? Stealing? Who can suck your dick better? What?” Kai asks.

  And I know he’s going to fall for it. She threw in one game she is actually better at along with a bunch of ridiculous games. And his brain isn’t working fast enough.

  “Thievery. The next game is to see who is better at stealing. The first person to return with a wallet without alerting the person or security to what you are doing wins. And don’t even think about trying to leave. My team has the building surrounded,” Milo says.

  Kai tries to hide the delight in her eyes, but I see it. She could win this game in her sleep.

  She starts running down the stairs to the club, and I follow after her.

  “That’s cheating,” I hiss in her ear.

  “Oh, really? And I thought this game would be fought fairly what with all the ridiculous strength games. It’s clear Milo has no clue the types of games we actually compete in to win Black. You aren’t a guaranteed winner just because you are stronger. And if Milo takes you in order to use you to get the Black empire, I will fight harder than I’ve ever fought before. I won’t let him take everything generations of our families have worked to win.”

  She turns and walks out to the dance floor.

  I’m counting on it. If I go with Milo, I want Kai to win. I want her to have all the power of the world. With the army behind her, she can destroy Milo. I’ll end up as collateral damage, but it doesn’t matter. I thought the best way to protect her was to keep her out of it for so long. But every time I’m around her and get a glimpse of her strength, I realize my own mistake and preconceptions. She might be best off if she wins. She’s strong enough to run an empire, and the men who would work for her would take a bullet for her without a second thought because she would make an amazing ruler. And she would earn the men’s trust.

  Whether she chooses to become Black or not, she will be safe. But I’m not sure if it will be up to her. There are more rules to the game she has yet to discover. And I’m not sure she can meet the final qualification to rule.

  I try to focus on my task and find the drunkest person here to try and steal from. Women would be easier to seduce than a man, and then I could steal a wallet, but I don’t see a single woman with a wallet or purse on her. I’m sure they all have their money tucked away in their bras, or they didn’t bring any money at all knowing a man would pay for it.

  Kai spots me scouring the crowd for an easy target. She winks at me, downs her drink, and then bumps into a man in a suit minus the jacket. He’s tall, dark, and handsome—every woman’s dream. The suit fits him well, his sleeves are rolled up, revealing fit arms, and his hair is still in place despite dancing on the dance floor where countless women have run their hands through his hair. He looks happy and content. If it was me, I would be a sweaty, scowling mess no woman would dare approach.

  I can’t take my eyes off Kai as she laughs and strokes his bare forearm as she apologizes for running into him.

  He asks her if she wants a drink. She nods. And the man leaves, but she turns toward where I’m still standing and starts walking, not waiting for the drink.

  She got the wallet. I don’t know how, but she did.

  Damn her.

  She smiles widely, and I follow her back upstairs where we are now tied.

  And I know I have to take control if I want to win. I need to win; I don’t have a choice.

  Kai holds up the wallet to Milo, and his eyes widen.

  “That ring you’ve been searching for, that was me,” she says as she tosses the wallet to him.

  He catches it, still stunned. He got played, and if he’s not careful, we both will.

  But I can see the wheels turning. For the first time, he thinks she might be the stronger one. The one who could win the Black empire. Bo
th Kai and I know she’s tough enough. It just depends on the remaining games and how badly I want to win, or she does. But Milo doesn’t need to know that. He needs to think she has no chance.

  “Yes, she’s a good thief. But we’ve already played that game. She won, but it doesn’t mean she will win any more, because I know for a fact one of the games left will involve a fight. A battle of sorts, and Kai has no chance of winning,” I say.

  Milo finally snaps out of his haze as he decides the final game to win everything. His cock may want Kai, but I know he still thinks I’m his best chance at taking Black. He probably thinks once he’s the leader of my empire, he will be able to take Kai then. He just has to be patient.

  “The last game is a fight,” he says.

  “How is the winner determined?” Kai asks, without a nervous tone to her voice.

  “When one of you surrenders or death,” Milo says sitting back in his chair with a grin.

  Fuck.

  Kai will never surrender.

  And I can’t kill her.

  I can’t win.

  But the same goes for me.

  I won’t surrender because it would mean surrendering Kai to Milo.

  And Kai won’t kill me either.

  I frown. If Milo’s goal is to lock us in a never-ending battle, then he got his wish.

  Kai takes the scrunchie from her wrist that Zeke gave her and uses it to tie her hair up as if she’s preparing for a battle. If I could be jealous of a dead man, I would be. I’m not sure she would mourn me in the same way she does Zeke—carrying him with her everywhere. But then Zeke was worthy of that kind of love. I’m not. Kai may love me, but I don’t deserve her love.

  She’s not physically strong enough for a fight with me, but it doesn’t mean she will surrender. No matter how much I hurt her. No matter how much I hold her down, she won’t surrender from the physical pain. I have to play with her mind. I have to convince her that giving myself to Milo is the best—for us, and for the Black empire.

  “No rules?” I ask as I stand watching Kai trying to come up with her own strategy.

  “No rules,” Milo answer. “Begin.”

  Kai and I don’t move when he initially says to start. It’s like two fighters from the same gym being forced into a ring together.

  We start circling an imaginary spot on the floor, both staring at each other, trying to read the other person’s mind as we walk. But both of us have put up our shield, and both of us already know what the other is thinking.

  She charges at me out of nowhere, jumping onto me with all of her force as she grabs for my neck. I catch her as we fall backward to the ground. Her body is light on top of mine, and I like the feeling despite her trying her best to choke me.

  She leans down until her face is at my ear as she continues to squeeze.

  “I love you. Don’t make me lose you. Don’t make me watch the man I love being taken away from me. If you want to save me, then surrender. I gave you my heart, protect it, that’s how you can save me,” she says.

  Her words cut through me like a sharp blade to soft butter. Her words sting because they imply that while she loves me, I don’t love her.

  Oh, stingray, if you only knew how much I love you.

  I let her think she could win for a second more, and then I flip us quickly, throwing my weight on top of her as I squeeze her neck in return. She couldn’t speak if she wanted to.

  And then I lean down to whisper my own plea in her ear.

  “Trust me, stingray. I have a plan. And the only way I can enact the plan is to get captured. I need to be on the inside for it to happen. Trust me; I’ll come back to you,” I lie through my teeth.

  I don’t have a plan, at least I don’t have a plan to escape. My plan is the same as it’s always been—to keep her safe.

  I squeeze a little harder, reminding her she is no match physically for me. She won’t regain the upper hand unless I want her to, and I won’t let her. If she doesn’t surrender though, I’ll squeeze until she passes out, and then I’ll try to convince Milo it’s a victory. I’ll convince him to take me while she’s still passed out on the floor. The choice will be hers. To surrender and watch me leave. Or fight, pass out, and have me ripped from her.

  Tears well in her eyes as her face turns a light shade of purple.

  I hate myself for this. I hate myself for hurting her.

  But I won’t let Milo win.

  He doesn’t get to touch her.

  Ever.

  A single tear drips from her eye, and I lean down, not caring if Milo sees the gesture, and kiss the salty tear away.

  “Trust me,” I whisper again. Trust your life to me. I will keep you safe, even if it means I’ll die. You will be safe. Langston will ensure your protection from our enemies. And I’ll ensure your protection from Milo.

  Kai closes her eyes, like it’s physically breaking her to do what she’s going to do.

  Please, do this for me. Save me.

  “I surrender,” Kai whispers.

  My heart heals with her words. Before each second that passed, more fissures and tears were forming—making me more vulnerable than ever before. But now that I know she will be safe, my heart is whole.

  I stand up, getting off her as she continues to lie on the floor—shattered.

  One breath.

  Two.

  Three.

  That’s all she allows herself to hurt. And then she stands up.

  “You surrender?” Milo asks, with a sly grin.

  “Yes, I surrender,” Kai says without looking at me.

  Milo looks to me. “Then it looks like you and I have a deal, Black.”

  I nod and hold out my hand. He takes it, and we shake.

  Milo turns to Kai. “I’ll see you at the next battle for the Black empire then.” Milo looks to me. “Come, we have a lot to discuss, prisoner.”

  I take a step forward, and Kai loses it. She runs to me and grabs my neck, kissing me with everything she has. Her tongue wastes no time dipping inside mine as she throws her arms around my neck. I feel her sweet tears running down her cheek, and I feel her heart fluttering weakly in her chest, too broken to function properly.

  She’s safe.

  That’s all that matters.

  I know she can’t physically break the kiss. And so I gently put her on her feet as I break the seal of our lips and exhale, “Trust me, stingray.”

  I take a step back and signal to Langston who immediately darts from his hiding spot in the shadows and grabs her, keeping her from following us.

  And then I do something impossible. I turn my back on Kai and follow Milo. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, my heart breaks a little. Milo won’t hurt me too badly until he’s assured I will win the battle to be Black and give the empire to him.

  I’ll live at least until the games are over, and then I’m sure I’ll die a torturous death—but Kai will live. Langston will help her become Black or set her free. And then she’ll find a man worthy of her to get married and live her perfect happily ever after with. Something she deserves more than any woman I’ve met.

  Milo leads me out to a back stairwell.

  It takes everything inside me not to turn around and tell Kai how much I love her too. This feels like my last chance to tell her. But I know it would break her more. And it would make it harder for her to stay instead of following me.

  So I don’t, I just follow. But she devastates my heart when I overhear her speak to Langston, who I know has her in a death grip—it’s the only way to keep her from following me.

  “What’s the plan, Langston? Tell me Enzo has a plan that involves him surviving. Tell me he didn’t just lie to me,” Kai says.

  And Langston, ever the truth teller, breaks what is left of Kai’s heart. “I can’t.”

  3

  Kai

  Watching Enzo go, broke me in a way I didn’t expect. I thought my heart would break cleanly—a definite crack down the middle. Enzo would take half my heart, and I
would get the remains. Neither parts being enough to save either of us but enough to live a half-life. One with less color, but a life all the same.

  But that’s not how my heart broke. First, it cracked, then it shattered. There wasn’t just one crack; there were many. Tiny pieces flaked off, disappearing into every part of my body to cause havoc. My heart swelled with pain, expanding to a ridiculous size in my chest, searching for the cause of my pain. But even that wasn’t enough damage to my heart. After the swelling, my heart crushed like a hundred-ton elephant stomped on top of it.

  There is no coming back from that. No way I will heal from the crack, shatter, swelling, exploding, and stomping. My heart is permanently broken.

  Forever and ever.

  I can’t go cold again and lock away my feelings. There is nothing left to protect—Enzo destroyed it.

  I collapse to the floor in the wake of Enzo leaving.

  The tears and sobs start rattling around in my chest, threatening to break free and drown me.

  Langston’s arms tighten around me again, keeping me from suddenly jumping up and chasing after Enzo and Milo.

  I hate Langston.

  I hate Milo.

  And I hate Enzo for making me suffer like this.

  It would have been hard for him if I was taken. But he doesn’t love me like I love him—this is soul crushing.

  I won’t be able to wake up in the morning knowing Enzo is most likely being tortured.

  I won’t be able to eat without my stomach wrenching, knowing Enzo’s stomach is empty.

  I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing it should have been me—I should have been taken, not Enzo. I have experience in being a prisoner. I survived just fine, Enzo won’t do well in confined places. He won’t do well taking orders. He won’t do well on his own.

  And I will?

  Langston tries to pull me up from the floor.

  “No, stop! I can’t leave him!” I yell.

  “Kai…you have to.” His arms tighten.

  “No!” I fight him off and run toward the door I saw Enzo disappear through.

  I hear Langston’s footsteps behind me, but he’s too slow. I reach the door, throw it open, and race inside and down a long staircase.