Demand by Lisa Renée Jones

quite disturbing text messages Giada sent me last night will ensure otherwise. How much damage do you think she can do to Kayden and his beloved Underground, by the time Kayden frees you both from the interrogation room? You will come and meet me. You will not call Kayden, who I know is not in the castle, nor will you involve Adriel, who I know is in the castle.”
    â€œYou do know that using Giada like this makes you a bastard, don’t you?” I demand, not sure if I’m more furious with him or her.
    â€œSo you’ve said, but that just tells me how brainwashed you are, and how important this meeting is. I’m waiting, Eleana.”
    At this point, I just need to get off of this phone call and decide what to do next. “I haven’t even gotten in the shower,” I say. “I need forty-five minutes.”
    â€œYou have thirty. And in case you get the idea to call Kayden, I’m having a car pull to the front of the castle, ready to take you and Giada downtown.”
    My jaw clenches. “I don’t remember where we’re supposed to meet.”
    â€œI’ll text it to you,” he says. “And for the record, Giada didn’t tell me who was in the castle. I know things. And you need to know what I know.” He ends the call with that bombshell, which implies that someone close to Kayden is running their mouth.
    I pull up Kayden’s number, but as I start to push the “call” button, I hesitate and grab the note he left. Wrapping up some loose ends from last night . And last night he was with a trigger-happy drug lord. Damn it. I’m not supposed to call unless it’s an emergency, and while Giada and me ending up at the police station would be that for sure, the best way to prevent that from happening is to face Gallo and have a proverbial stare-down. If I do it right, maybe he’ll back off and give Kayden some breathing room while I find out who, if anyone, is betraying Kayden. He protects me; it’s my turn to do the same for him.
    Decision made, I throw aside the blankets, rush to the bathroom, and make a beeline for the shower. Turning on the water, I let it warm up, and I’ve just stepped under the spray and tilted my head back when there’s a flickering image of a man’s hand coming down on my arm, his pressed white shirt cuff riding up and uncovering a watch. My head lowers and I stare forward. Kayden’s watch.
    What the heck did I just see? That wasn’t Kayden. It couldn’t be Kayden. It’s always felt familiar, but never, ever has it come to me in a flashback.
    â€œIt’s not Kayden,” I say firmly, reaching for the shampoo. “So who is it?” It’s a question I still haven’t answered when I step out of the shower and towel off, then quickly apply light makeup and dry my hair, which now shows signs of red roots. It’s a reminder that there is a small possibility that Gallo might really know something of my past. And that past might, in some way, make me the enemy of The Underground, as I feared last night. Kayden might handle that well enough, but I’m not so sure about his men, especially with me in The Hawk’s bed.
    Suddenly eager to get to this meeting and just know what is before me, I quickly dress in dark jeans, a navy sweater, and black knee-high boots. Once I’m dressed, I grab my black Chanel trench coat and head back to the bedroom, where I toss it on the bed and slip on my cross-body purse before reaching for my gun. The minute I touch it, I flash back to standing in a firing range, firing a weapon with my father by my side. Charlie , I think. His name was Charlie, and my eyes lower with the wholeness of that memory. Bit by bit, my father is coming back to me.
    I decide right then that my gun is now named “Charlie” and if anyone messes with me, they will know his wrath. Placing my newly named bodyguard in my purse, I’m about to zip it up when my