Nila didn’t know it—but she’d broken him completely.

And I’d been the conductor for his destruction.

Every sweep of my hands up her sides and every press of my fingers on her clit, I forced myself to remember who I was ultimately doing this for.

It was the only way I could continue.

However, then she’d given me permission. She’d understood my intentions and gave into me.

She let me come.

And I’d never been more fucking grateful.

Ever since she’d arrived, I’d been hypnotised by her dark eyes and the simplistic honesty of her truth.

I’d never seen a more perfect woman.

And when I said perfect woman. I meant for him, not for me.

He needed someone pure. Someone transparent and honest. He needed unconditional-no-bullshit-love. No lies. No tricks. Clarity and understanding.

Nila was all those things. Against all odds, he’d found his perfect other. What sort of brother would I be if I didn’t support him and ensure both our futures were safe?

Our time was over too quick.

If it were real, I would’ve spread her legs and licked her. I would’ve pushed her gently down my body and requested she repay the favour with her tongue.

I would’ve stolen every ounce of her pleasure. I would’ve worshipped her tits and wrung every whimper from her soul. She would’ve hovered in erotic pain and drowned in bliss.

I wanted her on top of me, riding my cock and her kissing me, not me kissing her.

Ah, fuck.

I would’ve drained her of everything.

But that wasn’t allowed.

It took every willpower I had left, but I was able to rein in my needs and focus.

I’d bucked my hips, driving my aching flesh against her lower spine.

Everything I wanted didn’t matter. What did matter was the camera footage and what was to come. Jethro and I would win tonight.

We’d broken every rule and hadn’t finished yet.

The Third Debt was ours to control—not Cut’s.

But now, as I wiped my cum from Nila’s back and grabbed the syringe that I’d hidden beneath the pillow in preparation, I knew I’d done the right thing.

By everyone.

Rubbing her arm, I uncapped the needle and slid it into her flesh without warning.

Nila winced, her head tilting to see, even though the blindfold meant it was an impossibility.

“What did you do?” she breathed, fear lacing her tone.

I kissed her forehead, untangling my body from hers.

I’d borrowed her. I’d tasted her. Now, it was time to give her back to her rightful owner.

“I did the only thing I could. I don’t want you to be awake for the next part.”

“Wait…please, don’t…let…them…” Her body twitched as the anaesthetic quickly stole her.

My heart calmed its erratic rhythm and my cock deflated as she fell into the unnatural sleep of medicine. Once her breath regulated, I undid her blindfold and untied her wrists.

Climbing from the bed, I tucked a sheet over her nakedness.

Standing over her, I murmured, “I want you to think I’m the hero in this, Nila Weaver. I want you to believe I’m the saint and that all of this was my concoction.” My eyes rose to the blinking red camera in the top of the room. I saluted it. “But I’m not the one who loves you. And I’m not the one who’s playing the game better than I ever thought possible.”

Bending over her, I kissed her parted lips and gathered my clothing from the floor. “It was all his idea. The only way he could keep protecting you. The only way he could stay alive to save you another day.”

Looking at the camera one last time, I hoped my brother would forgive me. With a heavy sigh, I gathered Nila’s unconscious form and carried her away.

I WAS DRUNK.

Motherfucking obliterated. Off-my-tree intoxicated.

There. I admitted it.

Drunk as a fucking alcoholic.

I’d been clearheaded all night. But the moment Kestrel took my woman into the bedroom and stripped her, I couldn’t do it anymore.

I wanted to delete all knowledge any way possible.

It didn’t work.

I winced, opening my eyes.

Where am I?

Instead of darkness and flickering flames from the fireplace, the windows welcomed pink, tentative dawn.

The room swirled, balancing on a stomach full of liquor.

Dawn.

The blank slate of a new day.

Dawn.

The eraser of yesterday’s mistakes and the pencil of today’s new ones.

I groaned, blocking out the pink light with smarting eyelids. I wished the awakening sun could eliminate the past couple of months. I wished everything could be washed away, granting a fresh start.

What happened last night?

The moment I probed my pounding brain, I wished I hadn’t.

Thanks to Kestrel, I’d done what I didn’t think I would ever be strong enough to do.

Plans I never thought I could put in place. A future I never thought I could earn.

My mind slipped a few hours into the past.

When I left the billiards room, I followed strict orders on where to go and what to prepare.

And I did—just like the fucking pussy I was.

As the Third Debt depicted, one man would rape, the others would wait their turn. An orgy with witnesses. A night of entertainment for devils and a night of horrors for angels.

I stormed into the security room, turned on the feed between the three cameras dotted around the room where the Third Debt would take place and waited for Cut and Daniel.