Isle of Sin: A Standalone Dark Romance

“Ecstasy.”

My brow came down. “What?”

“You’ve heard of the Ecstacy chain,” Bryant clarified, phrasing it not as a question but as a statement.

Because of course I’d heard of Ecstacy.

It was an elite dungeon circuit with clientele that rivaled my own. They weren’t necessarily competition, though. Many of my members also belonged to Ecstacy. “You used to…” I trailed off.

Oh, fuck.

Bryant used to work for the New York City location.

That was the reference he’d given me seven years ago.

His affiliation with Ecstasy was what had qualified him for the job here.

Bryant must have seen the dots connect inside my mind because he said, “Sin Cave owns Ecstacy. It’s one of their more legitimate businesses, meant to cater to their Elite members and give them a place to safely network with others. But Elite Brides often frequent those facilities. It’s where many of them train.”

“But Ecstacy believes in consent and safe practices.” I’d been to a few of their locations as an invited guest of mutual clients. I’d witnessed their procedures firsthand. Fuck, I’d even played in a few of their rooms.

“Yes. Some of the brides consent. Others do not.” He cleared his throat. “Most of them undergo rigorous training before they’re taken to the clubs. This would have been Adalyn’s final test to prove she could behave and submit in a more public setting. Outside of the Sin Cave owned establishments, I mean.”

I glanced at Nathan’s dead body. Looks like that test went well.

“Ecstasy is the legal part of the enterprise,” he continued. “Not all members are affiliated with the network. But everyone within the network has access to the clubs. Which is why they’re often used for final phases of training.”

“Which is how you know about the Elite Brides,” I inferred.

“There’s a list. All members are familiar with who is on it. The women are considered untouchable unless the assigned trainer approves the scene.”

“And no one sees anything wrong with that?” I asked. Because I sure as fuck did.

He gave me a long look. “You know as well as I do that money buys silence in every situation. These brides are the daughters of the world’s wealthiest families. No one is going to fight that. And most of the women appear to be consensual.”

“Appear being the operative term in that statement.”

“I’m not saying I agree with it, Asher. Fuck, man. Why the hell do you think I came to work for you?” He shook his head, his expression shifting between shades of frustration and a glimmer of resolve.

Clive cleared his throat. “All right. So what now?”

“We make a decision,” Bryant replied, his eyes finding mine. “You make a decision.”

I arched a brow. “Something tells me I’m not going to like my options.”

“You’re not,” he agreed. “But Julian… owes me.”

“Do I want to know more about that?” I asked.

“Considering that it involves his own Elite Bride? Probably not.” He swallowed. “It’s also not my story to tell. But maybe he’ll share it with you when he comes to visit.”

“When he comes to visit?” I repeated.

“Yeah. That plays into your decision.” His shoulders straightened as he boldly met my stare again. “If this were any other situation, I’d suggest covering it all up and making it look like Spencer and Rose died somewhere else. But this is Sin Cave. They’re too resourceful not to investigate the death of a trainee and his Elite Bride.”

“We’re not killing Adalyn Rose.” The words came through clenched teeth, as I didn’t much care for his hypothetical scenario.

“I know. I’m saying it’s what I would have recommended if the network wasn’t involved. So you have two choices. You can tell them the truth about what happened. There’s video evidence. Share it. They’ll clean this up and handle Miss Rose.”

His tone told me I wouldn’t like how they would “handle” Adalyn at all.

“Or you can tell them that you killed Nathan for breaking your rules. He wasn’t here under Sin Cave authorization. Julian confirmed that Nathan chose this location for Adalyn’s final test. That means the network won’t fault you for responding accordingly. Because this island isn’t under their jurisdiction.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “And what happens to Adalyn in this scenario?”

“They take her, and she’ll likely be married off to Taylor Huntington as expected.” He shrugged. “It beats what they would do to her if they learned the truth.”

“And if she spoke after the fact? Said she killed him and we covered it up?” Clive asked, bringing up a good point.

“It’s a risk,” Bryant replied, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “It’s also worth noting that regardless of what path you choose, you’re now involved in Sin Cave business. Which I suspect has always been a potential future for you anyway.”

I arched a brow. “A potential future?” No part of me would ever condone any of this shit. If Bryant didn’t know that about me by now, then he didn’t know me at all.

“They’ve invited you to their clubs countless times, Ash,” he said, using my nickname as though to confirm how well he knew me. Sometimes I wondered if he possessed a weird superpower to hear thoughts. He was constantly in my head and the minds of everyone around him.

“They’ve been recruiting you,” he continued. “I’m assuming that’s why Nathan came here. Someone probably suggested it as another way to test your interest. But it obviously wasn’t an official visit, or Julian would have known about it.”

My jaw ticked. “Nathan did invite me over for breakfast tomorrow.”

His hazel irises darkened. “I’m guessing he intended to offer you more than food.”

I’d already suspected that prior to this entire mess unfolding. “So it would seem.”

Silence fell, Bryant’s attention shifting to the dead man on the floor. I followed his gaze as I considered everything he’d said.

He’d essentially implied that the network would allow me to kill Nathan Spencer for using my island for this bullshit.

But it would come with a cost of association, something Bryant had insinuated would happen regardless of my choice.

“If I claim I killed him for breaking my rules, wouldn’t that imply that I don’t agree with the network’s methods?” I wondered aloud. “Wouldn’t that mean I failed Nathan’s supposed test?” It was all theoretical, but I could see Bryant’s logic. I had been invited to Ecstacy numerous times.

But no one had ever mentioned the words Sin Cave to me.

“It depends on how you phrase it,” Bryant said, his focus still on Nathan’s dead body. “You could claim that you killed him for disrespecting your business. This is your territory. He attempted to abuse it for his own gain. That’s an insult in the Sin Cave world.”

“But you told Julian I value consent.”

“Yes. And Nathan Spencer violated that rule, thus earning himself an appropriate punishment.” Bryant lifted his gaze to mine, his greenish-brown irises glittering with intelligence. “You didn’t consent to him using your island as a training playground.”

I contemplated that for a moment. “But killing him puts me at a disadvantage. They’ll tell me I owe them if they forgive the death.”

“They’re going to expect you to owe them regardless,” he muttered. “You’re too close now, Asher. Whether you want it or not, your fate is already decided. You’ll either join the network willingly, or you’ll create a very powerful enemy.”

I arched a brow. “So you’re still part of it, then?”

“I only worked for them. But yes, if they need something, I’m duty-bound to respond. However, I have a trump card.” He paused for a beat, his expression giving nothing away. “Julian owes me. He won’t let them drag me back in. That’s why I was able to come here.”

“And what about me?” Clive asked, finally speaking up. He’d been leaning against the wall, listening intently and not saying a word. “Are we going to pretend I wasn’t here?”

“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” Bryant replied. “You might have been part of the initial discussion in determining Nathan Spencer’s true purpose here, but Asher excused you early on, choosing intelligently to question Nathan alone. Which is when he learned the truth about Adalyn Rose’s purpose here.”

“And then I killed him for not only breaking my rules but also conducting illicit business on my island without permission.”

“We could even say that he didn’t tell you everything, and you assumed it was a trafficking issue.” Bryant shrugged. “There are a few ways to spin this.”

“But regardless of what I do, I’m going to face the network,” I said, returning us to the primary issue at hand. “And they’ll be taking Adalyn back into that world.”

“It’s where she was always going to go,” Bryant pointed out. “She knew that. Even while killing him, she knew there was no real escape. Because even if she succeeded in fleeing your island, they’d find her.”

My jaw ached from clenching it so hard.

Nothing about this was right.

Adalyn Rose rightly killed Nathan Spencer. But it seemed her parents deserved a similar fate.

Who the fuck sent their daughter into a world like this?

Elite Brides.

More like well-educated, blue-blooded sex slaves.

“Fuck,” I muttered, rubbing my hand over my face. One thing was certain—I wouldn’t be letting these assholes punish Adalyn for what she’d done.

Which meant I’d be claiming that I’d killed the bastard.

Considering how badly I wished he was still alive so I could do just that, it wouldn’t be a difficult lie.

But knowing they would just come and retrieve Adalyn afterward left me uneasy.

I didn’t know her. I didn’t owe her anything.

Yet I felt inclined to save her somehow.

Put her on a boat and sequester her away. Help her escape. Hide her. All impossible and irrational notions.

I just couldn’t stand the idea that she would be sent back to that world, forced to endure a new trainer or be married off to a man who felt that this sort of treatment was acceptable.

“If I say I killed him, what happens next?” I asked, needing a distraction before I did something stupid like run back to my villa and take off with Adalyn.

Bryant remained quiet for a beat before saying, “Someone will come meet with you, perhaps offer an apology for the affront, and likely discuss the future. Which I imagine will be a conversation about what Sin Cave can offer you… and what you can offer them.”

I could only imagine what that would be. “They’ll want to use my island for training.”

“Or perhaps as a place for their members to vacation with their Elite Maidens.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Do I even want to know what that means?”

“Well-kept mistresses,” he clarified. “Who also happen to be trained.”

“Jesus,” I whispered. “What fucking world is this?”

“A dark one.”

No shit, I thought, running my hand along my face. “I feel like I’ve just been inserted into an alternate reality,” I muttered, thinking through everything he’d just told me.

I was quite familiar with high society. I socialized with their key players all the time.

As did most of my family.

“Do any of my brothers know about the network?” I wondered aloud. If they did, I imagined they would be quiet about it, given everything Bryant had told me. “Does Kane know?” He owned a club in Baltimore, but he primarily worked in securities.

“No, I highly doubt it,” Bryant replied. “And if he did, he wouldn’t tell you.”

I nodded. As I thought.

“But he might be a good person to bring in,” Bryant hedged. “He has a lot of… contacts.”

That he did. However… “No. I’m not going to involve my family in this. It’s my mess to clean up.”

Bryant gave me a look that suggested he wanted to argue. Clive did also, probably because he knew Kane well—he used to work for him, after all.

However, Bryant’s phone started to ring before either of them could say a word. “It’s Julian,” Bryant said after glancing at the screen. “He’s going to want an update.”

I sighed. “Tell him I’m interrogating Mr. Spencer.” I glanced at Clive. “I gave strict instructions not to be interrupted.”

Bryant nodded. “And what should my gut be telling me?”

“That Mr. Spencer likely won’t live to see another sunrise,” I growled, imagining all too well how it would feel to be in a room with a still-alive Nathan.

I wouldn’t have let my emotions show.

But Bryant knew me well. He would have seen right through my calm façade to the fury burning beneath.

I listened as he answered the phone with a grim tone, telling Julian that Nathan Spencer’s hours, perhaps even minutes, were likely numbered.

He met my gaze as he added a line about this being an insult to my business, setting up the justification for murder.

Because I’d already decided to own that burden.

What I needed to figure out now was what to do about Adalyn Rose.

Because I couldn’t in good conscience allow her to be taken from my island.

She’d been strong enough to survive this long and had gone as far as to kill her own tormentor. That sort of spirit deserved to be worshipped, not punished.

So no, I would not be sending her back to that hell.

I would keep her here instead. Introduce her to a new life. And when the time came, I’d help her fly away.

Yes, I decided. Adalyn isn’t going anywhere.

She was my responsibility now.

Since no one else clearly wanted the job, I’d take care of her myself.

I eyed her masterpiece on the floor, my lips threatening to curl. Such a beautiful work of art.

Yes, she absolutely deserved to be praised and adored.

I would see that it happened.

Welcome to my world, sweetheart.

You’re about to find out what it means to be mine.