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roomIm your prop. I shook my head, torn between seething and breaking down. All I wanted was to go upstairs and
be alone with Benjy. With the only person left in the world
who still cared about the person underneath Lilas face.
Youre not my prop, said Knox, his tone softening. Im
trying to protect us both. What were doing, dangerous as it
isits the right thing to do. You know it is. Dont mess it up
just because youre having a bad night.
A painful knot formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard.
It was an argument wed been having for the past month, ever
since I had agreed to continue to impersonate Lila. Originally it hadnt been my choice; after Prime Minister Daxton
Hart had bought me at a gentlemens club, hed knocked me
out, and Id woken up two weeks later to discover hed had
my body surgically alteredMasked, hed called itto be an
exact copy of his niece, Lila Hart, whom hed secretly had assassinated for leading a rebellion against him. I was supposed
to take her place and stop it.
Instead, thanks to Knox, Lila was still alive and hidden
underground. And as for meturned out I wasnt okay with
standing by and letting the government slaughter the people
I love.
That was the only reason Id agreed to stay when Knox
had asked me three weeks ago. It had been after an exhausting night and day, when Augusta Hart, Daxtons mother and
the real iron fist around the country, had tried to not only
kill me and Lila, but Benjy, too. Instead, Id put six bullets in
her. Now, with Lila seriously injured, it was up to me to pretend to be her until someone took the Prime Minister out of
the picture.
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That was easier said than done. Id tried once before and
failedand as a result, Daxton had been in a coma long
enough to miss the worst of the fight. When hed woken up,
hed pretended not to know I wasnt Lila, but we both knew
who I really was. I was nobody to these people. I had been
raised as far away from the life of a VII as you could get, in a
group home full of Extras born to parents who were only allowed one child. It hadnt been the most luxurious upbringing ever, but at least I could have had a cheeseburger without
having to beg. And at least Id known exactly who I was. The
more time I spent as Lila, the less certain I became that I knew
myself anymore at all.
Think you can handle another hour? said Knox, crossing
his arms over his broad chest.
One more hour, I muttered, trying to shove aside my frustration. Knox was right; Id known exactly what Id agreed to,
and playing nice with the Ministers was part of it. But Benjy
gets to stay with me tonight after the meeting.
He raised an eyebrow. You know the risks.
Ill pretend Im staying in your suite. You can tell everyone we had the best sex of your life
It would probably be the worst.
I kicked his shin with my heel. Youre a jerk tonight.
He swore and rubbed his leg. And youre going to get you
and your boyfriend killed if you dont
The doorknob rattled, and without warning, Knox pinned
me to the wall. His fingers tangled in my straw-colored hair,
and his lips found mine as he kissed me with burning hunger
I couldnt escape. I didnt fight him. Better to be forced to
kiss him every once in a while than to have someone catch us
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that, I thought, was the worst part of all. Id saved Benjys life
in the short term by pulling that trigger, but in the long term,
we were both one whim away from death.
Daxton stood waiting for us by the double doors, his arms
crossed as he regarded me with a look of mock concern. Im
so very sorry, my dear, he said, reaching out to take my free
hand. I made a point of wiping my sweaty palm against his.
I wasnt thinking. After all youve been through
Im fine, I said for a third time. I just need to sit down.
Im sure yourfriend will be willing to help you with
that. He eyed Benjy up and down, and red-hot anger shot
through me. Augusta may have been the power behind the
throne, but Daxton was still the snake who sat on it.
Benjy cleared his throat. Knox asked me to help her, he
said. Ill be down after.
Take your time, boy, said Daxton, and he shifted his gaze
to me. The most important thing is that dear Lilas all right.
His slimy voice followed me even after Benjy and I walked
away. I could feel his stare lingering on us, and though my
knees still shook, I forced myself to walk faster toward the elevator. As soon as we were inside and the door closed, I let
out a breath and turned into Benjy, hugging him tightly and
burying my face in his chest.
Im sorry, I said, my voice muff led by his shirt. I dont
know what happened.
He wrapped his arms around me protectively, rubbing circles on my back, and the heat of his body warmed me from
the inside out. If I could have stayed like this for the rest of my
life, I would have. You have nothing to be sorry for. Those
fireworks scared me, too.
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a field beside the lake were two stick figuresone with long
hair, and one with Benjys freckles. They cuddled together as
the sun shone down on them, and a lump formed in my throat.
I cant make this better right now, said Benjy, but I can
promise that it will be one day. Well have our cottage in the
woods, or our cabin on the beachwhatever you want. Ill
go anywhere as long as you promise youll be there with me.
Im going to spend my life with you, Kitty, and I dont care
if the entire country tries to stop us. Youre my future. Its always been you for me, and it always will be.
Finally he closed the distance between us and kissed mea
sweet, gentle kiss that held within it every single one of the
thousand days Id loved him as my everything, long after Id
begun to love him as a friend. I shifted into his lap, not caring
whether or not someone could walk in at any moment and see
us. I needed this. And after all wed been through together,
Benjy and I both deserved this.
He wrapped his arm around me again, safe and secure as
I ran my fingers through his hair. He tasted like home. Like
everything I missed about my old life, where we would spend
the evening curled up together as he read to me. We would
never have those moments again, but as soon as we were free
of this place, we could make new ones. Id spent so much of
my time worrying about the present, worrying about being
Lila, that Id never let myself stop and think about what my
future might hold. It seemed almost like asking too much
like I was challenging the universe by thinking about a life
with Benjy as far away from the Harts as possible.
But Benjy had always been an optimist. Hed always seen
good in the world where I wasnt so sure it existed. And this
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And right now that means I have to look out for you and
your health. Youre exhausted. Your tempers shorter than its
ever been. Look at youyoure practically shaking. Youre a
liability, Kitty, and tonight is too important for me to take
that kind of risk. Ill fill you in when I get back, but right
now, I need to go.
I gaped at him. You cant just cut me out like this
Im not cutting you out, he said steadily, but there was an
edge of impatience to his voice. Its one meeting.
Ive already missed three because of the speeches.
There will be plenty of others, said Knox. And look on
the bright sideyoull have even more time to spend with
Benjy.
Tempting as it was, staying behind meant missing the entire
reason I had agreed to put up with this and people like Minister Bradley in the first place. I would have the rest of the night
to be alone with Benjyright now, I wanted to be a Blackcoat. I wanted to do what I was here to do: be the voice of a
rebellion that, if successful, would mean Benjy and I would
one day have that cottage by the lake. It would mean never
looking over our shoulders again, worried someone might
see us and catch on to who I really was. It would mean being
Kitty Doe again instead of Lila Hart. It would mean finding
myself and being the person Benjy saw when he looked at me.
The more meetings I missed, the more excuses Knox would
have to dismiss my opinions and push me aside. I was here to
fight. Not to be his prop or his mouthpiece. And no matter
how much he insisted I wasnt, everything he had done that
evening had said otherwise.
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CAPTIVE
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Captive
Copyright 2014 by Aime Carter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of
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without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited,
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the
product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is
entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Printed in U.S.A.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-373-21128-9