Entangled (Vice Games) by Alice Cooper Read Free Book Online

they’ll let you go back to your brother’s house.’
    Anna stopped her tears and blinked at my genius suggestion. She had never thought to do that before.
    ‘Let them see you take it but don’t,’ I whispered. Anna nodded and although her eyes were still fearful, I saw that she understood what she had to do.
    With her hand in mine, I led her back into the large room where Karen, Elliot Vice and Tristan waited. Tristan gave me an enquiring look and then cast his eyes over his sister. I took the bowl of pills from Karen and held it out towards Anna. The fearful teen sniffed and slowly, she picked each pill, one by one and placed it on her tongue. Karen blinked with surprise at the girl’s sudden complacency. I poured a glass of water for Anna and she drank it all up. I found Tristan watching me in wonderment.
    ‘There,’ I said and turned to face Elliot Vice without a hint of fear towards him. ‘I made her take her pills without protest.’
    ‘Very well,’ said Elliot Vice. He turned and left without another word. Karen followed after him and Tristan immediately pushed us in the opposite direction towards the door. We were quick to leave and Anna struggled with the bitterness that grew in her mouth.
    The car remained where Tristan had left it and I jumped in the back seat with Anna.
    ‘Not yet,’ I told her. The butlers watched us from the steps. I reached out and pulled the seatbelt over her body. It strapped her back against the seat and Tristan was quick to leave his father’s grounds. When we were out through the gates and far away from the cameras, I held out my hand and Anna spat out the pills.
    Tristan glanced at us through the rearview mirror and realized what I had done. He cracked a momentary impressed smile.
    ‘That tasted horrible,’ complained Anna, her face contorted with disgust.
    ‘Horrible yes, but it was worth it.’
     

Chapter 8 – A short lived celebration
     
     
     
     
    Half a month without the pills allowed Anna to settle into being a normal teenager. And my relationship with Tristan stalled. He avoided talking to me as much as possible and kept his icy demeanor on like a shield. It made no sense why he acted that way and my numerous attempts at conversation always failed. I eventually gave up and we coexisted in the same space out of necessity. He paid me by the week and did not say anything about my employment. There seemed to be no need for words as I understood clearly what he wanted me to do – take care of his sister. I was allowed to make my own judgment on things and I took his lack of protest against my actions as acceptance towards the decisions I made.
    Anna’s teachers came to Tristan’s house to do her lessons. They were stern and expected Anna to take her pills before each lesson. No wonder the girl was going crazy before I came into her life. It was clear that these ‘teachers’ were also getting paid to monitor Anna and make sure that she was being medicated. We continued with our ruse and I sat through the lessons with Anna.
    As the days passed, I began to understand why she desperately needed a friend. Being homeschooled meant that the girl didn’t have a chance to meet anyone outside the house. She was closed off from the outside world. The medication she was on only made things worse.
    ‘Tristan did try to get me out,’ said Anna when we were by ourselves at the mall. We hadn’t spent any money and was just window shopping for the sake of it. ‘But father always made me go back and Tristan’s always off on business trips.’
    ‘What does he do? I mean, what sort of business is he running?’
    Anna shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Tristan never talks about it and I’ve always been too out of it to care. But most of our money comes from mom. Tristan has half of her fortune and I’m set to inherit the other half.’
    We brought kebab wraps for lunch and she was perfectly content with sitting on the bench and eating them with her hands. Jace picked us up at