"Well, pray at my altar, baby, because your dad is in the rehab center I put him in two weeks ago. So I'm pretty sure he's fine."
"What?" I squeak, eyes flying wide. "When were you going to tell me this? How did you find him?"
"He went to the shelter Peach volunteers at. It's supposed to be a women's shelter, so they didn't take him in, but Peach told me where they sent him. I went to see him, and I told him that if he ever wanted to see you again, it would be sober and that he'd never gamble again in his life. Or he could kiss goodbye to his little girl. He hesitated at first, but I think he understood to take my word seriously. And it's the truth, baby. I'd never have let him near you again. So I'm glad he made the right choice."
I swallow thickly. "You can't stop me from seeing my dad. I want to go to the rehab center."
"You'll see him. When he's out and better."
"Achilles!" I snap as my insides twist. "You can't take over my entire life. Those are not your decisions to make."
He puts his phone down, his dangerous smirk turning him more charismatic than the devil, but just as lethal.
Tapping his knee, he says, "Come here, baby."
I'm angry, but I do it. There isn't a day since I met this man that I've been able to resist him. It's not going to start now.
I sit on his lap, enough to the side that I can talk to him. As I put an arm around his neck, he curls his around my waist.
"I haven’t been myself with you, Nyx," he explains calmly. "Because I feel things for you that I've never felt before. And I know it all makes it seem like I'm a nice, caring guy. And maybe, with you, I am. Maybe you're special. Fuck, I hope you feel special."
The steel in his eyes turns colder, the temperature around us dropping.
"But however I behave with you should never make you forget who I really am deep down, do you understand? Just because I worship the ground you walk on doesn't mean I lost any of the power I've always held. It's in the palm of my hand, a quick call or text away. It's in the dynamics I've established with everyone around me. So when I make a decision, that's it. There's no reasoning, no bargaining, no begging."
"But—"
"No 'buts' either,mon trésor.Did Peach tell you when she saw your dad?"
The realization hits me like a slap in the face. I scratch my throat. "No."
"No," he repeats. "Because, see, no matter what, she knows who to report to. It's just how it is. I'm not asking you to playthe games we play in my world. I'm not even asking you to understand the rules. I just need you to know that there's the elite, and I'm at the top of it. Everything bends to my will, and so do you."
He caresses my lower lip with the pad of his thumb. "You'll see your dad when he's healed. Because that's what you deserve, a functioning parent. If there's anything else I can do for you, to help, or to make you feel good, all you have to do is tell me. It'll get done."
He rests his head back, his hand falling on my thigh, and instead of fighting him, I prove him right. Because he doesn't need to make even the tiniest gesture, I'm already pressing my lips against his. I feel him smile as our tongues intertwine. I know that he got what he wanted. The reassurance that everything he just said is true.
Achilles Duval is a god among us, and we all bend to his will. Myself included.
His phone vibrates, and he looks down at it.
"Fuck. I thought so."
"What?" I ask lazily, as I rest my head on his shoulder, loving the safety of his embrace.
"It was Chase."
I don’t know what he’s talking about for at least half a minute, unable to imagine what he means. Because in what world did this happen to me?
"Are you okay?" he asks. "Did you hear me?"
"Do you mean the masked man?" I croak.
I feel his heart accelerate, and it hurts me that he cares so much. "I do."
"Is it weird that a part of me always knew?" I ask. "I think my body did. The way I felt around him. I was always so scared. He came for the money, then a few weeks later, he came again, butmasked this time. And then Ibeggedhim to take care of me and my dad. He got everything he wanted."
"And now he’s dead," he tells me as he caresses my hair.
