Selene doesn’t answer him. She sobs, practically choking onher own tears. Her hands continue to press against her stomach, and I can’t imagine the fear she must be feeling.
“Moving on,” Rhys abruptly cuts in. “Let’s get to the real business of why we’re here. Why you keep following me.”
I huff and curl my hands into fists at my sides. “Let her go, and I’ll talk.”
“Not how this works, Capuleti. If you remember, I’m the one in charge here.” He presses the gun harder to Selene’s temple.
She whimpers, and I take a step forward.
“Familiar, no?” he asks, nodding toward his gun.
Bile rises in my throat.
“Answer me!” he shouts, veins bulging from his neck.
“Yes,” I say weakly on an exhausted breath. “Just, please… you don’t understand…”
“Here’s how this will go.” Rhys ignores my plea. “I’ll give you the information you’ve been seeking—within reason, of course—and you’ll make a promise in return. Then we’ll let your precious little Wallflower go.”
My stomach drops at his use of my nickname for Selene.
“If you can’t make the promise,” he continues, “I guess we’ll just make history repeat itself.”
“What information?” I ask.
“About your mother’s untimely and unfortunate death.”
Adrenaline pumps hard in my veins.
“That is what you’ve been searching for since you were, what, twelve years old?” His eyebrows rise on his smooth forehead. He can’t be much older than me.
“How do you know all this?” I raise my chin.
“Which part?” he asks, cooly. “The part where I know all about your precious Wallflower here, or the part about your mother’s brutal murder?”
I grind my teeth. “All of it.”
“Promises first.” He glowers.
“What promise will I be making?”
“I’ll tell you the truth about your mother’s death, and you’ll stop searching for her killer. You’ll stop this pursuit, and you’ll never think of it again. You will let this go.” He quirks a brow. “Do we have a deal?”
I clamp my mouth shut and shift my gaze to Selene. I think about my mother and all the years I’ve spent searching for answers. I have them here, right in front of me, but at what cost? If I make this promise to Rhys, I’ll never be able to bring her killer to justice. But then I think about Selene. Her green eyes are spread wide with fear, her body shaking uncontrollably. She’s silently pleading for me to find a way out of this, just like the night of the auction. Her bottom lip trembles with tacit fear and uncertainty. She mouths my name, subtly shaking her head as tears stream down her soft cheeks. I wish I could wrap her up in my arms and take her away from here. My entire world is standing before me with a loaded gun pointed in its direction.
Instinct tells me a promise made to Rhys O’Connell isn’t one I would be wise to break. Especially one such as this.
I would sell the soul to the Devil himself if it meant Selene and my baby would live.
“We have a deal.” I flick my gaze back to Rhys. “I promise.”
“Good boy.” Rhys snickers.
“Get on with it then,” I grind out. “What do you know?”
He chuckles. “To answer your question about your girl first, I know about Selene, here, because your little circle has been easy to track. In fact, our family has kept an eye on yours for quite some time. Necessary, considering who your mother was.”
“What do you mean?” My focus doesn’t stray from Selene, even though I haven’t taken my eyes off Rhys.
