Lucifer’s hands trembled as she gestured wildly. “That’s not—”
“Stop. Just stop. This isn’t about Medford anymore. This is about me doing what I want. I don’t owe you anything but don’t for a second think you can sell me some fucking story about how Leonard Medford saved us. He paid us off to hide the crimes of David Cane.”
His mother flinched like he’d slapped her. She shook her head. “Don’t say that.”
Elijah’s smile was brittle. “Say what? His name? David. Cane. The man who raped me. The man who abused me for the better part of six months while you looked the other way. The man who should have been locked up forever, but who you let walk away because of nothing more than a big fat check and a promise he’d never work with another child.”
She gulped at him like a fish out of water, clearly floundering for some new tactic, some new way to get him to fold to her demands. She blew out a long breath, smoothing her hands over her dress as if composing herself. “For God’s sake, Elijah. Let this go. Stop living in the past. Do you think you’re the first child who’s ever been hurt by an adult? Hardly.”
Elijah gave a harsh laugh. “Hurt? Hurt? David Cane didn’t hurt me, mother. He raped me. Say it. I want to hear you say the words.”
“Stop it, Elijah. You’re being vulgar.”
Elijah’s laugh was sharp as glass. “Oh, am I? You can’t even say the words, can you? You can’t even say it.”
Lucifer was shaking now. Her voice trembling even as she tried to feign boredom. “Seriously, you’re acting childish.”
Maybe this was childish, but he’d listened to Lucifer attempt to delude and deny the things David Cane had done to him one time too many. “I just want to hear you say it. Just say it and maybe I’ll change my mind. Say it! David Cane raped me.”
There was a sharp inhalation. Elijah and Lucifer swung around to find Demi standing at the sound booth door, her skin blanched white. “David Cane… the… your acting coach?”
Lucifer turned furious eyes on Elijah. “Now look what you’ve done.”
Elijah wasn’t paying his mother any mind. Demi looked moments away from fainting. She struggled to speak. “He’s… that’s Tobi’s acting coach. I-I picked him because you trained with him. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” The girl’s knees buckled, and she slid to the floor, her hand over her mouth.
Fear and rage pumped through Elijah as he advanced on his mother. “You said he’d never work with children again. You said it was in the settlement agreement. Did you know about this? Did you?”
Lucifer stumbled away from him. “I—”
Elijah snorted with disgust and turned to Demi. “Where’s Tobi now?” Demi stared off into space, her expression frozen in horror as a million scenarios likely rattled through her brain. “Demi. Where’s Tobi now?”
“Karate, with my mother,” she finally mumbled.
“Where’s David Cane’s office?”
Demi fumbled to unlock her phone, found what she was looking for and handed it over. The address wasn’t far from the studio. Elijah typed it into his Lyft app with shaking hands and passed it back to Demi.
“Elijah, whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t,” his mother said.
Elijah ignored her, squatting down beside Demi. “I’m going to take care of this. I promise.”She just nodded, clearly still in shock. “Is there somebody you can call to come get you?”
“I’ve got a car waiting downstairs,” she muttered.
“Good. Go home. Check on Tobi. I’m going to find out the truth once and for all.” As he passed his mother, he stopped. “Oh, and you’re fucking fired. I want you out of my career and out of my life. For good.”
“Elijah!” Lucifer called. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. But I can’t stomach the thought that he’s got some kid trappedwith him right now and nobody knows what a monster he is.”
“At least get Calder… or Shep,” she begged as she trailed him onto the sidewalk.
“It’s way too late to act as if you’re worried about me now, mother.” The blue Kia Soul with the Lyft sticker stopped before him.
“Can’t you driveany faster?”
Calder gave him an exasperated look. “I’m doing the best I can, man. This is LA. There’s never not traffic.”
Shep growled and tried to dial Elijah’s cell phone again. Still no answer. It had been twenty minutes since Lucifer had frantically tracked Calder down and told him that Elijah had gone after David Cane. The only thing Shep had working in his favor was that Elijah was likely also stuck in LA traffic.
