Gathe handed it to me, and I broke through the password, then went to his text messages, scrolling for any mention of her.
Cressida’s name wasn’t mentioned, but it was one of the text threads.Although it had been six months since he’d last texted her.I began reading from the most recent.He was demanding that that she tell him where she went, threatening to have her tossed out on her ass, that he’d turn her father against her.Then, in the next text, he’d apologize, saying he didn’t mean it and that he loved her.She never responded to any of it.
Finally, something from her.
Arthur: If you don’t come tonight and treat me with respect at dinner with our family, I’ll make you live to regret it.Your attitude has been unacceptable.All we have done for you, all I have done for you.You get to live in that house because of me.Lucy would have kicked you out years ago.
Cressida: You can’t hurt me.
Arthur: You know I can.And I will do it again just to remind you since you seem to have forgotten.
Cressida: Bruises and broken bones heal.
Arthur: Then perhaps I’ll do something more permanent.If you can’t obey me and be a good girl, then you’re of no use to me.A problem.Clearing you out of our lives might be exactly what we need.
I spun back around to the unconscious man on the floor and went to grab him again.Wanting to see him suffer, scream out in agony.
“You’ll regret it if you snap his neck.Clearly, whatever you’re reading means he deserves a more brutal exit,” Than said through the fog of rage that had taken over me.
I let go of his neck, but not before I threw him onto the floor.
He groaned.
“Oh good, he’s not dead yet.”Gathe sounded truly relieved.
I glared down at the phone.“We might need to string him up before I read more.Go ahead and move on with the torture part before I kill him right here.”
“Slap him until he is alert enough to stand,” Than told Gathe.“I’ll go get the Escalade and bring it up to the back door.”
I stayed back, keeping my distance.If I got too close, I wasn’t sure what I’d do to him.And he wasn’t worthy of a quick death.
“There he is,” Gathe said after the third slap.“We have open eyes, but the condition of his brain function is still iffy.”
I watched as Gathe stood back up, dragging Arthur up, too, by one arm.When Arthur saw me, his eyes went wide, and he began to struggle against Gathe’s hold.
“Go ahead and pull your arm out of the socket,” Gathe told him.“If you haven’t figured it out, we don’t give a fuck.”
“Don-don-don’t,” he stammered out, then began to whimper.
“Ah shit,” Gathe said.“He pissed his pants.I don’t want piss on the seats.They’ll stink the entire ride home.”
“I’ll grab a bag out of one of the trash cans out front.He can sit on that,” I told him.“Let’s go.”
I went on ahead of them while Gathe taunted Arthur’s struggle to walk and scolded him like a child when he stumbled.The man wailed just before we reached the door, and I glanced back to see Gathe dragging him by the hair of his head.His legs sliding across the floor.
“He’s a bad seed,” Gathe said, exasperated.“Doesn’t fucking know how to listen.”
Twenty
Cressida
The kitchen was stocked with basic necessities.There were coffee pods for the Keurig, half-and-half, as well as a holiday flavor creamer in the refrigerator, along with eggs, butter, cream cheese, and bagels.I found some other items in the pantry.Taking out the sugar and a loaf of bread, I went about making myself breakfast, although I had no appetite.I realized I’d not eaten at all yesterday either, and I didn’t want to meet with my new employer on an empty stomach.I was already going to be tired; at least, I could make sure I wasn’t hungry.
Sleep had come for me last night, but it took hours.I had a shower, then sat on the sofa, looking out at the quiet street while the world slept.Somewhere around four, I’d finally gone to bed, which meant I had a solid three hours.I was going to need a lot of concealer today for under my eyes.
While my coffee was brewing, I opened my purse and found a pen, then turned over the papers detailing my new job to write down a list of things I needed to do today other than go to my new place of employment.
The first thing was to get a phone.I glanced over at the envelope that contained my debit card.I didn’t want to use any of that money.It wasn’t mine.I had done nothing to earn it.
