My blindfold is yanked roughly from my head, and I’m met with the beady eyes of…fuck.
“Lawrence?”
My heart rate picks back up immediately as myrealsituation sinks in. I’m tied up in some strange room at the mercy of a man who had Sasha so disgusted over a simple lunch that he ended our relationship. And it’s not like Sasha is a saint over here. Three people. I watched himkillthree people, just because they touched either of us sexually.I’m screwed.
Lawrence grabs a chair from across the room and drags it slowly toward me, scraping the legs across the concrete floor. When he has it positioned right in front of me, he stops and flops down, sitting so close his knees graze mine. The small touch repulses me, but I do my best to steel my emotions. I’m focusing on breathing when Lawrence finally speaks up again.
“Nobodyis coming for you, sweetheart. Not your precious Sasha and not your brother.”
Brother?Does he meanbrothers?I made the choice not to tell the Sinclairs who I am, so why would they be coming after me in the first place? Unless Lawrence told them and they really didn’t care… My face must betray my confusion because the crooked smile that grows on Lawrence's face looks like something out of a horror film.
“That’s right. I told Jack that I had his sister. That he could have you back after…”
“Wait…Jack?” I momentarily forget to be scared at the mention of Jack’s name. “What do you mean? Of course he didn’t want anything to do with me!Jackisn’t my brother! I know he was raised with the Sinclairs, but I doubt he would care about a long-lost half sister love child of Henry Sinclair II!”
Lawrence stands, finally giving me some breathing room, and begins pacing the room. “No, see, that's where you’re wrong. If you think I was going to rely on some silly little girl to do a proper DNA test, you're dumber than I thought. Prime blackmail material is much more important to me than that. I got some samples to run my own test from Henry Sinclair, and when the results came back negative after yours were positive, I knew something was up. Then it dawned on me. You used Jack and Margot’s daughter’s hair for the sample.”
Lawrence circles back to face me and stares down into my eyes. “I know you only spent a small amount of time with the Sinclair family, but did you never realize how similar your eyes are to Jack’s? They are almost identical in shape, and the shade of blue is the same. Uncanny. Anywho, I was able to get a sample of our dear Jack’s DNA, ran the tests again, and boom. Perfect match for half siblings.”
“Oh…” I manage to breathe out.
I’m stunned, still bound to my seat. My fear is momentarily overtaken by the meaning of such a discovery. I mean, for starters, I still havesomeoneout there attached to me. And by marriage, I would still technically be related to the Sinclairs. I would still be invited and included in all their family shenanigans. But I don’t have to feel bad anymore for betraying Blanche. Or feel weird for playing a young Blanche in those scenes, acting as the part of fucking my dad…
“Yeah, oh. And when I went to your dearest brother, he didn’t want anything to do with you. Told me to take you away and kill you for all he cared. So we know you don’t have his support. And then there is yourSasha.I’m sure he doesn’t want anything to do with a whore like you anymore. I’m guessing you spread your slutty little legs for him pretty quickly huh? It would seem like he got what he wanted and split.”
“No! He wouldn’t.” I know he wouldn’t betray me like that. No matter what’s been going on between us, Iknowthere is enough of the man that loved me still inside the demon he became. “Sasha wouldn’t just let you take me, Lawrence. You may think you’re safe with me right now, but Iknowhe will find me. And when he does, you better pray he kills you quickly.”
Lawrence runs a slimy finger down my face before grabbing my chin and tilting my face up to him. “You better hope you’re right. I’ll give him one more chance to save you. Your life for a clean slate with my debts. Because if he doesn’t, well…nobody will ever find you.”
Chapter thirty-five
The moment Blanche parks the car, I’m off Ledger’s lap and out the door. Thankfully, the gravity of the situation has overridden any animosity between the two of us at the moment. I never meant for things to get so far, but I suppose it’s better my in-laws knowexactlyhow lethal I can be.
The only person who didn’t seem shocked when I beat up their big bad Ledger was Blanche. She gets out soon after barking commands. “Ledger honey, you stay back and wait for Taranov's men. Sasha and I will go in and follow her tracker.”
“I’m going in. I have fifty men arriving in two minutes.”
“Fifty-one. Don’t forget Jack. He’s right behind us!” Ledger calls from where he’s propped against the car.
“You’re right, let’s not forget about the fucker who dismissed his sister to be killed,” I grumble as I make my way to the back entrance of the motel.
It’s just a regular fucking motel. This guy has managed to stay off my grid for weeks and brings Lucy to a normal hotel? Out in the open? Blanche leads the way down twisting halls until we come to an abrupt stop. I’m skeptical by nature and all of mytraining would normally lead me to think this was a huge trap, but this just seems like shoddy planning.
“Is this it?” I whisper. My heart is racing, and for the first time in years, I’m nervous about how to proceed. I’m usually the leader on any mission, always making split-second decisions, but all I can do right now is look at Blanche for direction.
“Yes. Are your guys here yet?”
I nod when a glance at my phone confirms their arrival.
“Well, what are we waiting on?” Blanche kicks in the flimsy motel door and draws a handgun I didn’t know she had.
My attention goes immediately to the woman tied up in the center of the room.Lucy. In my rush to her, I forget to check to see if there’s anyone else in the room, but I don’t care. There isn’t a human alive or dead who could stop me from my girl. I drop to my knees the moment I reach her, gently running my hands across her body for any sign of injury before untying her. I’ve gotten her mouth untaped and her blindfold off when the click of a trigger breaches the silence in the room.
“Not so fast. Did you think I would just let you walk out with my leverage?”
Looking up, I’m faced with the familiar face of Lawrence. Anger like nothing I’ve ever felt barrels through me. “You’re lucky she’s not hurt,” I grit out. “If I find out you touched a hair on her body, you’ll be begging me for death.”
“Oh, you can have her back, but you either give me exactly what I’m asking for or she’s a gone—”
