I see blood red in his familiar, condescending tone. The rushing in my ears and acceleration of my pulse do little to calm my rising need to rip his throat out.Don’t react, don’t react, I tell myself.He wants you to react.I need to maintain a semblance of control if I’m going to get out of here alive with Sloane. Sabel steps forward, asserting her dominance.
“Dorian and I”—Sabel pauses, looking over at him with adoration that disgusts me—“we both want the same things. We came together to achieve our goals long ago. As the COO of Sonus, he’s working closely with the Eden Frequency for us.” COO? I figured as much, butfuck, does it still piss me off. And I’m sure Dorian has been playing Sabel like a fiddle, manipulating her to do his bidding while allowing her to maintain her illusion of control. It’s all soDorianof him. I give her my best impression of someone who has no idea what she’s talking about.
“Don’t play dumb, Riven. I know that you are aware of the frequency. And now, you’re going to activate it for us. It’s linked to your voice, as the vocalist for Reverb. And while we don’tneedyou in the flesh to activate it, it’s a lot more fun this way. Don’t you think?”My voice? Well, that’s definitely not something I saw coming. What a wicked fucking twist of events. I try my very best to remain calm, but I’m sure that if looks could kill, Sabel would be a pile of fucking ashes right now.
“Awww, don’t look at me like that, Riven. If you don’t activate it, I’ll make you.” She nods to Dorian, and he presses the blade of the knife deeper into Sloane’s skin. Sloane doesn’t react. I see the faintest trickle of blood, and it’s enough for me.
“OKAY! Okay, I’ll do it,” I spit out. “Drop the fucking knife, and I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful,” Sabel purrs, clapping her hands together. Dorian removes the knife from Sloane’s throat, but remains tooclose for my comfort. Sabel finally turns her attention to Dorian to dismiss him.
“That will be all, Dorian. Thank you.” She nods her head toward the door to the two-way viewing room, and my father leaves. He gives me a smug look, scoffing before disappearing behind me. I hear his footsteps retreating, and then the door opening and closing.Good riddance.
My eyes shoot to Sloane as she stirs, coming to. Her eyes search the room in panic until they find mine. For a split second, they become filled with relief. But her brain catches up to the moments before Sabel hypnotized her, and she’s panicking once again. I reach for Sloane, but the guard to the right kicks my hand away and presses the gun into my temple.
“Don’t fucking move, boy.” The guard says.Boy? This one must have taken a page out of Dorian Reilly’s playbook. I force myself to submit, for now.
“Welcome back, Sloane,” Sabel says, walking around until she’s standing in front of Sloane with her back toward me. Sabel is blocking my view of what’smine. Sloane is soclose. All I’d have to do is reach out and—
“I said, don’t fucking move!” The guard presses the pistol into my cheek now. This guy is going to be high up on my murder list when this is all said and done. I might force-feedhimto Sabel.
“Now, where were we?” Sabel asks. I peer around Sabel, locking eyes with Sloane for a moment before Sloane rips her eyes from mine to bring her attention to the blonde witch standing in front of her. I want Sloane’s eyes back on mine. Ineedto see her.
“Ah, yes. I was speaking about that pesky human emotion. You know the one, don’t you, Sloane?” Sabel asks. She’s provoking Sloane, and I don’t like it. She doesn’t allow Sloane to answer. “Tell me, Sloane. Could you trulylovea man who liesto you about his identity?” Sabel sidestepsjustenough to allow me access to Sloane’s beautiful emerald-green eyes. Sloane looks back and forth between Sabel and me before her eyes land on mine.
That’s it, darling.Eyes on me.
I see a flicker of an emotion behind Sloane’s eyes. It looks awfully like that pesky little emotion Sabel is speaking of. What did Sloane see when she was under hypnosis? I need so badly for what I see to be true. Sloane doesn’t answer the question.
“You can,” Sabel answers for her. “It’s written all over your face, dear. You don’t have to say a word. But tell me this, Sloane.” Sabel walks up to Sloane, stopping right in front of the chair and kneeling until she’s face-to-face with her. “Could you trulylovea man who murdered your father?”
I knew that Sabel would drop this on Sloane eventually, but it still manages to shock the fuck out of me. My eyes snap to the back of Sabel’s head, and then up to Sloane. Sloane’s wide eyes are already on mine. Sloane lookspissed. There’s a fire unlike any other burning behind her gaze.
“No …no.” Sloane shakes her head in disbelief. Tears well up in her eyes and stream down her cheeks. “Is it true? Did you kill him?” Sloane asks. It’s nearly a whisper, as if she’s drained of all the energy it took for her to get to this point. I don’t say anything, unsure how to tell her that I did.
Ididmurder your father, Sloane. I decide to go for it. What could go wrong?
“Yes,” I answer, not allowing my eyes to leave hers. I need Sloane to see me foreverythingthat I am. She stops crying, stops shaking, and stares at me. Her head tilts as she studies me. For the first time, her expression is unreadable. I begin to wonder if the headphones are turned back on when she finally speaks.
“Why did you do it?” Sloane asks, never breaking eye contact.
I pause at the unexpected question, unsure of how to proceed. I decide on the truth, meaning what I said about needing her to seeallof me.
“Your father wasn’t just a corrupt lawyer, Sloane; he was the worst of them. He was paying off judges to make sure even the worst criminals got away with a ‘not guilty’ verdict. He used those criminals to do his bidding around town, picking off people who got in his way.” I pause, assessing Sloane. She doesn’t look like she wants to rip my face off, and she isn’t crying, so I continue. She’s going to need that strength for what I’m about to say.
“He was running an underground trafficking operation, selling women to the rich and powerful men around town in exchange for their silence and cooperation. Sloane, your father was going to se—”
“Okay, that’s enough of story time,” Sabel says, cutting me off. My eyes shoot to Sabel’s, glaring at her. Sloane does the same.
“He was going to dowhat, Riven?” Sloane asks, a look of knowing on her face. Gideon Keenan was going to sell his daughter to one of the rich scum bag elites of Hollowcrest, and the look on her face tells me that deep down she knows it. I was never going to allow that to happen to her,ever. I try to convey that to her without words, failing.
“Quiet!” Sabel’s voice echoes throughout the room. Sabel pulls a pocketknife out of her fucking bra and brings it to Sloane’s throat to ensure her silence. Sloane gasps, snapping her lips shut in submission.
“Do not fucking hurt her, Sabel. So help me, if you so much as draw another drop of blood, I will end your fucking life,” I growl, pressing up off my heels. The guards at my sides both step toward me, but I don’t falter.
“Riv, come on. You’re this caught up overher?!” Sabel asks, waving the hand that’s holding the knife. The use of my nickname on Sabel’s lips makes me want to dismember her alive and force-feed her to Dorian. I can’t help the internal laughter. I should probably do some self-reflection on this cannibalistic fantasy thing that keeps happening when this is all over.
“Why are you smiling like a lunatic?” Sable asks, assessing me.
