“Okay, okay,” he hedges. “ I guess this is about me blabbing to the others last week. I was way out of line, repeating what she said. I just found it cute and a bit funny, that’s all. No more oversharing. Okay?”
“Okay. And no more visits.”
“Come on, man!” he protests. “Don’t punish her for something I did. She’s lonely. Having some visits breaks the monotony. It makes her happy.”
“I don’t want her to be happy,” I blurt out, biting down on the rest of my sentence:without me.
He raises an eyebrow in surprise.
“What I mean,” I add hurriedly, “is that it’s not a concern of mine. What is, is that she’s a liability.”
“She’s innocent,” he says hotly.
“Right. But that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t try to contact her. The more visits she gets, the easier it will be for someone on the outside to get in touch with her. And after all, weareholding her in captivity. You could hardly blame her for going to the police, given the chance.”
I know that’s an argument that will carry weight. He hates hearing the abduction put into plain words. I can only imagine the mental gymnastics he must do to justify our actions. Still, he holds firm.
“It’s just me and my coach, Bradley,” he says, exasperated. “Working out gives her a reason to get up.”
“Too dangerous,” I insist.
He looks at me shrewdly. “I know the apartment is bugged and you’ve got cameras everywhere. You spend your time staring at the feed on your phone instead of working. You really want me to believe all this bullshit is you speaking, instead of your hard-on?”
“Enough, Everest. We’re not talking about this any longer.”
I wave him away, pain stabbing again at my eyeballs. He slams the door behind him in a huff.
I let out a deep breath, my body relaxing. Only for it to bristle again as a light knock is followed by Logan’s head popping in.
“Damien.”
From the look on his face, I can tell he already knows what Everest is only guessing at. The guy reads me like an open book.
He sits down across from me, visibly worried.
“Listen, man, I wasn’t kidding at the meeting. Vale is about to fuck you over.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it. He’s circling around you like a vulture. He wants to take control of Devil.”
“Well, you won’t let him, will you?”
“Not sure I’ll be able to stop it. That is, if you continue like this.”
I lean back in my chair, rubbing my head. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying…” He hesitates. “It was fine when she was some distant obsession. I know you spent a lot of time looking at the footage, but she didn’t distract you. Not really. It was like… like a glass of whiskey to relax you after a long day. This is different.”
I close my eyes, waiting for him to continue.
“She’s literally in the building. And when you’re not downstairs ball-deep in her, or whatever, you’re thinking about her. I’ve never seen you like this. You’re usually the type to fuck a girl without even knowing her name.”
“I barely know this girl’s name,” I snort.
Liar. It’s Seraphina. Seraphina with the violet eyes. My little pet.
He clicks his tongue impatiently.
