He, meaning Declan. He really is my biological father. She would know.
I slam the bathroom door shut and lock it. I need a moment to think. Turning on the water, I strip out of my soiled clothes and chuck them in the trash bin. When I step under the spray, I let the scalding water sluice my skin until it turns an angry red.
If it’s the last thing I do, every fucking person who has ever betrayed me is going to pay.
Chapter 4
After spending way too much time in the bathroom, I finally force myself to put on the clothes Tessa left for me neatly folded on the antique white bedspread, and I walk out of the bedroom. I’m immediately met with the wonderful smell of food cooking, something aromatic with beef. I can’t remember the last time that I ate, and I’m starving. The second thing I notice is Declan standing next to the table, carefully watching me, just like he did before. Tessa and Liam are nowhere to be seen.
With fresh eyes, I take in my surroundings. Along with the sofa and coffee table, the large, open room has a decent-sized kitchenette and eating area, and several other doors that must lead to additional bedrooms. The layout is similar to a small house or vacation rental.Where exactly in the hell are we?
With the same inscrutable expression that I can’t get a read on, Declan pulls out a chair and waits for me to make a decision. I slowly walk over and sit down. He pushes my chair in and then takes his seat across from me. Steam rises from a bowl of what appears to be pot roast—beef tips, chunky slices of carrots, onions, and perfectly cut cubes of potatoes in a thin gravy sauce. I take the spoon and dig right in, not caring if it’s poisoned or not. I’m that hungry. Besides, if the man across from me wanted to kill me, he would have already done so.
The first bite of food is heaven. After that, I practically inhale the rest.
“I want a DNA test.”
Declan nods as he chews. “Of course.”
Sitting back in the chair, I mull over which question to ask him next. I’ve got a shit-ton of them. While standing in the shower, I decided that I had two choices. I could either fight like hell to escape or I could stay and ask questions. My curiosity about the violet-eyed man claiming to be my father made the decision for me. So much of my life has been filled with deceit and untruths, and I’m fucking tired of it.
“Why now?” I lean forward, resting my elbows on the small table. My hands clench into tight fists. “Oh, and by the way, I don’t appreciate having a gun pointed at my face, kidnapped, strapped to a fucking chair while some guy wails on me with brass knuckles, almost blown up, have to fight off one of your goons who tried to tase me, and then have my ex-boyfriend shove a fuckingneedlein my neck.”
Declan’s jaw hardens, a vein pulsing above his temple. He places his eating utensil down with care. “I’m sorry—”
I slam my fist on the table, anger overriding any common sense I have that tells me Declan Levine is not a man I should challenge unless I want to wind up dead.
“You’resorry? Fuck you!”
“Alexandria.”
It’s the first time he has said my name.
“Don’t call me that.Heused to call me that.”
Declan’s face remains impassive, but I notice how his eyes darken ominously, and his pupils shrink to a pinpoint. He stands up and turns his back to me, his shoulders rising as he takes a deep breath.
“Cecelia came to me about a year ago, begging for my help, wanting protection. She used you as leverage to get what she wanted. Naturally, I didn’t take her at her word. I sent Liam to find you.”
I can’t stop my mirthless chuckle. Liam definitely found me.
“I needed to know if Cecelia was telling the truth. Liam had your DNA tested against mine.”
I’m not going to touch that statement. I don’t want to know what type of DNA proof Liam got from me. Does Declan know his enforcer fucked his would-be daughter?
“I thought you were in prison,” I stupidly comment.
He twists around slightly, and I see his mouth quirk up at the corners, but he suppresses the small smile and shakes his head no. So, another lie I was told.
“If you’ve known about me this entire time, why go through all the trouble now? Why start a war when you could have so easily come to Switzerland yourself to talk to me?”
He faces me fully then. “You appeared to be happy and thriving on your own, so I left you alone. When I found out you had returned, I knew I couldn’t let Rossi—” He strangles the word when he says my father’s name.Not my father, I remind myself.
I meet Declan’s gaze and shrink back at the suppressed rage he’s barely able to contain. Cecelia must have told him. He knows what Max did to me. Or maybe he suspects it, after my angry outburst earlier.
I go back to his previous admission. “You said you killed her.”
“Yes.”
