I stand up and scan the room. A discarded robe, no shoes or trench coat. No sign of a struggle, either. A thick blackout curtain to my right shifts. I swivel, fist raised just in case. But the fight leaves me when I spot a figure huddled under the window.
Fiona has made herself as small as possible, legs folded and face lowered and hidden in her knees.
Crouching before her, I look for signs of abuse or injury. No blood that I can see. She isn’t making any sound of pain. Did she hide—and Mom somehow missed her?
Apparently she did. I inhale slowly, settling my nerves. Showing anxiety won’t help. “Hey,” I say gently. “Fiona.”
She curls up more, making herself even smaller.
“You’re safe. It’s just me.”
“Go away.” Her voice is muffled against her knees.
The sight of her huddled like a scared child makes me want to strangle Mom. I push down the anger and keep my voice soft. “Sorry, can’t do that. Let me see you.”
“See me? So you can gloat about how much you’ve messed up my life?”
An immediate denial dies on my tongue as she jerks her head up, eyes flashing. The sight of unshed tears reddens my vision. Blood seeps from a cut on her lip. She isn’t sporting bruises, but that doesn’t mean Mom was gentle. She knows plenty of ways to hurt without leaving a mark.
“Who did this to you?” I start to cradle Fiona’s face, but she turns away. My hand trembles, and I drop and clench it. “Tell me who scared you.”
“Why do you care? What are you going to do if you know?”
Her furious distrust pains me, but I have no one to blame but myself. Remorse pools like acid in my stomach. I should’ve anticipated Mom’s behavior after the encounter with Red. This is on me. “Was it my mother?”
Fiona lets out a hollow laugh. “Not entirely. Aaron found me first.”
Rage beats at my chest.That fucking weasel.“I’m going to murder that fucker.”
“Then your mother arrived,” Fiona adds woodenly. “She hurt Aaron, then threatened me with a corkscrew. Did you know she had a woman drug you last night?”
I nod.
“What happened to her?” she asks, her face taut.
“I kicked her out. I don’t want to be anybody’s pawn.”
“So you calledmehere?” Fiona’s breathing grows shallow andunsteady. “Knowing what could happen? ThatIcould become a pawn instead?”
“I was too out of my mind with the drug to think that far. I was—”
She jumps to her feet, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Your mother didn’t just say hello, Bryce! She came here to tell me that if I don’t get pregnant with your baby,she’ll kill me. She thought I was the girl you were supposed to sleep with! She made me show her my body to make sure we’d had sex! If I didn’t, she was going to stab my eyeballs because I don’t need them to get pregnant!” Her voice is shrill with helpless fury and shame.
I slowly unfold my legs and modulate my tone. “She won’t touch you, Fiona. She won’t—”
“Yes, she will.You know why? Because the problem isn’t killing someone, it’s getting caught! And who’ll care enough to search for me if I disappear? No one. Not asingle person will care.” Her last statement comes out a shaky yell. She clamps her mouth, but her chin trembles.
More unshed tears glitter in her green-gold eyes. She isn’t just saying this out of anger. She believes it deep in her heart, and Mom’s actions stirred her fear. Remorse slices my heart. “That isn’t true. I’d look for you.”
“Riiiiiight.” Sarcasm drips from Fiona’s tone. “Oh wait, you would. Because you still need to collect your two hundred and ninety-eight.”
“That’s not—”
Shaking her head, she hugs herself. “This isn’t what I bargained for. It was supposed to just be sex. Why couldn’t you have just slept with that other girl last night? I wouldn’t have cared.”
Pent-up fury erupts at her casual suggestion that I have sex with another woman and that it wouldn’t have bothered her at all. It overwhelms the burgeoning guilt. I grip her arms. “Do you think I wanted this to happen? Do you think I want to have a mom who’s this crazy?”
Fiona gives me a look that says I’m just as awful as my mom. I’d give up a kidney to wipe that expression off her face.
