Venom coated my words. “I didn’t need money to overpower you and slit your brother’s throat, did I?”
He laughed. “See, that’s my point. If I hadn’t listened to my fool brother, you wouldn’t have gotten away from me, girl. I was so drunk and high from the purest drugs and top shelf alcohol I could barely stand, and that’s the only reason you stood a chance against me.”
He sat up straight, steepled his hands in front of his chest, and flashed the brightest smile I’d ever seen, searing straight through me with his cold blue eyes. “But you know what? I’m not high right now, Leah.”
Every time he said my birth name, chills slid down my spine.
He looked around the room as if he were ponderinghis next words. I saw the moment he landed on what he was going to say next as he flicked his gaze back to me before standing.
“You know, I almost left you alone,” he said as he stalked to my desk and dragged his fingers over the glass surface. “All these years passed and while I always kept an eye on you, even in person sometimes, the anger had left me. Like I said, I was thankful for you taking care of a future problem I didn’t realize I would need to deal with at the time.”
He walked around my desk so slowly I had to fight to keep my body in my chair as I tracked his movements and swiveled my chair as he went. He stopped at the side and put his hands in his pockets.
“Then something interesting happened. Something I wasn’t expecting that enraged me all over again.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, the desk no longer a barrier between us. “Let me guess, the big bad wolf got pissed when I decided to pave my own path with my firm. When I decided to make a name for myself in the town I fled to because of you.”
His laugh boomed throughout the room. “Leah, you’re still that naive little girl you were back then. You have no idea what you had in your grasp. It’s a shame, honestly. For any other man, it would’ve been the ultimate reverse card for you if you had known. I’m not most men though.”
The monster in my chest stopped pacing and glared at him. I regretted not wearing my knife on me like usual, but if I was quick enough, I could snatch it from my purse on the ground at my feet.
The man, whose name I still didn’t know, walked closer. He brushed the hair off my shoulder, his fingers trailing the exposed skin at my collarbone. I held my breath as the monster screeched.
The air moved as he brought his lips to my ear. “How doesit feel when my son is this close to you? How does it feel when he hunts you and watches you just like his father? How does it feel when he fucks you, Leah?”
My body went numb, and my brain emptied. Every ounce of feeling and humanity left within my body drained away. Raven no longer existed. The monster within took over, and I thought of nothing except the years of pain I suffered at the hands of others. I shed my skin like a snake and replaced it with unadulterated malice.
He chuckled, his voice rumbling off my neck, the derisive tone from before replaced with ire. “I’m going to show you how a real man fucks, Leah. How a savage plays with his food before he devours it, before he rips it to shreds beneath his teeth. You aren’t escaping this time, bitch. When I’m done with you, not a trace of your body will remain. The legendary Raven Lovelace, disappearing without a trace.”
A crash boomed at the front door, and the man whipped a knife to my throat. Glass shattered, and Ryan’s voice roared through the office. “Raven!”
He thundered down the hall and froze when he reached the doorway, taking in the scene before him. Utter shock fixed his features, but the monster didn’t care.
“Oh, son, how nice of you to join us.” The man’s voice grew mocking again. “I was just asking Leah what it felt like to be stalked by the son of the very man who’s been her shadow for years.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ryan
Disbelief stunnedme as I saw my father with a knife to Raven’s throat. Confusion swirled in my mind as he looked at me expectantly.
“Well?” he asked.
I shook my head as I stepped farther into the room, trying to steady my thoughts and I realized he had asked a question. My voice was unsteady when I spoke. “Wh-what?”
He sighed in annoyance. “Ever the disappointment. I asked if you wanted to watch what I’m going to do to your little girlfriend here. I don’t mind an audience. I might even let you take a turn before I snap her neck.”
Bile rose in the back of my throat, and nausea almost took me to my knees. I couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. I was rooted to the spot, my mind unable to figure out what was happening or what to do.
Dad stood to his full height and twirled the knife in his hand. Raven flinched away, her hand shooting to the spot where the knife had been. Dad began pacing around the room.
“Actually, I changed my mind. You, my darling girl,” hisgaze slid to Raven, “You’re going to do me another favor. Just like all those years ago. You,” a hysterical laugh tore from his throat, “are going to take care of this worthless piece of shit my wife birthed. He was next after I finished with you, anyway.”
Another favor? All those years ago? My brain wasn’t computing what he meant, then everything clicked. Dad was the other man. He was the one who got away after holding Raven for my uncle to rape her, and now he was back to get his revenge.
Raven finally looked at me. Her eyes were hard and nothing like I’d ever seen before. She showed no ounce of fear, and my heart kicked my ribs. Her eyes told me I wasn’t leaving this office. Not with her or any other way. The only thing I could do was try to stall the inevitable.
“What do you mean, favor?” I whispered.
