“Sophie betrayed you? That’s hard to believe.”
“Her father did and, well, we couldn’t locate him.”
My face scrunches. “Sophie hated her father. They haven’t spoken in years.”
Leon’s eyes widen as if what I just shared was news to him. “That explains some things.”
“Can you please tell me where the hell Sophie is now? I need to go to her.”
He scoffs. “I wish I knew. Two months ago, in the place where we were keeping Sophie, I found my uncle dead and Luka and Sophie gone. My guess was that Landers came to rescue her and took my brother as collateral.”
Finally, the fog in my mind lifts. He blamed Sophie for the disappearance of his brother. “And you thought I had something to do with it?”
Sadness pours out of his eyes as his gaze locks onto mine. “You have to know what it looked like. I’m not a person who trusts easily…”
“And you think I am?” My voice rises as my finger pokes into my chest. “You think I go around having sleepovers with anyone who comes along?” I jump to my feet, adrenaline coursing through my body.
He raises his hands in a surrender motion. “I didn’t think…”
“You’re damn right you didn’t think. You apparently thinkyou have a monopoly on trust issues. But believe me, there are plenty of people who’ve been burnt out there, and we don’t go around treating others like shit.”
“I never meant to treat you like shit.”
“Well, you did. You yelled at me like you had any right to, and you discarded me like I was nothing.” I point an angry finger at him. “You hurt me. After I promised never to get hurt again.” My feet stomp on their way to the front door. I know I’m safer here, but I can’t force myself to care about that right now.
Just as my hand reaches the doorknob, a thick arm wraps around my waist, pulling me back.
“Let me go!” I scream, holding back tears.
“I can’t,” he responds, his voice dripping with remorse.
“You can, but you won’t.”
“No! I can’t let you go because I can’t risk you getting hurt,” he roars out. “I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt,” he adds quietly.
“So what? You’ll just keep me here indefinitely?” I huff.
He stares at me for a second before answering. “I will let you go when I know that you’ll be safe.”
“Great. So never.” With another huff, my shoulders drop, and I head toward the room I sleep in. A sob slips out, all the tears I’ve pushed back catching up to me.
As I reach the door, a voice breaks through my sobs. “I really don’t know where they are. But Luka left his whole family for her. He left me.” I pretend I don’t notice the way his voice breaks. “He’ll protect her with his life.”
He finishes the sentence, and I slam the door in his face. I fall onto the bed, desperation wrapping a fist around my heart.
I should be relieved. If Leon is to be trusted, Sophie is okay. But this whole discussion reminded me of just how much he hurt me. It reminded me of being thrown aside like I’m nothing, by the first person I’ve trusted after Robbie. It reminded me of how much he broke my heart.
Because even though I acted like we were just having fun, I was falling for him. Harder and faster than ever before. He made me feel like I mattered. Like I was appreciated. Then he took it all away.
CHAPTER 34
Leon
Instead of being useless in the office, I head toward one of the lower floors, my fists clenched from all the anger that has nowhere to go. My throat constricting, I unbutton the top two buttons on my shirt, before pressing my finger to the biometric scanner. It beeps and lets me in, darkness seeping into my vision. The barely visible figure tied to the single chair in front of me lets out a muffled gasp. He sees even less than I do, his eyes covered with a blindfold. I turn on the dimmed lights and uncover his eyes. This wouldn’t be nearly as cathartic in pitch dark. His eyelids blink as he winces, his vision clearly unused to the light. Regular people tend to think that violence is the only way to torture someone, but us who actually do it know that it couldn’t be further from the truth. Psychological torture is a fate much worse than physical. Our bodies are equipped to handle physical pain. Once the pain exceeds the threshold, the person simply faints, stopping all the fun. But this, being kept in a dark, silent room, your senses working overtime, your synapses firing on all cylinders, and stress pushing your heartbeat past what feels safe… this isn’t something your body can save you from. As I watch his eyes widen with terror, I know I’ve made the right choice. I’m still unsure of how I want todeal with him, but this violence inside of me needs to be let out.
My mind replays the words on Alex’s medical records, her picture flashing in my mind and I get to work.
A knee to the ribs, and I hear them crack under his muffled screams.Rib fractures.
