“He will already know,” he says calmly. “Save yourself so you can get back to your wife.”
I nod as I focus on my breathing.
He waits until I’m not battling for air to restart the elevator. When the elevator reaches the suite, I’m more in control. All the emotions are compacted in a small box they won’t be able to break free from. There isn’t a barber waiting for me this time as we enter the lounge and Lennox continues walking into an adjoining room.
It doesn’t take long for the elevator to ping again as the concierge walks Niko and Scarlet into the penthouse. The louder mouth out of the two of them exclaims, “I bet Dilly loves this shit.”
Your sister hasn’t seen it.
I do what Lennox told me, lie. “She prefers the property on the French riviera.”
I’ve killed people, done worse to them once they’re a corpse, and I still flinch when she lifts her fist to punch me in the arm.
“Get my sister, baby Xandros.”
Niko doesn’t stop her from glaring at me. Instead he pours himself a coffee, agreeing with her. “Yeah, I’m starting to think this wife of yours is made up.”
“How did I make her up if she’s Scarlet’s sister?” I back away from the most terrifying Leroux. Scarlet has always been a fucking psycho, which is even more frightening considering the shit I’ve put Delilah through. A better man would feel bad about lying to her. I’ve passed that point though. “Delilah planned a trip with some of my dad’s relatives she got close to while we’ve been here.”
It’s kind of the truth. She is close to Helene by proximity, not due to any care. Technically, her stay on the island is a trip, considering I’m going to bring her home.
Scarlet examines me as she removes her coat like she’s going to be here a while. “Youlet Dilly stay with someone else? Are you forgetting how you used to follow her everywhere?”
“I was a child then,” I say lightly. “I’ve grown up now.”
“I’m not the same boy anymore,”Asher whispers.“You’re using the same lines.”
“Rubes mentioned she’s had some health issues. Is she okay?”
No.
“Yeah, being around people helps,” I lie. “You know she’s always hated being stuck in one place, so the travelling does too.”
If I wasn’t already in Hell, I’d think that’s going to be my final destination.
47
DELILAH
This stupid fucking cunt doesn’t die. Next time, I’ll have to remember she keeps the guards in the basement. As soon as I manage to escape the restraints she’s made of my own body, I’ll kill them, then take my time with her. The bruises have yellowed, but the welts from her whipping are still an angry red as I balance on the back of a chair on the tips of my toes. My hair is wrapped around a metal hoop, hanging from the light fixture in the piano room.
At least Rowan has fucked off. There are only so many ways I can block my senses with my arms tied behind my back. Hearing him fuck his mommy is worse than seeing it. It pisses Helene off when I mention it, so I smile through the pain as I shout, “I always thought that limp-dicked cunt was a motherfucker! I guess I was right!”
My laugh scrapes my dry throat but it’s worth it when her face contorts in anger.
“You had the nerve to call my child defective?” I say, still laughing. “What does it say about you when your son wants to fuck his own mother? He begs you to breastfeed him when you’re an old, dried-up bitch?”
The bottom of her stick is broken from my fight with her guards. The sharp metal cuts into my calf as she prods me.
“Does powder come out, now that you’re so old?” I wobble as she continues prodding me and my neck aches from the movement. “Or do you mix it with water for him?” My laugh turns to a snort when her face turns red. “Is it like milk powder? Oh, that’s not very powerful of you, is it?”
Something has snapped inside of me now I have nothing to lose. My baby isn’t there to keep hope alive, Kane has left, so if I can’t have a future of knowing they’re safe, I’m going to make sure this bitch knows how insignificant she is. She can’t hurt me without using someone else, because there’s nothing more painful than my hope being crushed. Not my scalp burning from how long I’ve been forced to hang from this hoop. Or my muscles aching from being stretched for so long.
Now, I’m indestructible.
She opens her mouth, but I shout, “Shut the fuck up! I don’t allow you to speak. When I want to hear your pathetic, whiny fucking voice, I’ll tell you.”
It’s so easy to get under her skin. As long as I keep speaking over her, taking her power away, I win. And because she’s weak, she cocks her arm back to strike her cane into my calf. The sting is sharp, travelling up my leg while she smiles. I have to push my nails into my palms to stop myself from rubbing the sting away with my foot.
