Chapter Twenty Eight
PAIGE
The flicker of the TV screen cast a dim glow across the room, and I snuggled closer into Tristan’s chest. It had been three weeks since I had been crowned as Queen of the Underworld and Bast had said that there was only one more ritual night to go, and that was at the end of the school year, so we had a couple of months now to just relax. Although that night had been incredible, I was looking forward to just having the guys to myself before the exams started. The showcase was in three months, and I needed to focus on my work. Bast had set me up a painting station in the dining room, but I’d found working there just meant I was fair game for any of the guys to come along and whisk me up to their bed. Although I thoroughly enjoyed being whisked away, I needed to work, so I had spent a lot more time at the art room, and evenings like this were my reward.
Tristan’s arm was around my shoulders, and his fingers stroked lazily up and down my arm with a gentle caress. I loved how affectionate he was, always finding ways to touch me or kiss me, or pulling me onto his lap, holding me tight. I’d realised how much I’d been starved of love and affection my entire life, and I soaked it up like a sponge, never tiring of feeling his fingers lace through mine. If possible, it had made me fall even deeper in love with him. Nate sat beside us, his hand on my leg. He was never going to be as affectionate as the others, but I knew he loved me deeply, and I didn’t need something from him that he wasn’t comfortable giving.
We’d all talked about what would happen when we graduated, and the guys had all been united in encouraging me to pursue my art career in London, insisting they could easily move there too. I’d been deeply touched by the idea that they would uproot their lives for me, and I’d shed some private happy tears at my insane good luck at finding these incredible men. I didn’t take any moment with them for granted.
I heard Bast snort at the TV, and I glanced over at him in the arm chair. He had his laptop balanced on the arm, and I could see he was searching for properties in London.
“Seriously, who comes up with this stuff?” he asked.
Nate shook his head, staring at the reality show with an amusing curiosity. “Human depravity knows no bounds,” he said.
“Or human stupidity,” I added, feeling the vibrations of Tristan”s chest against my cheek as he laughed.
“Same difference,” Tristan murmured into my hair, his breath tickling my scalp.
I shifted to nestle closer, but a sudden stab of pain knifed through my abdomen. My breath hitched, and I sucked in air through clenched teeth, trying to mask it.
“Paige? That”s the third time you”ve done that. What”s going on?”
“Nothing, it”s nothing,” I muttered, blushing.
“Doesn”t look like nothing,” Tristan pressed.
“It is, it’s just period cramps,” I said, my face flushing red.
“Ah shit, that sucks,” Tristan murmured. “Does it really hurt bad?”
I nodded, wincing as another sharp jolt of pain jabbed through my stomach and lower back.
Bast sat up straight, setting the laptop aside. “What do you need?” he asked.
“I ran out of painkillers,” I admitted, “but it’s fine. I just need to make a hot water bottle if you’ve got one.”
“I don’t think we do,” Tristan said, looking over at Bast who shook his head. “Ok, you move sunshine, and I’ll go and pick one up, and some painkillers while I’m at it.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” I said, as he slid out from under me. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
Tristan turned round and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I see we need to have that conversation again. You are not a bother, or an inconvenience, Paige, and we love taking care of you.”
“Pick something up for dinner while you’re out, Tris,” said Nate.
Tristan nodded. “Anything you fancy, Paige?”
“Something light please, Tris,” I answered. He nodded.
“Salmon stir fry ok? I know you like that.” I smiled and nodded, and he looked over at the others.
“There’s some veg in the drawer in the fridge. Could someone slice it up while I’m out, then I can cook as soon as I get back.”
“I can go instead if you want to get started,” offered Bast, but Tristan shook his head, reaching for his keys.
“No, I want a couple of ingredients for the sauce anyway, and if they don’t have what I need, I’ll need to figure out alternatives. I shouldn’t be too long.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of my head and left. Nate reached for my hand, pulling me onto his lap and held me close.
“I hate that you’re in pain,” he told me.
“Except when you’re causing it,” I reminded him playfully, and I was rewarded with a half smile.
Bast stood up, grabbing one of the soft knitted blankets on the end of the sofa, a recent addition when they caught me shivering at night when we hung out. He draped it over me, tucking it around my body.
“Better?”
“Much,” I said, trying to fight the urge to cry with happiness at the three of them taking care of me.
We settled back down, continuing to watch the daft programme, and between twinges of pain I laughed at their dry commentary on the talent acts.
Tristan hadn’t been gone that long when Bast’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then frowned and answered it.
“Bast. Jamieson.” He stood up, moving into the kitchen, and Nate watched him go, a frown on his face. I looked up at him.
“Something wrong?” Nate shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
A minute later, Bast walked back into the living room looking tense.
“We have to go. Someone’s fired the warehouse on Baker Industrial, and we need to get there now.”
I slid off Nate’s lap. “Let me get a hoodie, and my trainers.”
Bast shook his head. “No way, Paige. You’re staying here.”
“Alone?” demanded Nate as he stood up.
Bast looked up at him. “Jamieson said it’s Bates and his lot. She’s not coming.” Nate inhaled then nodded.
“Who’s Bates?” I asked, following them out into the hallway. “And why can’t I come?” Nate disappeared into the cellar without a word.
“Head of a crime family in London,” Bast said as he shoved on his shoes. “He”s been hitting up properties of ours all over the country, but I have no idea how he found out about this one. It’s too dangerous, Paige.”
“If it”s too dangerous for me, then it’s too dangerous for you,” I insisted, stepping in front of him as he moved towards the front door. “Oh shit.”
Nate had reappeared, and I watched him pass a handgun over to Bast, who slipped it into his belt at the back. Nate did the same with his own, and I suddenly felt very cold.
“Don’t go,” I begged. “Stay with me. You could get hurt. You could…”
Bast silenced me with a kiss, cupping my face in his hands.
“This is what we do, Paige. And we’re good at it. We’ll be fine.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Tristan will be back soon. I tried calling, but he didn’t pick up, so I”ve left him a message to let him know what’s happening. Until he gets back, lock the door behind us, and close the curtains.”
I looked up at him, sick with dread at the idea of them putting themselves in danger.
“Don’t go,” I pleaded.
Bast shook his head, then kissed my forehead.
“Be a good girl for me, Paige, and lock the door.”
He pulled away from me, and opened the door, heading out to his car. Nate bent to kiss me, but it was too brief, and then he was gone too. I watched them drive away with a horrible sense of foreboding, but as the car turned the corner, I closed the door, locking it behind me and setting the alarm.
Unable to sit still, I passed the living room and went into the kitchen. I checked my phone, but there were no messages. I set it on the worktop and sighed. My stomach and back still ached, but I couldn’t sit still, not when I was so worried. Instead, I grabbed a knife out of the chopping block and the vegetables out of the fridge, and started thinly slicing them for Tristan, though I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat anything now.
I hadn’t got far, when the doorbell rang. I froze for a moment, before rational thought clicked into place and I realised that if my stalker had shown up, he would be unlikely to ring the bell. I set the knife on the worktop, and wiped my hands on a towel, before heading towards the door. The tiny screen by the door revealed my visitor, and my sense of dread deepened. I swallowed and took a deep breath. This time, I wouldn’t be pushed around. I tapped the code on the pad by the door, cancelling the alarm, and then unlocked the door, pulling it open.
“Hello, Mum.”
“Paige, darling, you look well. Are you going to invite me in?” Her blonde hair hung perfectly straight by her face, her make-up immaculate, and her long-sleeved white roll neck jumper made her look the picture of innocence.
“Why are you here?”
She sighed. “I wanted to see you. To apologise.”
I blinked. “Apologise.” She nodded.
“Yes, I realise the last time we spoke, I lost my temper and said things I regret. I”ve had some time to think while you’ve been away, and I’d really like to talk.”
I stared at her a moment longer, not quite believing what she was saying. Had she really finally realised that she was wrong? My heart skipped a beat, and I moved away from the door, letting her step into the house. My mind was churning, I needed something to focus on, so I led her down the hall to the kitchen. I moved behind the island, as though it was some kind of protective barrier, and began slicing vegetables again. Mum perched on one of the stools and looked around.
“Nice place,” she commented, more than a touch of bitterness in her voice.
“It”s the club’s student house,” I said.
She nodded. “It was different when I was in the club. Closer to town. They must have moved it.”
“The guys won’t be long,” I said. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You are not easy to get hold of Paige Matthews. Why haven’t you been answering your phone? You know how worried I’ve been.”
“Bullshit,” I retorted. “You’re never worried about me unless it suits you. What do you want, Mum? The guys will be back soon.”
“Oh, I think they’ll be a while,” she grinned. “I’m fairly certain Bates and his men will keep them busy.”
I froze and looked up at her.
“How do you know about Bates?” I asked quietly.
She shrugged. “Friend of a friend of your father’s. I found out about the warehouse from the camera in Carver’s office, and then a well-placed anonymous phone call had Bates and his men racing up here from London. I simply sat in the car outside and waited for Blake and the others to leave.”
“But why?” I asked, completely confused. “Would burning a warehouse down do enough damage to them for you?”
“Of course not, Paige. Don’t be fucking stupid. I wanted them out of the way so I could plant the other camera in Bast’s office. The one you refused to bring with you.” She slipped off the stool. “Now, are you going to tell me which office is his?”
“No,” I said, setting the knife down and walking around the island to stand in front of her. “I am not going to let you hurt them. Not in any way. And if that’s the only real reason you’re here, then you need to leave.”
She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. “You always were a pathetic, weak little girl. Letting these men control you. Is that all you think you’re good for, Paige? Being attractive and obedient?”
“I’m not being controlled!” I snapped back. “I’m here because I want to be.”
“You want to be?” She choked back a laugh. “You enjoy being their pathetic little slut? Their plaything? You think they give a damn about you? They”re using you, Paige.”
“I guess you would know,” I said, ice in my voice. “Using me is all you ever did. Just to get your own back for something that happened decades ago.”
Her eyes flashed with fury, a sneer transforming her perfect fa?ade. “Don”t get high and mighty with me, Paige,” she hissed. “You have no idea what they are capable of.”
“I know exactly who they are, mum,” I retorted. “And they have done more for me in a few short months than you have my entire life.”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” she sneered. “You think you’ve got it all figured out? You’re nothing but a child, Paige. A naive, stupid little girl playing at being an adult. You have no idea what they”re really like. They”re just like their fathers... sick. Twisted.”
“No,” I said firmly. “They”re not. What happened to you, Mum? What did their fathers do that was so bad it screwed you up like this?”
She laughed, a cold bitter sound that echoed around the room. “You want to know what happened? Fine,” she spat, her eyes ablaze with rage and hatred.
“I was meant to be with Edward Blake, destined to marry him by the end of the year. But he chose another, a woman who was beneath him, beneath us all! He kept her hidden from everyone, her and their bastard child, a dirty secret tucked away in a house across town. All the while refusing me, refusing my love. I had given myself to him, become Persephone for him,” she said with a venomous tone. “But he didn’t want me. Instead, I was given to Alastair Carver and your father. Alastair is a monster. Twisted and cruel...he enjoyed hurting me.”
My heart ached at her words. “Mum...”
“Tell me...” She paused and studied me closely. “Is Nate like his father? Is he just as twisted and fucked up?”
“No,” I said. She ignored me and continued.
“I tried to fight back, you know. I wasn’t going to give up. The night of the hunt I stole one of the Reaper masks and hid it outside the folly with my phone. When they released me into the woods, I took it with me. I called Sarah from the woods; told her I was afraid they were going to hurt me. We were friends, you see. Supposedly, anyway, though she never told me about the brat she left with a nanny during her classes, or her forbidden affair with Edward. MY Edward.” She laughed coldly. “She came straight away.”
She stretched out, toying with the knife on the counter, spinning it slowly, her eyes distant, in another time. I caught a soft sound from the hallway, and wondered if it was Tristan coming home, but I didn’t move. I wanted to know the rest of the story.
“She admitted everything,” my mother continued. “She admitted to the affair with Edward. Admitted to the child they had together. She begged me not to tell anyone, begged me to understand. Stupid bitch.”
“What did you do?” I whispered. She looked up, as though surprised I was there.
“I hit her,” she said simply. “With a rock, over and over till she was bloody and broken, and when she stopped whining, I dragged her to the edge and threw her over.” She sighed.
“I didn”t think they would find her,” she said with a shrug, picking up the knife and inspecting it casually. “She was supposed to disappear, just another missing person lost in the woods. But Carver and Neil… they saw what I did to Sarah. They confronted me. Accused me.”
“And then?” I prompted, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Then they...they...” She stumbled over the words, her perfect composure cracking. “They raped me, violated me, hurt me. Over and over again, laughing like it was just another one of their twisted games. Then they threw me down into that ravine just like I had with Sarah.”
I felt sick, and leaned against the island, unable to comprehend what she’d gone through.
“Mum…”
“But I didn”t die,” she said with a terrible smile on her face. “I was strong, not like that stupid bitch. I crawled out of there and went home and cleaned myself up. The next day, I went to Edward, but he refused to see me. He didn”t care. His precious lover was dead, and he was mourning over her. Even though she was fucking dead, he still couldn’t see that I was the one for him.”
“Did you tell anyone what happened to you?” I asked, still trying to process everything.
She gave a short laugh. “No one would have believed me, not back then. Not with who they were. When I found out I was pregnant, my parents forced me to get a paternity test. They went to Neil”s father and threatened that if he didn’t marry me, they’d go to the press. We were married a month later, and then you were born. Neil spent the time raping and beating me, and pissing away our money on drink, drugs and gambling, and the rest of them, they just carried on with their perfect lives as if nothing had happened.”
I stood there, overwhelmed with horror and pity and what she had done and what she had gone through.
“So, now you know,” she said. “And now, I hope you can see why I need to end this. To end them. I’ll drag all of their nasty little secrets out into the open, and they’ll be ruined too.”
I swallowed hard. “What about Dad… he was part of it.”
“Oh,” she said, looking down at the knife in her hand. “Dad’s dead, Paige.”
“What?” I gasped. “How?”
“Got drunk and fell down the stairs.” She looked up at me, a chilling grin on her face. “Happened in the middle of the night a few days ago. Tripped over something and bounced all the way down. Broke his neck.”
My blood ran cold as I realised what had happened. Fear settled on my heart as she grinned up at me. She’d completely lost it.
“Mum, I’m so sorry about what you went through,” I said, moving closer. “But if he’s dead, then it’s time to let it go. Start again.”
“No!” she snapped. “No, they all must pay. Carver and Blake. And you’re going to help me.”
“No, I’m not,” I said.
She blinked, looking at me as if seeing me for the first time. “What did you say?”
“I”m not going to help you, Mum,” I repeated. I felt a cold shiver up my spine, but I kept my voice steady. “The guys... they”re good men. They didn”t do any of this. I won”t be a part of this.”
“Good?” She laughed; a horrifying sound devoid of any real mirth. “Those monsters are anything but good, Paige. And they are using you. Just like they used me, just like they use all the girls they get their hands on.”
“No,” I said again, shaking my head as I stepped back. “That”s not true. They care about me.”
She snorted loudly. “Really? And what makes you think that?”
“They”ve shown me,” I replied simply.
“They”ve shown you?” She repeated with a derisive sneer. “By fucking you? That”s how they show their affection, Paige! By using your body for their sick pleasures, just like they did with all the others!”
“I”m not just anyone to them,” I whispered fiercely, feeling my cheeks flush with a mix of anger and embarrassment. “I mean something to them.”
“Oh please,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Wake up, Paige! You”re nothing to them but a piece of ass! A hole to fill when they feel like it! That”s all you”ll ever be to them!”
Her words stabbed at me, painful and cruel but I forced myself to keep looking at her.
“Maybe so,” I said quietly after a moment of tense silence. “But even if that”s true... at least they have made me feel wanted, feel valued. More than you ever did.”
Her face twisted into a mask of rage. “Your ungrateful little bitch!” she shrieked. “You are his spawn, rotten to the fucking core!”
She lunged at me suddenly, raising the knife now gripped tightly in her hand and swinging at me. I jerked back, my hands coming up instinctively to protect myself and I cried out as the blade sliced across my palm.
“Fucking whore,” she screamed, raising the knife and bringing it down hard. I reacted better this time, Nate”s training kicking into play as I swung my arm, grabbing her wrist and using the momentum of the swing to slam her down onto the edge of the granite worktop.
She shrieked with rage and pain, and her fingers loosened just enough for me to twist it away from her. Fury raged through my veins, as she came at me again and I raised the knife myself.
“You wouldn’t fucking dare, you pathetic little worm,” she sneered. I squeezed the handle tightly, fighting the urge to sink the blade into her chest and finally silence her, but then I took a shaky breath and lowered my hand. I threw the knife behind me, towards the kitchen door.
“I’m not pathetic, Mum. I’m strong. I’m stronger than you ever were, and I refuse to be controlled or manipulated by you anymore. It’s over. I’m calling the police.” I turned and reached for the phone on the top, and she snarled, grabbing my hair and yanking it back painfully so that I cried out.
A dark shape blurred past me, knocking me to the side, and I saw the gleam of metal as he raised his hand. The blade flashed in the light as he brought it down with a sickening thud. He raised it again, and I saw the crimson gleam for a moment before he slammed it down again and again. My mother made a sickening moaning noise as he stabbed her repeatedly, violently, and I rushed forward, grabbing his arm.
He hit me hard across the face and sent me flying sideways into the island. My head crashed against the granite edge, and everything went black.