In Love with a Ruthless Man (Wrong for You)

14

“These numbers will make sense later on, in a way that I wish it wouldn’t.”

The attorney clicked on her pointer, and the numerical puzzle shrunk into an inlaid screen.

She clicked again, and a video took up the rest of the display, its cover showing Fawn tied to a chair, her eyes blackened, and what they could see of her body was colored with bruises. Her hands were bound behind her back while her legs were strapped together with ropes wound tightly around her ankles.

Murmurs and gasps rose from the crowd, and the blood leeched from the prince’s face as he stared at the woman he loved.

Fawn.

His angel.

How the fuck could anyone do this to Fawn?

In front of Fawn stood a woman with dark hair cut in jagged edges, crazy black eyes, and sallow skin.

“For the record, the person tied to the chair is our witness, Ms. Fawn Cornwall, and the other individual is known by the alias of Tic Tac Toe, which, not surprisingly, is the M.O. she is known for. Prior to her capture, it was erroneously believed that Tic Tac Toe was a middle-aged black male of average height. Records reveal that this person’s birth name is Meredith Grayson, is on the Most Wanted list in four states, and is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least twelve individuals in the past seven years.”

An objection was made and sustained, and Fredericka took a deep breath. “Regardless of how many Meredith Grayson may have killed, I hope the people in this courtroom share my hope that Ms. Cornwall will be her last victim.”

The attorney pushed a button on her pointer.

Click.

And the video began to play.

Meredith Grayson came to life on the screen, sharpening her knife in front of Fawn’s face, so, so close that if she had breathed just a little deeper, the knife would have cut her.

No.

God.

No.

But the prince and his fawn’s nightmare had just begun.

His stomach curled as Meredith Grayson began to taunt Fawn.

“Do you know why they call me Tic Tac Toe?”

“Are you scared?”

“Do you have any idea what I’ll do to you if you don’t give me what I want?”

“Do you understand why you’re here?”

“Do you think anyone will come rescue you?”

And with every question, Meredith would bring her knife close to his angel’s face, so damn close that if Fawn had nodded or shaken her head, the blade would have cut through her skin.

“Smart,” Meredith marveled. “You’re definitely one of my smarter guests.” She put her knife away. “Too bad you’re not smart enough when it comes to men.” She pointed to the wall behind her, where a colored photo of the prince was taped. “That man doesn’t give a shit about you, and yet here you are, embroiled in his troubles.”

Fawn’s eyes widened, and so did Meredith’s smile.

“Wondering about my vocabulary, aren’t you?” The woman lifted her knife again. “I was a teacher in a prestigious culinary school, top three in my state actually. But then I was laid off and—-” Meredith shrugged. “I found another way to make my skills handy.” She ran a finger across her blade, murmuring confidingly, “This blade has killed twelve persons, but I’ve also spared the lives of at least thrice of that. Do you know why?”

Fawn shook her head.

“Because they realized that I had the better offer.” Meredith began playing with her knife, tossing it up in the air and catching it by the handle before tossing it back up. “The people who hire me think I use force to get what I want.” Her lip curled. “Which is stupid. Everyone knows these things can’t be done by force.”

“I don’t understand—-”

Meredith stopped playing with her knife, and her crazy black eyes began to dance. “You will. In fact, we’re going to play a game. We’ll play tic tac toe on your face, and every time you lie to me, I’ll mark your disgustingly flawless face. Tell me the truth, give me what I want, and I’ll let you go.”

Fawn whispered, “I don’t know anything.”

“LIE.” Meredith suddenly made a buzzing sound, similar to game show buzzers, and Fawn jolted against her restraints.

“You know something.” The knife moved up, pointing straight to Fawn’s eyes. “I can see it in your eyes. You know something.”

Fawn didn’t answer.

The prince followed Meredith’s gaze.

The prince looked into Fawn’s eyes.

Ah.

God.

She had known something.

Isola L’Eternita.

He had succumbed to having her one last time, and she had ended up hearing something that had endangered her life.

Fawn, I’m sorry.

This – this was fucking why it would never work between them.

Fawn, I’m sorry.

He heard Meredith say from the video, “Let’s play.”

And the nightmare continued.

“My first question is, and I know this is a bit of cheating, but it’s more like a free pass for you in case you want this to be over.” Meredith licked her lips, almost as if she could taste Fawn’s fear. “Do you know where Beatrice Crichton is being hidden?”

“No.” Fawn’s voice was flat.

“Wrong answer.” Meredith’s voice was equally flat.

The knife went up, and the video captured the reflection of Fawn’s frightened look on its blade.

And then Meredith started to carve an X just below Fawn’s right eye, deep enough to gouge the flesh, deep enough to scrape against the bone, deep enough to prolong the pain without killing her victim.

Without killing Fawn.

On the small inlaid screen, the number one lit up, turning into blue.

And finally, the numbers began to make sense.

Someone began to cry.

Nick and Jason Christakos turned towards the prince, their whitened expressions saying everything they felt.

I’m sorry.

Everyone was crying—-

Except for the prince.

He remembered himself asking her, “May I ask...if you’re alright?”

He saw Fawn on her hospital bed, unable to face him in her pain, forced to raise her arm to give him a thumbs-up sign.

She was alright.

And he had chuckled—-

He had fucking chuckled.

In front of him, Fawn’s nightmare showed no signs of ending.

He watched Meredith snap her fingers, a man coming forward, leering at Fawn as he nearly shoved an iPad in Fawn’s face. Bile rose in his throat as he realized that the iPad showed a girl kissing him on the lips—-

“Do you still believe someone like this man would love you?”

“Yes.”

The knife went up.

The second mark took a little longer, Meredith wanting to draw a perfect circle on Fawn’s right cheek.

Fawn began to bleed again.

And the prince bled with her.

Oh God.

Oh God, why, why Fawn—-

Number 2 lit up on the screen and turned red.

And still the questions weren’t over.

“You say this man loves you, but he left you.”

“It’s to protect me—-”

The knife was on Fawn’s face before she could even finish speaking, and this time Meredith was obviously rough as she carved the other side of her victim’s face, marking Fawn’s left lower cheek with a crude circle.

Number 3 lit up on the screen, turning red.

“Stop being stubborn. He could have taken you with him, you know. But he didn’t. That means he doesn’t love you. It’s simple as that.”

And still Fawn didn’t answer.

“It’s your life on the line, not his. So let me ask you again. Where is Beatrice Crichton?”

“I don’t know.”

Meredith went back to carving.

It was another circle, marking the right side of Fawn’s forehead, and number 4 lit up on the screen, turning red.

Meredith’s tone became conversational. “Why are you so loyal to him? Is it because he fucked you so good?” She didn’t wait for Fawn to answer. “Oh, wait, you don’t need to answer that. I’m being a dumb fuck again. Of course he had to have fucked you good. Duh. He’s the Prince of Darkness, after all.”

She looked at Fawn contemplatively. “What about you? Do you fuck just as good?”

Before Fawn could answer, someone out of the video leered, “I can answer that for you. Just give me a taste.”

The sound of raucous laughter filled the screen, and the prince’s blood ran cold as he realized together with everyone in the courtroom that there was more than one man in the room with Fawn.

“Do you hear that, Fawn? I can have them answer it for me, but like I said, I don’t want to hurt fellow girls. Girl power, you know? So tell you what, if you tell me the truth about how good you are at fucking, I might not let them all rape you at the same time.”

Meredith looked at her expectantly.

“So are you good?”

Fawn choked out, “No.”

Doubt colored Meredith’s voice as she asked, “Is that false modesty?”

Fawn shook her head. “No. I used to think...I used to think I w-was frigid.”

“I see, I see.” Meredith began sharpening her knife again. “Do you think that’s why he left you?”

“I t-told you.” Fawn’s lips trembled as she spoke. “It’s because he’s protecting me. He doesn’t want me involved because his life is dangerous—-”

“So he’s doing it because he cares for you?”

“Yes—-”

“I want to believe you,” Meredith said, voice ringing with sincerity, “but you must explain to me first. Why does this man keep you at a distance when he’s had his parents and friends with him all these years? Does this mean he doesn’t love them as much as he loves you?”

“Is that what you’re saying, Fawn? That he loves you more than the friends he’s known for years? That he loves you more than his family?”

Fawn whispered, “No.”

“Then why do they get to stay in his life, and you don’t?”

“I d-don’t know.”

“Poor Fawn, unable to face the truth.” Meredith cupped Fawn’s chin. “But you need to face it. That’s how you become really strong, so let me give it to you straight.”

“Please—-”

“They matter to him. That’s the truth of it. His family, his friends, they’re the people that matter. So they’re the people worth fighting for to keep in his life. But you—-”

Meredith let go of Fawn’s face with an exclamation of disgust.

“Do you get it now? You’re a fucking brick around his neck he doesn’t want—-”

A cry escaped Fawn.

Meredith said in a singsong voice, “You know. YOU KNOW.”

In the courtroom, everyone watched as Meredith’s words succeeded where having almost half of her face carved had failed—-

Tears started to fall, mingling with blood, and the prince’s eyes began to burn.

Red mixed with white, and the right side of Fawn’s face turned into a ghastly shade of pink.

You know.

YOU KNOW.

Meredith’s voice echoed in the prince’s head like a jeering reminder of how he had practically said the same thing to Fawn—-

Why is nothing I do not enough? Just tell me—-

And he had told her—-

He had fucking told her—-

You know why, Fawn.

YOU ALREADY KNOW.

No, God, no.

It wasn’t goddamn like that.

He bent down, his head reeling at what Meredith’s words forced him to see.

Oh God, why did Fawn have to suffer for him to realize the truth?

He had pushed her away again and again, thinking that he had been doing it for her sake, but—-

In the video, Meredith was turning to Fawn with an insanely gentle look on her face.

“Do you see you’re suffering for nothing now? So give him up.”

But Fawn refused, and the knife went straight to the middle of her forehead.

Two slashes.

The number 5 lit up on the screen, turning blue.

“You know I’m telling you the truth. His family matters. His friends matter. But you don’t. He had fun with you, maybe he even cared for you, was fond of you, I don’t know how rich fucks like him think. But what I do know is when crunch time came, he dropped you. So I’m going to ask you one more time. Tell me where Beatrice Crichton is.”

And still Fawn whispered, “ No .”

“Stupid bitch!”

A raw sound clawed past the prince’s lips when he saw Meredith slap Fawn hard just before grabbing her by the hair, pulling her head back as she furiously carved on Fawn’s chin.

Jagged lines turned into an X.

The number six lit up on the screen, turning blue.

“I don’t know if you’re keeping tabs on your own face, bitch,” Meredith snarled, “but I just need one X or one fucking circle – it doesn’t really matter, the next one will be a fucking tic tac toe, and either way, it means I get to carve a piece of your nose and I’ll have my men fuck you while you bleed to death.”

Laughter mixed with curses and obscene catcalls greeted Meredith’s statement.

“I’m going to rip into that pussy hard.”

“Her asshole’s mine.”

“Do you hear that?” Meredith demanded. “They’re excited about fucking you while—-FUCK!”

Fawn’s cry spilled out of the speakers, a sound of agony that no one in the courtroom would ever forget.

But it was her face—-

It was her face as she peed in her fear—-

The yellowish liquid dripping down her bare legs until it formed a puddle next to her feet—-

Ah God, Fawn.

I’m so damn sorry.

The prince rose clumsily to his feet, reaching for Nick’s shoulder to let his friend know he had to leave. “I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I have to go.” He swung away, not waiting for an answer, not wanting to waste another moment.

He had to go to Fawn—-

The reporters in the crowd began to stand up as well, unable to resist the opportunity to take photos of the naked expression on the prince’s face.

The judge began to pound on her gavel, demanding order.

The video continued to play.

“Oh my God,” someone from the crowd screamed.

The prince was halfway to the door when a chill swept over him, like someone walking on his grave, and he knew—-

He knew.

There was something else he had to see.

He turned around slowly, and he saw Meredith kick Fawn’s shins in a fit of furious disgust.

“God, you’re so fucking gross. No one’s ever done that before.”

The video showed Fawn crashing to the floor, face down on her own pee—-

“Drink your own fucking pee, you little shit, drink that or I’ll fucking kill you right now—-”

And she had.

SHE HAD!

Oh God, no.

The prince ran towards the door.

Chaos erupted, paparazzi from the crowd of spectators running over to block his way—-

“Get the fuck out of my face,” the prince snarled.

The judge pounded her gavel hard. “Order on the court!”

A reporter shoved a wireless microphone on the prince’s face, asking, “What do you think about Fawn Cornwall drinking her pee—-”

The prince didn’t even think.

He swung his fist hard, sending the reporter crashing, and he roared, “Don’t you even fucking say her name—-”

From behind, the judge pounded her gavel again. “Reid Chalkias, you are hereby held in contempt!”

Boos and cheers rose from the crowd, the spectators divided as officers rushed in to hold him off. With a burst of strength brought by acute anguish, the prince was able to shrug them all off.

He only had one thought—-

He had to get to Fawn.

He had to get to Fawn.

He had to get to Fawn.

But more men came after him, and there was nowhere to go.

REAL-TIME TRANSMISSION on the screen showed officers shoving the prince down to his knees while another one managed to cuff his hands behind his back. Now secured, the prince was hauled up——

Fawn whispered, “I’ve seen enough.”

Beside her, Grant reached for the remote control and pressed the power button, shutting the TV off.

Her mother was crying, and Fawn thought numbly, I’m sorry, Mom. Throughout Dana’s life, her one thought was to provide for her daughter, and she had worked tirelessly and happily for it.

Dana didn’t deserve a disgustingly stupid daughter like her.

On the opposite side of the room, Grant’s mother was also crying, her face pressed against her husband’s chest.

They were good people, too , Fawn thought painfully. Good people who hadn’t owed her anything, and yet they had stood by her from the start.

Good people like them shouldn’t be seen with people like her.

She heard Grant talk in a low, indiscernible voice to his parents, saw them leave quietly—-

Her throat tightened.

Fawn knew she should say something.

Thank you.

I’m sorry.

But she couldn’t.

Shame had engulfed her, and it was all that she could feel and taste. Shame defined her, and she had the silliest and most terrifying fear that if she spoke, her shame would afflict them, too.

The door closed behind Grant’s parents.

A shadow fell over her.

It was Dana, and Fawn couldn’t help stiffening when she saw her mother reach for her—-

“ No ,” she choked out before she could stop herself.

Dana’s arm fell back to her side, Fawn’s mother catching back a sob. “Oh, baby.”

Self-loathing turned her shame into something more excruciating as Fawn realized how much she was hurting her mother. She said jerkily, “Sorry. I’m...sorry.”

“Why would you think you have something to be sorry for, baby?” Dana’s tone was anguished. “You were brave . The bravest girl in the world, and I’m so proud you’re my daughter.”

When Fawn didn’t speak, Dana lifted a hand, hesitated, and then she pressed her fingers ever so gently to the top of her daughter’s head, scared that the slightest touch would make her baby break.

“I love you.”

Fawn didn’t answer, but her knees slowly went up, and Dana’s heart broke at the way her baby hid her face with her arms. She wished she had something else to say, something that could take away her baby’s pain, but Dana was at a loss. What Fawn had gone through was beyond even her worst imagination, and in the end all she could do was turn to Grant, her eyes more eloquently expressing what she couldn’t speak in words.

Please help her.

And then it was just Fawn and Grant.

She heard him take a seat next to her bed, still not the same Grant he used to be, but he was getting there, and she was happy for him. As much as her heart could still beat, as much as she could remember what it was not to feel empty, she was happy for him.

Minutes passed.

Grant said haltingly, “It’s just...like...o-old days.”

Ah.

“W-won’t y-you look up?”

Fawn shook her head.