Nila
“COME HERE, CHILD.”
All I wanted to do was escape, to be alone so I could drop the mask of defiance and indifference. It took every effort to come across contrite and fearful but not guilty and sinful.
Daniel’s death glowed inside me, giving me power. But I couldn’t deny I was tired. I needed to rest...in case I said something stupid and escalated my death from tomorrow to today.
Jethro...keep breathing.
Every time I thought of him, the image of dank mines and oppressive walls came back. I hated him trapped down there, alone, hurting.
I knew so much now. I knew about Mabel and William. I knew a secret both Bonnie and Cut didn’t know.
The secret burned a hole in my soul because what good was a secret if I died with it—especially when it would grant pain to hear it.
If I tell her, I could kill her before she tells anyone else...
My heart skipped.
Yes, I like that plan.
Bracing my shoulders, I moved toward Bonnie. She’d escorted me into her quarters, ferrying me into the lift I assumed Jasmine used to move around. I’d never been in the silver box and hated travelling even a small distance with Bonnie in such a tight space.
Jasmine.
Does she know I’m back?
Could she sense her brother’s predicament? Was she like Vaughn and in-tune with her sibling’s well-being?
Vaughn.
Could he tell I’d been hurt? Where was he? The entire drive from the airport, I’d feared he would be at Hawksridge, firing cannons and charging with some fictional cavalry to rescue me.
But he wasn’t.
I was both glad and heartbroken.
Jethro couldn’t save me this time. I would do my best—I wouldn’t die without a fight—but what if it wasn’t enough? I was more alone here than I was at the mine. At least there I was surrounded by strangers. Here, I was surrounded by enemies.
Stop that.
It took every last reserve, but I shoved my fears deep, deep inside and embraced antagonising pompousness.
Bonnie expected me to be as broken as my arm.
She was very much mistaken.
Cocking my chin, I pranced toward her. “Did you miss me?” I eyed up her quarters. “Last time I was in here, I seem to remember I taught you seamstresses are better than flower arrangers.”
Bonnie’s rouge-painted cheeks whitened. “And I seem to recall I showed you what happened to Owen and Elisa and proved Jethro played into the hands of fate. He’s dead because of you. Congratulations.”
Goosebumps darted over my skin. I probably shouldn’t but Cut would tell her. I wanted to be the one to deliver the news. “He’s not dead. He’s alive and coming for you.”
Wishes were free. Threats were cheap. I could taunt her even knowing Jethro remained bound to a chair and lorded over by Marquise.
She fisted the top of her cane. She didn’t break decorum, merely looking a little ruffled and a lot annoyed. “I highly doubt that. How is he still alive? What exactly is the meaning of this nasty business?”
I glided forward. “You don’t deserve to know.” The pictures of Owen and Elisa still graced the walls. The overwhelming perfume of her flower arrangements poisoned the air.
My skin crawled with how much I despised her.
Die, witch. Die.
Bonnie came closer, her cane sinking into the carpet, her red lipstick once again smeared on pencil thin lips. “You look at me as if I’m the devil. You’re such a stupid child. Go on, you have my permission. What do you see when you look at me?”
My mouth parted, sensing a trap.
She waved her stick. “Go on. I want to know.”
I balled my hands, rising to her challenge.
“Fine. I see a twisted, old woman who’s controlled her son and grandsons with no mercy.
I see a soulless creature who doesn’t know the meaning of love.
I see a scorned hate-filled Hawk who never understood the true value of family.
” My voice lowered to a hiss. “I see a walking dead woman.”
She chuckled. “You have more perception than I gave you credit for.” Sniffing, she looked down her nose.
“You’re right on some accounts. I have controlled my son and grandsons because, without me, they wouldn’t have the discipline required to maintain the Debt Inheritance and future responsibilities of this family. ”
“When you’re dead, your legacy will die with you.”
“Yes, perhaps.” She smiled. “But you’ll be dead long before me, Ms. Weaver. Perhaps you should remember that so you don’t forget your place.” Stabbing her cane into the carpet, she sneered. “Now, enough, what do you have to say for yourself?”
My hands fisted. I stared at the flower arrangement on the trestle by the door. I’d had to stand there and listen to her high-class airs and demands, seething while she speared lilies and roses into oasis foam.
I hated the perfection of lilies. I despised the bright red of roses.
My temper swirled out of control. “I’ll tell you what I have to say, old witch.”
Bonnie froze. “What did you just say?”
If I did this, there would be no turning back.
I would die tomorrow.
But I could live today.
I could achieve more in one act of cruelty than I ever could in a coffin.
No one knew when death was coming.
I supposed I was lucky in a way—knowing the grim reaper waited for me gave me a certain kind of freedom. The knowledge gave me power to face my nightmares rather than run.
Plucking the vase with my good hand, I held the bushel of flowers as a weapon. Petals fell by my feet, dripping slowly in the heat of her boudoir. “You make me sick.”
Her eyes flared. “Put that down this instant.”
Tucking the arrangement haphazardly into my sling, I stalked closer. Wrenching the head off a red rose, I threw the petals in her direction. “You set a bad example for all grandmothers around the world.”
She stood taller but stepped backward. Not wanting to give up ground but wary at the same time.
I threw another destroyed rose in her direction. “You’ve polluted this earth for long enough.”
She lost to my invasion.
Her cane tapped for traction as she scuttled backward.
The door soared open and a Black Diamond brother came in.
Shit!
I breathed hard, fistful of petals and a standoff with Bonnie Hawk.
Instantly, Bonnie’s face transformed into feral confidence. “Ah, Clarity. Good timing.” She pointed her stick at me. “Kindly remove the vase from Ms. Weaver’s control.”
“Right away, ma’am.” I had no hope of holding onto it one-handedly as he snatched it from my sling. He was smaller than Marquise but had the same evil glint and malicious satisfaction. His bald head shone with the sconces around the room.
He didn’t look at me again as he placed the flowers back on the trestle. “You summoned me?”
Bonnie nodded, smoothing fly-away hairs from her chignon. “Go and fetch the Dremel and a bucket of water and vinegar.”
He cocked his head in my direction. “You okay alone?”
“I’ll be fine. Go.”
Clarity nodded. “On it.” He left, closing the door behind him.
I hated she trusted she could be in the same room with me—even after my outburst. I hated I came across so weak that she didn’t feel she needed protection.
Make her regret that.
“Trust me alone with you now?” I tilted my head. “Rather a stupid thing to do, don’t you think?”
My hands curled as thoughts of killing her ran wild. I had nothing to lose anymore. Jethro was in Africa. I didn’t know where Jasmine was. V was hopefully back with Tex. And Kes was in the custody of doctors and nurses. We were scattered to four corners, no longer touching but still linked.
I could kill Bonnie before Cut killed me.
Bonnie smirked. “Child, you have a broken arm, most likely a fever, and death looming on your horizon. I have no need to fear a guttersnipe like you. You just used whatever energy you had. You can’t deny it.
You’re positively dripping with exertion and fatigue.
” Turning her back on me—showing just how little she viewed me as a threat—she snapped, “Now, after that highly inappropriate incident, return to the subject. What about Jethro?”
“What about him?”
She cleared her throat angrily. “Am I correct in assuming he’s still alive?”
Rage spread like wildfire through my system. I might not have knitting needles or scalpels, but I couldn’t stomach this old bitch any longer. “Yes, as a matter of fact. He is alive, and I was telling the truth. He’s on his way to kill you all.”
She flinched, unable to hide her sudden suspicions. “I don’t believe you.”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me for it to be true.”
For a second, silence was a third entity in the room before Bonnie laughed. “Cut would’ve mentioned such a thing. You’re lying. Didn’t your mother ever tell you liars go to hell?”
“Was she supposed to tell me that before or after you killed her?”
Bonnie tensed. “You’re getting mighty bold for a Weaver about to die.”
I drifted forward. “Bold enough to kill you before I go?”
Say no so I can prove you wrong.
One Hawk soul tallied my own. I wanted two. No, I wanted three before I was through.
The door sailed open, shattering the tension between us. The Black Diamond brother strolled in and placed a bucket of water, sour smelling vinegar, and a power tool on the flower-arranging bench.
Glancing at Bonnie, he wiped his hands on his jeans. His bald head caught the rays of late-morning sunshine.
My body clock was so screwed up; I didn’t know if it was meant to be night or day, sleep or awake.
“Need anything else, ma’am?”
Bonnie pursed her lips, glancing at me with a mixture of wariness and disdain. “Yes, stand by the door. Don’t leave.”
I laughed softly. “Afraid of a Weaver, after all.”
Bonnie snapped her fingers. “Shut that trap and come here. I have work to do.”
Damn.
Now I had an audience; my plans shifted slightly.
Be patient.
She’d grow cocky again and send the brother away. And when she did...
Playing along, for now, I moved toward the table. “What are you going to do?”