Chapter 34
Brielle
He knows I”m thinking about Beck, but he hasn”t mentioned the man since he came to the door and asked for me to leave with him.
I fought so hard to look unaffected, to tell him that he needed to forget about me, that there was no saving me. I wanted to apologize for what his connection to me would mean for him, but I didn”t even have to be hurt for my secrets to have been revealed. Nathan knew who he was on sight which means he probably knows everything.
Beck might not have been able to see it, but there were only ever a handful of things that would make that little vein under Nathan”s left eye pulse, and I watched it vibrate with every word he spoke to my lover.
It”s been hours since Beck left, and all Nathan instructed me to do was to go get a shower, and that he”d speak to me later.
I”ve always had free will to move around the house unless I was instructed otherwise, so I don”t stay in my room after my shower is done. I head into the living room with my head held high and grab a book off the bookshelf. There”s one spot not taken up by goons, and it puts my back to the large front window.
The house, as perfect as it looks at first glance, needs some repairs. I sit for hours, with my eyes locked on the book but not reading, as the wind outside creeps into the house through a bad seal on the window. Despite the chill bumps on my arms I don”t move or ask for a blanket. I don”t leave the room to get a sweater. I see it as another test, and since Nathan hasn’t made a single threat to me since he arrived last night, I”ve managed to let some form of hope sink inside of me.
There are a lot of things I can tolerate, and the silent treatment is one of them. I know it will build to more. I know he”s livid with me, but maybe, just maybe, my being gone for over a year has made him value my presence more.
I scoff at the idea and when I lift my head, I see every goon in the living room staring at me, and I imagine they”ve been doing so since I sat down. I don”t recognize any of them from my time with Nathan before, and I wouldn”t put it past the man to have killed every man he had working for him because of their failure at keeping me at the house.
I don”t feel an ounce of sympathy for any of them if that were the case.
Nathan comes out of his room fully decked out in a nice suit, straightening the cuffs of his shirt under his jacket.
I stand and place the book back on the shelf.
”Do I need to change, Father?” I ask, knowing that the leggings and t-shirt I have on won”t do for leaving the house.
”Is there anything in your closet that will fit?” he asks as he walks toward the kitchen without bothering to look in my direction.
I know the question is rhetorical. He just wants me to know that he”s noticed the ten or so extra pounds I”m carrying. I resist the urge to wrap my arms around my middle in an effort to hide it. I also work very hard at not recalling the way Beck”s mouth felt on my stomach and how he told me I was perfect when I mentioned the weight gain to him.
”You”re in good hands here, Angel. I have a meeting to attend.”
I don”t have to look over my shoulder to know that at least one of the guards is more than a little excited that I”ll be left alone here. The man is also either stupid or insane to think he can touch me. I swallow, considering that Nathan might”ve given him permission. The last time he told someone they could touch me, they actually got my pants around my ankles before he came into the room and shot the man. He was still breathing when he was dragged from the room, but I doubt he lived much longer.
Nathan pretended he was my rescuer, but the man had already taunted me, telling me that my daddy was excited to share me with others.
”What you did today goes a long way in making up for the disgrace you”ve caused our family,” he says, but I know better than to think I”ll come out of any of this unscathed. ”We”ll discuss Xan when I get back. I have funeral arrangements to make.”
”Yes, sir,” I say, my voice clear because he hates when people mutter.
”Is that all your brother gets?” he says, stepping toward me.
I stand my ground because I know it”s what he wants. It makes him both proud and angry that I”m brave enough to stand up to him. Cowering would be much worse unless this is one of those times that”s exactly what he wants.
”My only heir is gone,” he says, his lip curling, that vein twitching uncontrollably. ”That leaves you to provide me with another one.”
He leaves out of the front door, the same two men who came with him last night accompanying him out of the house.
I”m shaking, terrified, as I stand speechless in the middle of the living room.
”Take your ass to your fucking room,” the man Nathan called Mr. Banks earlier snaps. ”I”m tired of fucking looking at you.”
I scurry away because the last thing I am is stupid.
I eye the window as I close the bedroom door and press my back to it, but I know better than to open the curtain again. It”ll only leave me feeling hopeless. There”s no way Beck stuck around after I asked him to leave.
He”s probably eight inches deep in someone else already, glad to be done with me and all the fucking issues that come along with me.
I flip off the light, the shadows cast under the door the only thing that will forewarn me if someone is getting close to my room.
I could easily curl up in the closet, but Nathan always has the door removed, so it provides no false protection.
There are no forms of entertainment in the room. If I”m in here, I”m meant to be thinking about the countless mistakes I”ve made in my life, not watching television or reading a book. I”d never be permitted any form of media that would allow me to connect with the outside world.
I climb on the bed, pulling the blankets up to my nose, an old habit from when I used to think the monsters couldn”t reach me if I did so. Movement in the other room keeps me on high alert, but neither man speaks nor makes a move toward the door. They”re probably in there on their phones, passing the time until they”re given permission to hurt me.
Time ticks by, the sun setting less than an hour after Nathan left.
My eyes grow heavy but I fight the urge to go to sleep.
I jostle, reaching up to touch my cheek, and I don”t have to waste a second trying to figure out two things, I fell asleep and someone just touched my face with a bloody hand.
I scream when I see the scarred man standing over my bed even though I know it”s just one more thing I”ll get in trouble for.
”Get up,” he snaps, clicking on the bedside lamp.
His hands are covered in blood, leaving red stains behind on everything he touches.
I lift the blanket to my cheek and wipe the wetness away, gagging when I pull it back to the red there.
”You have to fucking leave,” he snaps. ”He”s expected back any time.”
I stay on the bed, fear keeping me locked in place. I”ve been toyed with all my life. This wouldn”t be the first time Nathan tested me to see if I would leave if given the chance.
”Get out of the fucking bed!” he roars, ripping the blanket from my hands and pulling me from the mattress.
Bile soars up my throat, not knowing whose blood is all over his hands as he pushes against my back.
On unsteady feet, I leave the bedroom, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks when I see the wide-open, lifeless eyes of the other man who drove us here from the courthouse. His throat is slit, a pool of thick blood staining his clothes.
I look back over my shoulder to see Mr. Banks walking toward me, and only now do I see the blood-stained knife in his hand.
I scream again, rushing for the front door. No sooner do I get outside and on the front stoop does someone else grab me. I”m confused and more than a little terrified despite the warmth of the blanket that”s wrapped around my body.
I can”t even speak, much less ask questions, as I”m urged into a dark SUV and driven away from the house.