Chapter 72
CHAPTER 72
BETH
N olan called me once Martin fell asleep and it took everything in me not to scream at him for the state he put his son in. However, I bit my tongue and let him speak. He was requesting that I come to speak with him. I almost refused, but then I looked at Martin’s mangled body and knew if I refused, I would just make everything worse for him.
I got dressed, stole Martin’s car keys, and jumped in his car.
I drove to the Gray mansion and the guard outside the gate let me in, even though he looked confused when he saw me behind the wheel of Martin’s car. He didn’t question it though.
I park the car outside the house and walk in, not waiting for grumpy Bernard to let me in.
My pulse picks up the second I’m inside.
I walk down the hall, having memorized the way to Nolan’s office, and stop outside when I hear screaming.
Flashes of the state of Martin’s face race through my mind and my breath quickens.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I grumble under my breath. Get it together, Beth. No crying or showing weakness.
I make it inside Nolan’s office, where Cora and Nolan stand in front of the couches, and Michael sits on one of the sofas with an ice pack on his crotch.
What did I just walk into?
“How could you do this?” Nolan yells, and Cora grabs his arm, probably attempting to calm him, but he wasn’t even this pissed when I bucked up to him.
“Darling, maybe it’s for the best. We don’t really want that gutter rat in our family, do we?”
Nolan shoves her off and straight-up growls in her face. “Shut the fuck up before I knock you on your ass!”
I flinch from his harsh tone. He’s beyond livid, and I don’t know how to respond to this level of anger, especially from someone I don’t know well enough to assess the situation properly.
“What’s the problem?” I ask as I rap my knuckles on the door, announcing my arrival.
“Anything I can help with?” I add on to try to diffuse the situation, but I don’t know how to do that without some context. It has something to do with the contract, but I don’t know much outside of that.
Nolan’s eyes land on me, and I feel like a small child as he assesses me like he always does, like he’s trying to figure me out.
“I can…leave and come back later if you’d prefer?” I offer while clasping my hands together in front of me.
“I doubt that would help much, Miss Mercer,” Nolan states as he adjusts his suit jacket to be more presentable. “Since my youngest went and had himself mutilated to spite me.”
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Mutilated? I don’t?—”
“God, you dim-witted whore. He practically had himself castrated. He’ll be lucky if he can ever…fornicate again.”
My eyes fall back to the ice pack and the anguished expression on Michael’s face. Oh. That’s why he looks like he just got a swift kick to the balls. I wonder how much he had to pay someone to do that to him.
Anger fills my gut. How could he do this? Hell, I didn’t want to have kids with him either, but what he has done has put this entire deal in jeopardy. Nolan could easily get it in his head that I told Michael to do this and take it out on me, Oliver, and Martin. Michael also wanted to protect Nigel, so why would he do something like this? He knew this was a part of the deal.
“What the hell, Michael?” I nearly scream at him, and everyone looks at me like I’ve just shocked the hell out of them. I quickly clamp my lips shut. I’m supposed to be agreeable to avoid issues, but I’m so damn mad at him.
“Don’t act like you actually wanted to marry me,” he nearly wheezes from the pain, but I just scowl at him.
“Oh, you know I didn’t want to marry you, but you were fully aware of the contract. How could you do something like this when you knew all it would put in jeopardy?” I nearly cry as tears fill my eyes.
“Calm down, Miss Mercer. We’ll…figure something out.” Then, his eyes run up and down my body again before he smacks Michael across the face. Michael tumbles off the couch, straight onto his injury with a howl, and I wince. “Get out of my sight until I figure out how to deal with your disobedience. You leave as well, my darling wife,” Nolan turns his sneer on Cora and she flinches before collecting her son and heading for the door.
Nolan turns and heads for his desk.
I can not describe the level of relief I have at being dismissed until I actually turn to follow the others out, and Nolan speaks up.
“Not you, Miss Mercer. You stay.”
I pause and send Cora a pleading look, but I know she can’t help me. I’m petrified, but the presence of fear doesn’t eradicate bravery. I’m a bad bitch, and I can handle whatever Nolan throws at me.
Even if I break down about it later.
“Yes, sir,” I say before walking over to the sofa, and I sit down, waiting patiently. The door closes, and Nolan heads over to his bar and grabs himself a glass, filling it to the brim with amber liquid.
I’m sitting here waiting for him, and he’s taking his goddamn time to get to me. Maybe I’m a bit entitled to my time, but he is the one who has stripped my life as I knew it away from me.
Not to mention I have a man waiting for me who is in a precarious state because of Nolan.
He chugs his drink, not missing a single drop, before slamming the glass on the bar. I swear I hear the crystal crack under the force.
“I know it’s not my fault, but I’m sorry Michael did this,” I say, not waiting around for him any longer.
He just nods before refilling his glass.
“I can’t imagine how angry you must be with him. He should have talked to you instead of going behind your back like this. What he did could’ve been really dangerous. I just…I had no idea he was going to do something of this magnitude.”
“Miss Mercer, you can stop,” Nolan nearly growls before taking a sip from the full glass. “I know you had nothing to do with this. I just need a minute of silence, please.”
I nod and bow my head so, I’m not tempted to say anything.
I silently count my heartbeats until his glass is quietly set on the coffee table in front of me. Nolan stands before me and nods his head toward his desk. Slowly moving to my feet, I follow him without speaking. He stops in front of his desk and quickly spins around. I brace myself, prepared for him to start yelling at me, but instead, he takes my face into his hands and forces me to stare into his dark blue orbs of nothingness.
“I’m not happy with you, Bethany. Do you know why?” he asks, his voice so level and calm that it immobilizes me.
“Yes.”
“Tell me,” he demands.
“Because I argued with you.”
He shakes his head. “You challenged me,” he corrects as his thumbs run over my cheeks. “I like your attitude, Miss Mercer. You have spunk, which we need in this family, but I cannot have you challenging me. Do you understand?”
I nod rapidly, hoping that by not mouthing off, he won’t do something horrific.
“I understand. I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Good girl,” he purrs from me submitting to him, and I nearly cry from how petrified I am. “This can’t go unchecked. If I let you get away with it, it leaves room for Cora, Martin, or Michael to think they can get away with it, too. I can’t have that.”
“I do,” my voice shakes, and I squint my eyes, waiting for him to hit me or something, but he doesn’t.
“You should be thanking my son. He took your punishment for you. He offered to do it. He must really care for you and your safety, but mark my words, he won’t be allowed to shoulder it himself ever again. Next time you cross me, you will take it yourself and I’ll make it way worse than I originally intended this time to be. I was just going to make you be my whore as punishment, but next time, I’ll make you look the way he does. Are we clear?”
He is truly an unfeeling demon.
I’ve seen that look before, but the eyes that had it before were not an ocean blue. No, they were lighter and icier.
“Yes.”
He nods, but then, I get to my own point.
“I see where Oliver gets it from, the ability to do whatever he needs to for his end goal. I see it in your eyes,” I quip, but he doesn’t try to touch me. In fact, he drops his hold on me and for the first time, I have surprised him.
“You know?”
I smirk. “Yes, I do. He’s your nephew. Your deepest, darkest secret. I know it. The town psychopath is a Gray by blood. Much like Martin, I know how to keep a secret, but in a way not too unlike you, I can also hit someone where it hurts without ever getting my hands dirty. Back in Hempstead, they called me The Queen of Petty for a reason and it doesn’t break any of your rules to tell the world your secret, Mr. Gray. I will make you a deal, though. If you keep your filthy hands off of Martin, no one will know your secret. However, if I see so much as another scratch on him and I don’t believe that he accidentally cut himself while shaving, dot, dot, dot.”
Martin told me that as long as someone is completely alone with Nolan, he would not retaliate no matter how he is spoken to. And, I took that to heart.
“There is one thing more vile and vengeful than a man with a bruised ego. It’s a woman willing to go scorched Earth for the people she loves. You are looking at the dictionary definition of that, Mr. Gray. Now, do we have a deal?”
He stares at me for a moment as the color slowly returns to his face before he nods. “Fine. You have a deal, Miss Mercer.”
“Good.” I smile. “Now, if you would be so kind as to send your doctor to my hotel room, Martin needs medical attention.”
I just leveled the playing field and I feel just a little better about my circumstances. Only a little though.