Drayton
Monitor.
Phone.
Monitor.
Phone.
My eyes went back and forth. Watching. Waiting for Elec to return my damn call.
Marian was a mess as she paced before Bastian with a large knife and my Gigli saw.
She had been walking that same path for an hour now and wouldn’t go forward.
Why, I wasn’t sure. Was she expecting Bastian’s death soon?
Was she contemplating a decision on whether she should kill him before continuing?
I didn’t know. I couldn’t think about anything but the fact that Marian claimed she’d been given a shot. A shot…
My conversation with Elec came back, as did what he’d said to me at my club not weeks ago.
He’d shown up unexpectedly for a meeting with one of our Elders.
That’s when he told me the LaRoe line was ending, and that he wanted to give me Marian as payment for her accusations.
As we started to leave, the Elder had called out to us.
“Elec, you find out what was in that fucking shot.”
Shot. I kept dismissing the news on her mother because I hadn’t known what to believe.
I kept focusing on the past. On the life I’d been banned from for so long.
To have it back, to have her... I knew it wasn’t without a price.
But that claim. That fucking claim. It wouldn’t leave me now that Marian had said it had happened to her.
She didn’t know the statements being made from the others.
That changed things. It made her accusation more credible. If what she said was true—
“Drayton? Drayton.” Marian was knocking on the door. “I know I’m supposed to stay out here, but I have to go to the bathroom really bad. Like BAD. I don’t think I can hold it much longer.”
My mouth twisted, and I grabbed my phone, fisting it hard in my hand. I should ignore her. I should let her piss on the ground or in her pants, but the doubt over her guilt was starting to warp my mind which made the headache worse. I had so many questions.
More knocking. “Please, Dray. This isn’t an excuse.
I know I haven’t been out here long, but I’m not doing this because I’m chickening out.
I’ll come right back out and continue, I promise.
It’s just, I finished off my water, and Quinton had given me some in there.
Do you really want me going out here? I already threw up on the ground.
I mean, I guess I could go here, but I sort of figured you use this place? Do you use it for things?”
Knocking.
More knocking.
I cursed as anger sparked, punching against the intercom button.
“Jesus, Marian. Slit his fucking throat and be done with it.”
“Can I at least go to the bathroom first? Inside, maybe?”
My lids closed.
Even more knocking.
This was going to be my wife. My wife. The heir wouldn’t subject his chosen to such treatment, even if revenge was involved.
We had a code. We had standards. I’d blown those motherfuckers out of the water long ago.
Did that mean I couldn’t start following them now?
At least a little? She could be innocent…
Fuck.
“You have two minutes.”
I stood, stalking to the hallway. When I threw open the door, Marian rushed in my direction.
“Thank God. I’m going to pee my pants.”
“You better not. Hurry up.”
Marian jogged ahead, opening my main door and disappearing towards the restroom as I was barely getting inside.
The door shut, and I brushed my fingers through my hair, gripping as I cursed.
I was still staring at the door she’d gone through.
Tightness took over my chest as my questions ate away at the walls I had around them.
Innocent. Was she telling the truth? What if Marian had been a victim of her mothers, just like dozens of others who were only now finding out what Melissa had done?
What if—
No. I would not think about that right now. First, I needed to speak with Elec. I had to look through the files and tapes Marian had mentioned.
Anger had me hitting the screen on my phone and going in to push Elec’s number. I brought it to my ear, not expecting him to answer. I’d already called four times with no luck, yet he answered on the first ring.
“Do you need me to step in?”
I paused. “No.”
“Then what’s so important? I do work, or did you forget I have a job?”
I bit to the inside of my lip, knowing I needed to be careful on what I said with Elec. If Marian was telling the truth about his abilities, and he was capable of… things, I had to be cautious.
“I need into the LaRoe estate.”
“For what?”
“Marian has some things she wants moved over to my place. Old boxes of stuff in the attic.”
“I’m afraid you’d be going there for nothing.”
“What do you mean? The LaRoe estate is technically mine. I own Marian. It belongs to her which means it belongs to me. Why can’t we have access?”
“You can have access. The estate is yours. The content outside of furnishings and clothing are not. The only thing in the attic were files, Drayton. I believe there were photo albums which I may be able to get back, but everything else is evidence and belongs to the FBI now. I told you we were going through all that.”
“Right. But you did get all the ones stored up there.”
“Yeah. There were a lot of them.”
Marian eased from the restroom, and I pointed at my desk chair, telling her to sit. She obeyed, staying silent as I put the phone on speaker.
“Elec, I have Marian here with me. I have you on speakerphone, and I need to ask you some questions. Your answers will determine whether or not she pays worse than what I already have planned for her.”
Marian’s eyes grew wide, and she swallowed hard, her head shaking back and forth in panic.
“Alright. Ask me anything.”
“Wait.” She sat forward in her chair. She was breathing heavier, pushing her hand into her chest. “There has to be rules.”
“I don’t understand.” Elec cleared his throat. “Would you like to elaborate, Marian?”
Her eyes pleaded up to me, full of fear. At my silence, she shifted in her chair, finally continuing.
“I know what my mother could do, and I know she taught you. We weren’t close all those years ago, and I know you had your reasons for killing my family, but I have to be safe. Do you understand me?”
“Not really.”
“Elec, why I’m here is your fault. You did this to me. I’m not going to lie, I don’t trust you. I don’t know your motives, but what I think you’re capable of terrifies the hell out of me.”
“You’re right. You are with Drayton because of me, but I am not your mother.
Everything I’ve learned, I use to help our circle.
Not harm it. It might be hard for you to view it that way given the circumstances, but you’re alive.
You have no idea how hard I fought to keep it that way. They wanted you dead. I saved you.”
Marian slowly shook her head. Tears clouded her eyes, and I could tell she was confused on whether or not to believe him.
“Alright… just no mind games. No trying to manipulate what I’m saying or twist things around.
I’ll know if you are, and I won’t talk to you anymore after that. All I want is the truth to come out.”
“If it’s the truth.”
“What is she talking about?” Elec’s deep voice had me pursing my lips. “What truth? Drayton Pennington, you were supposed to tell me if she revealed anything to you.”
Time slowed for the briefest moment as I fought for words through the pain that stabbed into my head. “I am. I’m only just finding out. I’ll let her tell you.”
Elec’s voice softened. “First, I need you to listen to me, Drayton. You’re very angry.
Marian will soon be your wife. You know what that means in our world.
You know the terms of our deal. She’s your chosen.
I know this was about revenge, and you’re getting it, but you must be careful with her and see her in her true role.
That role is as your other half. Marian must prove herself, but she also must be protected while she does.
” He paused. “Marian, I’d love to hear this truth.
Also, you’re free to ask me anything. I’m here for you too, just as I am with Drayton. ”
The anger and headache melted, and Marian let out a shuttering breath.
The sound seemed to dissipate the thick fog that was permeating my mind.
I blinked back the confusion, and it was like a veil had been lifted as I stared at her.
Fear. All I saw was fear. I couldn’t focus as I took in how truly frightened she was.
I didn’t like seeing her body constantly tremble, or the way she was hugging to herself, on the verge of what looked to be crying as she begged me with her eyes.
She was looking to me for protection, and the man who loved her recognized that.
But I couldn’t grasp the entirety. Elec was just talking.
He was being polite. What was she so afraid of?
That was the important question and had me reassessing the entire situation.
“Don’t say my name. Never call me by a name. Not Marian, not Ms. LaRoe. Not Mrs. Pennington. Never. It gives you power and helps with the persuasion.”
A pause. “No name. What else?”
“I…” Marian’s lip trembled. “I-I don’t know. They’re words. They’re the way you use them. How you use them. I can’t explain it, but I know you know what I mean.”
“I do, and I understand your fear. I truly do. I was admittedly quite shocked myself at the depth your mother went to hurt people. She did things she never taught me. She kept them secret, and we’re only just learning about them now from the tapes. You have questions…”