Chapter 46 #2
“You can have him, if you call the solicitor and forfeit your claim. Then the two of you will be locked in a room here until it’s over.”
Tyler moved again. Just enough to face my direction. It told me he could hear me. That he knew where I was. He was alert. No blood had spilled on his skin that I could see. But God, did I sense his fury.
Presley noticed and drew the needle down his throat, indenting his skin. Tyler stopped still.
Primrose’s voice cut through my panic, though it was Denise she spoke to. “That night, many moons ago, when you brought Darcy to me, you said she’d slept with your husband.”
Denise lifted her chin. “What of it?”
“You declined to mention it was rape.”
An awful, fractured silence fell.
I’d never expected those words from her lips. After waiting so long to make the accusation, and never wanting to face it, it felt so good for her to believe me.
Denise drew up straighter, arrogant and unshaken. “What does it matter when the girl is a slut? She was distracting Austin. He used her as an excuse not to advance our business endeavours. For her to wield such power was intolerable.”
“You destroyed my life,” I exhaled.
She waved a hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. Girls like you don’t get raped. You offer it. You sell it. What difference does it make between then and what you do now?”
All the difference. Every single bit of it.
My grandmother’s cool exterior shattered, and for the first time ever, I saw the real woman. Something cracked and splintered. Someone as broken as I had been.
She turned to me. “Describe her crime, please.”
My heart beat faster. “She led me to her husband and said to tell him the entertainment had arrived. It was obviously a trigger for him, and I didn’t stand a chance. Then she took me to you and lied.”
“That’s what you meant when you said you were hurt.” Cold judgement settled over Primrose’s features. She lifted a finger to her son. “Wallace?”
Wallace moved quick. He was lazy, slovenly, but he claimed the needle from Presley faster than I could blink.
And stabbed Denise in the neck.
I yelped.
The room broke into chaos. Presley stumbled to the floor, hitting his head on the windowsill on the way down. Denise grasped for Wallace’s wrist.
Tyler broke with a vicious sound. He slammed the ziptie constraining his hands onto his boot. It snapped. He tore the hood off.
Then my love lurched for me. In a heartbeat, he put himself between me and the danger.
I clutched him, allowing a second of happiness to have him back again. “Wait.”
Over his shoulder, I stared at Wallace, his thumb hovering over the plunger. He hadn’t drugged her yet. I linked my gaze to my tormenter’s.
“You’ll be exposed,” I told Denise. “Your husband knows you sold him out and is willing to name names. He’ll ruin any bit of credibility you had. Your fancy family title will be ruined forever.”
Mila slipped past us and ducked out of the room.
I held on tight to Tyler’s arm and delivered my sentence, just as my grandmother was delivering hers.
“Listen good, bestie, because it’s about time someone put you in your place.
Whenever anyone hears about you in the future, it will be because of this.
You organised trafficking, you let the money line your bank account, and you used whoever you wanted along the way.
Your fancy castle will get sold to the highest bidder, and people will laugh at how pathetic you were. ”
“I’ll take your club down,” Denise spluttered, both hands around Wallace’s wrist. “And the gang that runs it. All your prostitute friends will have to walk the streets. I have the power to do it.”
My grandmother’s eyes gleamed. “I think you’ll find the power is all ours.”
Wallace pressed the plunger. Onto the floor, Denise slumped.
Primrose rose and peered down at her. “You earned a pitiful death. I hope it hurts as much as your actions injured my beloved Darcy.”
Wallace turned to me. There was no sign of regret in him. Just a slight edge in his expression to indicate he’d killed mercilessly. It faded, and he was his normal, lazy self again. “After all this, you’ll do the right thing tomorrow, won’t you? Support Mother. She deserves it.”
“You fucking assholes.” Presley burst up and grasped for me.
Tyler blocked him, but Wallace threw out a fist and sent Presley flying. Presley howled and fell on Wallace, his eye blackened already. The two tussled.
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
It crashed open, and Mila flew in, Convict and Ash at her back. She must’ve gone to the front door to let them in. My sister was so damn clever.
Mila spied me and breathed hard. “We need to leave. Denise brought guards. Heretic has them but more could come.”
I snatched up my still-recording phone, Tyler moving with me.
“Fuck you.” Wallace swung for Presley, knocking him to the floor.
“I’ll kill you like I should’ve killed her,” Presley yelled. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
“You’re a joke,” Wallace snapped.
“Tell that to Paul Debrock. I’ll cut you up the same way I did him.”
The two slammed into each other.
It had almost been me. He’d slit my throat then dumped me in the skeleton crew’s boathouse, all on Denise’s orders.
I drifted my hand to my neck and to the line sliced there months ago.
Except there was no time to wallow in self-pity or relive that again.
I wouldn’t risk Tyler to get revenge on someone worth so little.
No. Panic wasn’t ruling me now.
I pulled back and finally stared deep into Tyler’s beautiful, furious gaze. “Let’s get out of here.”