6. Breaking Point
ELOISE
Afew hours later, I arrive on the twentieth floor of Tony”s building and walk through the doors to Denardi Enterprises. According to my app, I”ve made it just in time. Five minutes to sunset. I scan the reception area, wondering where I should wait for the advocate, then remember he can form from shadows. I”ll have to be in Tony”s office if I’m going to stop him.
“Can I help you?” the woman behind the desk asks.
“I need to see Tony Denardi, please. It”s an emergency.”
“Name?”
“Eloise Harcourt.” I”ve never been so happy to have kept my maiden name.
Her eyes lift and then widen with recognition, her cheeks staining pink. “Oh, uh, I”m afraid he”s booked for the afternoon.”
I study her for a moment, the way she shifts in her chair, her gaze darting everywhere but to me, and realization dawns. Oh God, this is awkward. I know Tony”s been having an affair with one of his assistants, but I never knew which one… until now. “You”re her,” I mutter. “You”re the one Tony”s been… seeing.”
She doesn”t respond, but her already pink cheeks turn an alarming shade of red.
“I”m not angry with you,” I say softly, checking her badge. “Tamara. Why would I be? I left him.”
Her face burns brighter, and she winces, as if warring between humor and pity.
“Oh.” My stomach drops as the humiliating realization dawns on me. I”ve been a fool. “It”s been going on longer than I thought, hasn’t it? Of course it has.”
“Can I leave him a message for you?” The forced professionalism in her voice makes me cringe.
“I”m sorry for you, honestly,” I say, although I should keep my mouth shut. “You have no idea what”s in store for you once the shine wears off.”
She scoffs, the former embarrassment I registered turning on a dime toward anger. My coat hangs open and her gaze drifts judgmentally over the beige cardigan set and pearl necklace I’m wearing. “I think I might have a few more years of shine left than you.”
The comment hits me like a fist to the gut. I’m only twenty-five and only wore this outfit because it’s Tony”s favorite, the same reason I”ve pulled my bleached hair back at the base of my skull. He always insisted I dress like this, and I thought it would improve my odds of getting what I want from him if my appearance pleased him. But as I look at Tamara, a deep pit opens in my chest like an ice cream scooper has scraped out my heart. She is what Tony wanted all along —the blond hair, the big boobs. Her cerulean-colored wrap dress accentuates every curve. He’d never have allowed me to wear what she’s wearing. It’s confusing, and another punch to the gut, even if Tony isn’t doing the punching this time.
I clench my eyes shut and just breathe. No way am I going to cry in front of this woman, not over a man like Tony. When I open them again, I look down at my hands rather than at her, see my watch, and remember why I’m here.
“Sunset.” I curse under my breath.
“Excuse me?”
“I”ll show myself back.” I ignore her protests and race-walk down the hall directly to Tony”s office. His door is open, and his jacket is on the back of his chair, but he’s gone. The darkness outside his window offers a stunning view of the Richmond skyline. Oh hell, am I too late?
“It”s better if you”re not here when it happens,” a deep voice rumbles from the shadows, and all the tiny hairs on my body stand at attention. It’s like I’ve touched a live wire. My pulse quickens with my breath and I’m as aware of the advocate’s presence as I would a lion walking into the room. I pivot to find him standing in the shadow of the door, his silver eyes the only thing visible until he steps into the light. Damn, he’s wearing a suit tonight in a shade of navy that brings out the blue tinge in his pale eyes. It’s stunning. Thickness forms in my throat and I can’t find my voice.
But then I don’t have to. Tamara bursts in, her finger pointing in my direction. “Leave now, or I”m calling secur—Oh, hello.” Her voice softens the moment she sees the advocate, and she flashes a warm smile, her lashes fluttering. “I don”t recall checking you in.”
He steps closer to her, locking eyes. “You will go back to your desk now and forget either of us is here.”
Tamara”s face slackens, her expression distant as if her mind has wandered off. “Right. I need to go.” She chuckles, glancing around the room as if she can”t remember why she’s come in. With a flip of her blond hair, she strolls from the room and heads in the direction of the front desk.
“That”s a neat trick,” I mumble.
He whirls on me, gripping my shoulders hard enough that I can’t forget what he is. This is the monster I called, the one who drinks blood and is sewn together from shadows. He brings his face close to mine, his nostrils flaring.
“Leave now, little bird, or it will be difficult to separate you from what I have to do. The longer you’re here, the harder it will be for me to conceal that fact.”
Conceal as in wipe minds like he did to Tamara? Tamper with the security cameras? What exactly is the advocate capable of?
This close to him, my body tenses in alarm and something else I don’t want to admit. I clamp my thighs together and swallow repeatedly to get my voice to work. When I do, it comes out wispy and trembling. I pull away, putting room between us. “There”s been a mistake. I don”t want you to kill Tony.”
He glares, his lips peeling back from his teeth. “You don”t?—”
“What the fuck?” Tony strides into his office, adjusting the rolled sleeves of his dress shirt before sinking into the chair behind the desk. His bushy brown brows pinch above an aquiline nose and thin, sneering lips. He pointedly looks at his gold watch. “You need to leave, Eloise. I have work.”
“We need to talk about the house.” I shove my hands into the pockets of my coat and toy with the candle. “You know what”s going on with Grams. I can”t let you have Harcourt. It”s wrong, and you know it.”
Tony”s eyes lock on to the man beside me. “Who the hell is this?”
If he only knew. I glance at the advocate, who appears even more menacing than before, and realize I still don”t know his name. “He”s my… counsel.”
Tony scoffs. “Is everyone at that firm of Maeve”s a damned freak?”
A low growl, almost imperceptible, rumbles from the advocate”s chest.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask. “You have everything. Leave me my family home.”
Tony leans back in his leather chair, hands threading over his abdomen, and lifts his chin to peer down his nose at me. “Half the value of that property is rightfully mine. Pay me my portion, and I”ll move on. It”s as simple as that.” His lips twist into a demeaning smile. “Oh, that”s right, you can”t. You have no assets but the property itself, and even if you could secure a mortgage on the house, it wouldn”t cover my half.”
“How do you know that?” I’m not even fully aware of the estate”s value.
He tugs at one cuff. “I know everything, Eloise. Now take your… counsel and get out of my office.”
I stand my ground. “No.”
His eyes flash with ire, and his fists clench on his desk. He stands up slowly, never taking his gaze off me. “If you want to talk to me seriously about this, tell your counsel to fuck off. This is between the two of us.”
I turn to face the monster. Shit, no wonder Tony wants him to leave. The angles of the creature”s face are harsh in the recessed lighting, frightening. Part of me wants him behind me during this conversation. Another part knows that my best chance of getting Tony to change his mind about Harcourt is to do what he asks. I reach into my pocket and fist the candle. “Please go. Meet me later, same time and place as last night.”
The advocate seethes in my direction, his lips curling off his teeth in barely contained rage. But he leaves without another word. I turn back to Tony as soon as he’s gone. “When you made those improvements, they were a gift, not an investment. Drop your claim to the property, Tony. Please.”
He rounds the desk and closes the door to his office, turning back to me with undisguised malice. I try to back away as he swaggers closer, but he hooks his fingers in the pearls around my neck, holding me in place. “You wore my favorite necklace.”
“We loved each other once,” I force out. “Please, if for no other reason than out of respect for what we once had, let me keep the house.”
He twists his fingers in the pearls until they tighten uncomfortably around my throat. “Let”s face facts, Eloise.” His voice is low and calm, even as the noose he”s created forces me to rise onto my toes. “Your grandmother is dying, and you don”t have a penny to your name. If I let you keep the place, you”d run it into the ground. The bank would foreclose in six months.”
I shake my head. “I won”t let that happen. I”ve already reached out to my old principal. Once I”m working again?—”
“You”ll never make enough to keep the place.” He twists again, the pearls threatening to cut off my air. I dig my fingers in behind the strand. “Face it, you”re going to lose that house one way or another. Sign that property over to me, and I”ll allow you to visit your parents” graves on the anniversary of their deaths.”
“Stop,” I rasp. “You”re choking me.”
“Do as I say,” he hisses through his teeth. “Sign the house over to me. You can”t afford it.” Tony”s features turn cruel, and the old pattern comes back to me. He”s insulted me, degraded me, and now he’s physically overpowering me. Tony isn”t happy unless I’m groveling at his feet.
Breath barely trickles down my windpipe in a high-pitched whine. Not enough to answer him. Black spots circle at the edges of my vision. I claw at the strand. I’m suffocating, but all I can think of are his words. He”d allow me to visit my parent”s graves. Allow me. Red-hot anger pulses through me. This morning, I”d remembered his kindness, but now I need to remember his spite. Tony is an abuser, and he always will be. I dig both my hands into my flesh, wedge my fingers under the pearls, and tug.
The strand breaks. Pearls drop and bounce across the wood floor, rolling like marbles. I back across the room, putting space between us and wheezing air through the roughness left in my throat.
Over the sound of my rasping breaths, I hear him laugh. “Think about it, Eloise. As always, I”m the best offer you have. Even Maeve Gowdie knows it, whether or not she’s admitted it to you yet.”
Coughing, I lunge for the door, but I’ve got to walk past him to get there. He reaches out and grabs my wrist, squeezing until I’m sure he’s left a bruise. “Oww. Tony, you”re hurting me.”
He pulls me to him and brings his face close to mine. “You know what”s sad about all of this? You could still be married to me if you”d just learned your place. We could”ve had a nice arrangement. You by my side as my wife, your grandmother safely cared for.”
“And Tamara in your bed.”
He nods. “It”s not an uncommon arrangement. I”d have kept you comfortable.”
“That”s not good enough for me,” I rasp, yanking my wrist from his grip and charging out the door.
The last thing I hear as I slip into the hall is, “My offer just expired. Forget about visiting your parents’ graves once that property is mine.”
Massaging my bruised neck, I walk faster toward the exit, hating Tony with everything in me. I’m not a murderer, but as God is my witness, I wonder if I”ve done the right thing in stopping the advocate from killing him.