Chapter 16
BLADE
Ican tell Delilah is freaking terrified. She has turned whiter than a ghost and is sitting so still I wonder if she’s passed out.
I speak up. “You okay, darlin’?”
The prez and his right-hand man Snake are concerned; I can see it in their eyes, and she jumps, almost shaking herself.
“I, I—”
She is trembling, and I waste no time in standing, reaching for her shoulder, placing my hand on it for reassurance and whispering, “Remember, you’re safe here.”
“It’s not that.”
She peers up at me and appears fucking terrified.
“This office, well, it triggered a memory.”
“What memory?”
I share a look with Ryder, who leans slightly forward as Delilah sighs.
“I was in an office, sitting at a desk like this, and don’t ask me how I remember this, but the man opposite was my father.”
She reaches up, and her small hand finds mine as she whispers, “But I don’t know his name.”
“His name is Miles Costello.”
Ryder’s tone is soft, gentle, as if he is approaching a wounded animal.
“Miles Costello.”
Delilah gasps, “Of course. Costello. Miles and Nicole. My parents.”
I detect the displeasure in Snake’s expression and wonder what they discovered.
“Do you recall your name, darlin’?”
Ryder adds gently, and Delilah nods, as if she is waking up from a dream.
“My name is Aspen Costello.”
If I thought she’d be happy to regain some part of her memory, I’m wrong because she shivers.
“I’m not sure why, or how I know this because I don’t remember my parents other than their names. It triggered the memory of my name, but one thing I do know for sure–”
“What?”
There is silence in the room as I ask the question, and she gulps, “That I never want to see them again.”
Ryder nods, apparently not surprised by that, and he nods to Delilah. “If it helps, we can all move to the comfortable chairs. Go and sit with Blade. Snake, and I will drag our chairs over to join you.”
As we move, Ryder lifts his phone and orders some coffee.
We make ourselves comfortable, and he sits astride his chair, and Delilah, or is she Aspen now, shrinks close against my side. As my arm reaches around her shoulders, Snake raises his eyes, a hint of resignation in them as he assesses the situation.
I couldn’t give a damn what anyone thinks. All I care about is the opinion of one woman, and I’m holding onto her tight.
“We traced Gideon Fox and reviewed his history.”
Ryder wastes no time in getting to the matter at hand.
“You were married in a huge society wedding. Your parents pulled it out of the bag, and it wasn’t difficult to dig up every photograph and news bulletin from that day.
Miles Costello is the Senator of California and tipped for the White House.
Gideon Fox is a multi-billionaire who didn’t get his riches by playing nice. ”
He peers at Delilah.
“Does that sound familiar?”
She nods miserably. “It sounds familiar, but it’s as if I read it somewhere. Not experienced it.”
Ryder reaches behind him and pulls a file from his desk, and hands it to her.
Inside there are photographs of her wedding to Gideon, with her parents standing on either side of them.
It chokes me at how beautiful she is in her wedding gown.
Her hair blonde and piled high on her head like a princess, dripping in diamonds, holding the arm of the man on my most wanted list. Gideon Fox.
She shivers and drops the file as if it burns.
As I slide one of the photographs out, I register the empty expression in her eyes.
She doesn’t love him.
That makes me happy and sad in equal measure because it’s obvious she was pressured into the wedding, solely from the empty smile and vacant expression in her eyes. She is hardly the radiant bride, and I wonder what the story is.
I turn to Ryder and he looks how I feel. None of us like women exploited for anything, and it’s obvious Delilah was sold down the river by her own family.
“I did some digging, and it’s surprising what you can discover from the gossip columns.”
He smiles gently at Delilah to take the sting out of his words.
“Rumor has it your father set up the marriage as a business deal. Gideon had something he wanted, money for his campaign more than likely, and if what I heard is true, a huge dagger he was holding over your father’s head.”
Delilah shrugs, twisting her fingers in her lap, occasionally glancing at the photograph in my hand, curiosity pushing away her fear.
“It’s not uncommon. A rich donor calls the shots in the presidential race and your father had many skeletons in his closet that Gideon apparently held the key to.”
He frowns. “Gideon heads up The Serpent Society. You’re aware of what that involves, and it appears that your father is also a member.”
“I feel sick.”
Delilah gasps as she folds against me, and I wonder if this is too much, too soon.
Snake is shaking his head and speaks up. “Just so you know, darlin’, this is for information purposes only. To help you regain your memory. At no point in this will you be required to meet with any of them again, unless you wish for it to happen.”
I could fucking kiss Snake myself right now because Delilah visibly relaxes, and it’s as if the tension slides from her shoulders.
“I appreciate that.”
She smiles at Snake, who drops her a wink, and she turns to Ryder and whispers hesitantly, “What I don’t understand is why I ended up at Rockwell Academy. Surely Gideon knew and yet was happy for me to be abused by his staff.”
Ryder hisses, “It’s a good thing you lost your memory where he is concerned because that man has no compassion in his body. My guess is you had exceeded your use-by date, meaning he had got what he wanted, and you were in the way of him progressing.”
Delilah says nothing, and Ryder plucks another sheet from the file and hands it to her. Her expression is grave as she reads it aloud.
Gideon Fox, billionaire and philanthropist, has filed for divorce from Aspen Costello due to her deteriorating mental health.
She is currently seeking medical treatment in an expensive Swiss sanatorium and, sadly, Mr. Fox has been told she will never recover.
He has asked for privacy at this devastating time.
Her voice shakes on the last sentence, and she hands the paper back to Ryder, who says angrily.
“There’s another one. Six months almost to the day later.”
He hands her another press release where Gideon is standing with his arm around a glamorous woman, and Delilah reads the editorial.
Gideon Fox has opened his heart to love again with Tallulah Monroe, the cryptocurrency heiress.
They are rumored to be currently vacationing in the Azores.
Stand by for an announcement any day now because word on the grapevine is he has purchased a huge diamond.
His close friends are happy he has found love again after the deep trauma he experienced when his ex-wife, Aspen Costello, lost her mind.
“I don’t understand.”
Delilah leans forward, and her voice trembles as she whispers, “He only had to ask for a divorce. I may not remember much about my marriage, but I would have run to sign the papers. Why didn’t he? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Because it was all about money, positioning and control.”
Ryder sighs heavily and leans forward against the back of the chair he is astride.
“Gideon Fox is the head of The Serpent Society, and only those who are aware of it understand what that involves. Corruption, blackmail and illegal acts, all designed to bring the wealthy and powerful to his heels. He sends them down a one-way path and blocks their exit. All the time he gets more powerful, more controlling and more vindictive.”
Delilah nods. “He was all of those things. The one memory I have is when he almost kicked me to death for no reason at all.”
I place my hand on her back as Snake’s eyes shoot venom and he growls. “So, what’s the plan?”
Ryder fixes his gaze on Delilah as he says evenly, “I fucking hate snakes. Always have and always will and the only way to deal with them is to cut their fucking head off.”