Chapter 9
WHITNEY
Many others have met their end at the warehouse where has Dane brought me. He chose this location specifically because it’s remote, owned by the Sinclairs, and no one will hear Harrison scream.
I pace across the concrete floor. My hands aren’t shaking.
I expected nerves, but all I feel is anticipation.
This is different from when I poisoned Gerald.
That was slow and methodical, watching him fade over weeks.
This is going to be immediate and visceral, and I can’t wait to watch Harrison’s life end.
I don’t care how fucked up that makes me. Dane loves me the way I am, so I see little reason to force myself to pretend otherwise.
Dane leans against a metal workbench with his arms crossed. He watches me pace with a grin. As much of a grin as anyone can expect from Dane Sinclair.
We haven’t stopped touching each other since last night. Even now, when I pass close enough, his hand shoots out to grip my hip and pull me against him.
“You’re enjoying this far too much, kitten.” His mouth brushes my ear. “He’ll be here soon enough.”
“I want to make it hurt.” I turn in his arms to face him. “I want him to know that he picked the wrong woman to fuck with.”
“That’s my girl.” He kisses me hard. When he pulls back, his eyes are dark with desire. “Once this is done, you are getting thoroughly fucked.”
Headlights sweep across the warehouse windows. Dane releases me and checks his watch.
“Right on time.”
My pulse quickens. This is it. I’m going to kill Harrison Lockwood.
The side door opens, and Fox enters first. Tate follows, then Thorne. Between them, they drag Harrison Lockwood. His hands are zip-tied behind his back, and there’s a gag in his mouth. His silver hair is disheveled, and his expensive suit is rumpled.
When he sees Dane and me, his eyes go wide. He starts struggling against the restraints and making muffled sounds behind the gag.
“Your wife looks ready to kill someone.” Fox’s voice is dry as he watches me. “Good thing we brought her this fucker.”
Tate smirks. “I like a woman willing to get a piece of the action.”
“Bring him here.” Dane gestures to a metal chair positioned in the center of the warehouse. Someone had already bolted it to the floor.
Dane’s sons force Harrison into the chair. Fox secures his ankles to the chair legs with more zip ties while Tate binds his chest to the back of the chair. Thorne checks that everything is secure, then steps back and looks at me.
“The dipshit’s been crying since we picked him up.” Thorne says. “He knows what this is.”
“How pathetic.” I cross my arms and stare at Harrison’s tear-stained face.
“Dad.” Fox steps back and wipes his hands on his pants. “He’s all yours. Or hers, I suppose.”
“Hers.” Dane’s hand settles on the small of my back. “I’m just here to watch this time.”
Tate laughs. “Never thought I’d see the day Dad let someone else be in charge.”
“My wife earned this one.” Dane’s tone makes it clear the discussion is over.
Fox crosses his arms and leans against the wall. “This should be interesting.”
Dane crosses to Harrison and rips the gag from his mouth. Harrison gasps for air and then immediately starts talking.
“Dane, listen to me. This is a misunderstanding. Whatever Whitney told you, she’s lying. She murdered Gerald. I have proof. I can give it to the Council—”
Dane punches him in the face, causing blood to gush from his nose.
“Shut the fuck up.” Dane grabs Harrison’s jaw and forces him to look at me. “You’re going to die tonight. The only question is how much you suffer first. And that depends entirely on my wife.”
Harrison’s eyes dart to me.
“Whitney.” He tries for a reasonable tone. “You don’t want to do this. Think about Sloane. If you kill me, the Council will find out. They’ll execute you. Then who protects your daughter?”
I walk closer until I’m standing right in front of him. I lean down so we’re eye to eye.
“My husband is pretty damn good at protecting people. I think I’ll take my chances as Mrs. Fucking Sinclair.” I smile widely. “There is not a goddamn thing you can say to me to free you.”
His face pales.
“Or to make this quick.” I straighten up. “And once I’m done, my stepsons are very good at making people disappear.”
Thorne smirks from where he stands near the door. “We’ve had a lot of practice.”
Fox checks his phone as if this is just another Tuesday night. I’m certain he won’t lose any sleep over what’s about to go down.
Tate tilts his head, studying Harrison. “I’d be happy to take care of him for you, Whitney. It never gets old for me.”
“You can’t do this.” Harrison’s voice rises. “I’m on the Council. They’ll know I’m missing. They’ll investigate—”
“Will they?” Dane moves to stand beside me, and my body heats when he rests his hand on my ass. “Maybe if you were in a higher position, you’d understand better how things work. No one’s going to look for you. That’s how much power I have.”
Harrison looks at each of us in turn. I can see his mind racing, trying to find an angle, some way to talk himself out of this.
“There has to be something you want. I can work for you. Whatever you need—”
“I don’t need a fucking thing from you.” Dane gestures to the workbench. “But my wife does.”
I cross to where Dane laid out the knives. There are five of them, each one a different size and shape. I run my fingers over the handles and then select a medium-sized blade with a serrated edge.
The weight feels good in my hand.
“Great choice,” Thorne says approvingly, then he lunges to snatch Fox’s phone from his hands.
“You’re going in that chair next, you fucking asshole.” Fox wrestles him for the phone.
“Goddamnit,” Dane bellows, clenching his fists. “You’re grown fucking men. Can’t you show Whitney a little respect here?”
Thorne hands Fox the phone back. “Sorry, Whitney.” He glares at Fox. “I’ll find out what you’re up to.”
I don’t know if there is a more fucked up family than ours, but I am fucking here for it. “I’ll get started here, and hopefully it will be a bit more entertaining for you all.”
“No.” Harrison starts struggling against the restraints. “No, please. Whitney, listen to me. I can—”
“You threatened my daughter.” I test the edge of the knife with my thumb. It’s sharp enough to draw blood. “I should have killed you at the restaurant that day.”
“I was desperate and—”
“Shut your fucking mouth.” I step closer, the knife steady in my hand. “You made me betray my husband. You made me lie to the only man who’s ever given a shit about me. So this is as much for him as it is for me.”
Dane’s hand settles on my shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, just touches me. He’s reminding me that he’s here. That I’m not alone in this.
“Please.” Harrison is begging now. “Please, Whitney. I’m sorry. I’ll do anything. Just let me go—”
“I killed Gerald for threatening Sloane.” I press the tip of the knife against Harrison’s cheek. “What makes you think you deserve better?”
I drag the blade down slowly. It’s not deep enough to be fatal, just enough to open the skin. Blood wells up and runs down his face.
Harrison screams.
“That’s for blackmailing me.” I move the knife to his other cheek and make a matching cut. “And that’s for threatening my daughter.”
He’s sobbing now, twisting in the chair. The zip ties cut into his wrists as he tries to pull free.
I step back and look at Dane, my pulse racing.
“Take your time, kitten.” He crosses his arms. “We have all night.”
Fox shifts against the wall. “Dad, I see why you paid fifty million for her.”
“Shut up, Fox.” Dane doesn’t take his eyes off me.
Thorne chimes in this time. “She’s got your energy. It’s disturbing how well you match.”
I turn back to Harrison. He’s bleeding from both cheeks, his expensive suit ruined with blood and tears.
“You know what I thought about while I was poisoning Gerald?” I run the tip of the knife down his throat.
I’m not cutting yet, just showing him where the blade will go.
“I thought about power. About how good it felt to have some control over that asshole. And after every dose of arsenic, I got myself off thinking about what I was doing to him.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tate mutters. “She’s great for this fucking family.”
Harrison is shaking so hard the chair rattles against the bolted floor.
“What do you think I’m going to do after I kill you?” I press the knife into his shoulder. It’s not deep, just enough to make him feel it.
I pull the knife out and move to his other shoulder. Harrison screams again, high and desperate.
“Please stop. Please, I’m begging you—”
“You should’ve thought about that before you came after my family.” I make another cut along his collarbone. The blood is flowing freely now, soaking into his white shirt. “Did you really think Dane Sinclair would let you get away with threatening what’s his?”
Dane pushes off the workbench and comes to stand beside me. He cups my face and kisses me hard. When he pulls back, a slow smile builds on his handsome face.
“You’re so fucking beautiful like this.” His thumb brushes my cheek. “This is who you were always meant to be.”
I kiss him again, ready for what comes after this. But first things first.
I turn back to Harrison.
“You fucking cunt, you are going to—”
I press the knife into his thigh. This time I go deeper, dragging the blade through muscle. Harrison screams like a scared animal.
“That’s for every lie you made me tell my husband.” I twist the knife before pulling it out. “For every second you made me betray him.”
Blood pours from the wound. Harrison is gasping, his face white with pain and shock.
I move to his other thigh and make a matching cut. He screams again, the sound echoing in the empty warehouse.
Thorne speaks up from his corner. “I didn’t think she had this in her.”
“I think it’s time to end this, though.” I meet Dane’s eyes. “I have a date with my husband.”
I press the tip of the knife against Harrison’s throat, right over his carotid artery.