Chapter 14 Nick #2
I notice her hand moving like she’s rubbing the inside of her elbow out of the corner of my eye. “Why?”
She shifts away from me. What is she doing?
“You said I didn’t have to tell you the details. I think you already know why.” She turns her head away from me again.
Deep down, I truly do know why. Part of me wishes he was still here so I could kill him myself. He got off easy being blown up.
“Were you a kid when this started?” I clench my jaw; I already know what the answer is going to be, and it pisses me off. Anyone who dares abuse an innocent child deserves to be kept alive and tortured in the most brutal ways.
“Yes.” Her whisper is so low, I barely catch it. She shifts uncomfortably and won’t look at me.
“Did your mother know about the abuse?”
“Physical, yes. Sexual, no. She did the best she could to protect me but he was a monster. I don’t want to talk about her right now.” Her voice trembles and I can tell she’s holding her breath, trying to suppress her emotions.
I change topics before I lose her. “The first time we met, you told me you couldn’t pay his debts. Did you mean your father? Is there anyone you owe?” There’s a palpable tension in the air, but it’s imperative I keep the conversation going.
“Yes, and no, I don’t owe anyone anything.” She finally looks at me, her glare slicing through me like a razor blade. Glad to know that.
“Who did he owe money to and how much?”
“I’m not sure who, I was never given any names. He always owed random people money and used me to settle his debts.”
“What do you mean used you to settle his debts?” I try to keep calm for her, but anger is rising inside. Have I used murder and/or torture of someone’s family against them? Yes, but they were all adults.
“I told you I didn’t have any money, how else do you think a woman pays for things?” She rolls her eyes at me and my palm itches to bend her over my knee and spank the attitude out of her. I bet her pale bare ass would glow the most beautiful shade of red for me.
I shouldn’t even be thinking this way right now. She’s telling me about her abuse and I’m thinking about spanking her. Geezus, men are sick fucks, myself included. I would only do those things to her with her permission though. I would never force her into submission against her will.
Focus on the conversation—not on your dick, asshole.
“Would you be able to recognize faces if shown a picture?” I will put that whole fucking town in a lineup for her if I have to.
“No. They always came in my room after dark. I kept my eyes closed until they finished. It was the only way my mind could block out what was happening. Well, there was this one friend of my dad’s, Tito.
He came by our house a lot to hang out, even during the day.
When he was fucked up, he stayed over and forced me to share my bed with him. ”
What a piece of shit. I would love to have a little chat with him, man to man. “Do you want to get revenge on Tito?” I’d be glad to arrange that for her.
“Yes.” Her voice is low but to the point.
Attagirl. She’s going to fit in so good with my team.
“What is his last name?” I pull out my phone, ready to track him down tonight.
“I don’t know, I’m sorry. Can we talk about something else, please?” She looks ashamed and it pulls at something in me. Everything that happened to her was beyond her control.
“When I find him, you can make him pay for what he’s done to you.” Her eyes search mine and she relaxes a little. I hope she puts his balls in a martini glass and makes him swallow them down with a shot of gin.
“If you don’t want to work for me, I won’t force you. You can stay on the farm until you’re done with therapy. You can also take online classes from here if that’s what you wish and leave once you’re in a good enough position to be on your own.”
“What if I want to work for you?” she softly replies, it’s almost a whisper.
“The offer is open, but conditionally. You can’t run off when things don’t go your way. Training is not going to be easy. You have to learn to work under pressure. You can’t manipulate people and situations if you can’t control yourself.”
“I don’t do well in hostile environments.” Her face is sullen, scared almost. Her reactions have been all over the place. Annoyed, happy, sad. She’s fighting an internal war, no doubt.
“I will teach you everything you need to dominate the world around you, even in the toughest situations. When I’m through with you, you’ll thrive in hostility. You just have to trust me.” She needs to work on making her weaknesses unreadable to her enemies.
“I’m not sure about trust, but I’ll try,” she sighs.
Her distrust understandably runs deep, but agreeing to try is a good start.
“Either you trust me, or we don’t have a deal. You’re going to have to face your fears and unless you trust me to guide you through, you’ll never make it out alive.”
She’s quiet for several seconds, no doubt warring with herself, again.
“Fine. I trust you. Just please stop throwing everything you do for me back in my face. Talk to me like an adult.”
Fair enough. “I’ll work on that, and you work on keeping yourself under control. If there’s an issue, we discuss it calmly. Deal?” I hold my hand out to her.
She doesn’t take it but still replies, “Deal.”
“What are you holding?”
She gives me a sly smile. “I found a kitten.”
So that’s why she was bending over by the pond and what she’s been rubbing that I couldn’t see.
“Put it back.” I’m only half serious. She can have whatever she wants on the farm, it just isn’t coming back to the beach house with her.
“No,” she snaps. So feisty, I love it.
“Fine. How old is it?” It has to be tiny if she’s been able to keep it hidden this long.
It’s no bigger than the palm of her hand. It starts meowing loudly and clawing at her fingers. It’s going to need supplemental feeding, at least for tonight. She can find the mama cat tomorrow.
“Follow me and I’ll show you where the syringes and milk replacement are.” I gesture for her to get up, even offering to help her, but she doesn’t accept.
She gives me the biggest, most genuine smile I think I’ve ever seen. It’s my turn to roll my eyes. I’m going to have to go find someone to punish to prove to myself I’m not going soft.