Chapter 16 #2
“The shirt was a gift. A little inside joke. And he wore it the first time he fucked my brains out.” Raina threw her head back, moaning. “God, it’s been years since that first time, but I remember it like it was yesterday.” She kicked my chair out. “Sit and I’ll tell you more.”
I moved to the chair on numb limbs, lowering into it, trying to hide my shaking hands from Raina. Years. They’ve been fucking for years. “I call bullshit,” I goaded her, but my heart was screaming in agony.
It was Grayson’s favourite shirt because it was a gift from the beautiful woman sitting in front of me.
The same shirt I had kept safe all this time because I knew how much it meant to him.
The same shirt that I would put on to comfort myself, when it felt impossible to breathe because it smelled like him.
A shirt he adored. Because of Raina.
You can do this, Ava. Just a little while longer. Just keep breathing. Keep breathing.
“Oh, honey, don’t look so sad. I’m sorry to break it to you, but whatever you think you had with him, it’s not real. It can’t be. Because I’m the one. I’m his doll.” She smiled to herself.
“What makes you so sure?” My voice trembled. I couldn’t hide it anymore. But that only seemed to encourage her.
“He might fuck his way around the world, pick up a pretty thing like you now and again, but he always comes back to me.”
I only stared at her. I couldn’t speak. My body was numb and cold and dead.
“You yap with an awful lot of confidence, Raina. But I see no proof to your claims. From this side of the table, you look like nothing more than a groupie. Too uncool to join his band,” Owen goaded her further.
Raina turned her attention to me, a sickening smile on her face. “Oh, I’ve been part of the band plenty of times. We’ve learned a lot together. Like, you know that thing he does with his fingers while he’s fucking you with his tongue?” She demonstrated it.
My breathing stammered and my mouth filled with saliva. I swallowed hard at the vomit trying to make its way up my throat.
She laughed at my reaction. “Yes, you do know it, don’t you? I taught him that.”
No more. No more.
I stood from the table and forced my body towards the door.
Raina chuckled. “Oh, come now, honey! You wanted proof.” She shrugged nonchalantly.
I closed the door behind me and fell apart.
Liam was there to catch me before my knees hit the dirty ground. He held me up while I tried to force it all out of my head.
“She’s fucking with you, Ava. She’s lying. You need to stay focused,” he whispered to me in a soothing voice. “You’re stronger than this. Get it together.”
“I hate him,” I whispered back, through the tears. “I hate that fucking son of a bitch so much.” I looked up at Liam. “I wanna see him burn in hell, Liam. I’m gonna drag him down to the hottest pool of hell by his stupidly perfect hair and throw him in myself.”
“That’s the spirit,” Liam answered lowly. “Now fix your face and get your head back in the game. We still need you in there.”
I nodded, breathing deeply. He was right. Fuck Raina and fuck Grayson. I locked my shaky knees and stepped out of Liam’s hold, straightening my clothes. He wiped the mascara runs from my face and nodded. “That’s it. Now get back in there and rip that bitch apart.”
I stood before the closed door and steeled myself, then nodded at Liam to open it.
He pushed the door open. Raina had turned and was ready to spew some insult my way, but her mouth popped shut when she saw Liam instead, giving her a death glare that would have rattled my bones.
I moved past him, giving him a thankful nod.
He could be an obnoxious goofball most days, but he was fiercely protective of his friends.
And he seemed to have appointed himself as my guard dog ever since we met.
Raina turned back to Owen, shifting uncomfortably.
I leaned against the door, deciding not to interrupt Owen while he was on a roll.
Owen gave me a quick glance before grinding Raina again.
He was relentless, just like he was with me.
I knew how it felt sitting on the other side of that table.
But Raina was clearly stronger than me. And the difference was her unshakable believe that Grayson cared for her.
He probably did. He and I never made sense. But they do.
Pain shot through my chest. Seeing Raina, it had become glaringly obvious. I had been no more than a pawn. I had no doubts about that now. Hadn’t Grayson told me so himself? He loved Raina. How could he not? She was stunning, cunning and a master thief, just like him. She checked all the boxes.
I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, trying to shake the images of them together. Of Grayson smiling down at her, touching her softly.
No. Focus! You can spiral out later.
Having been on this side of the table meant I knew precisely where to hit. I had to make her question Grayson’s feelings. And Doctor Aspen had already showed me exactly how to do it. If Raina’s belief shattered, so would her loyalty.
Owen was clearly being the bad cop. And if the TV shows were any indication, I had to be nice to her, which was a hard pill to swallow, considering I was ready to claw her eyes out.
“Don’t be stupid, Raina!” Owen exclaimed in frustration.
Raina only glared at him. Nothing he could say would make her talk.
“She’s not stupid, Owen. She’s in love,” I declared, shoving off the door and making my way around the table. “I know the look. Gods, I saw that exact look every time I passed a reflective fucking object.”
Raina laughed coldly. “Back for more? Oh, and you have a little mascara on your cheek there.” She pointed to me with a smug grin.
I held her gaze. “Jealousy is not a good look on you, Raina.”
She snorted. “You think I’m jealous of you?”
“I know you are. You’re in love with Grayson and he’d been fucking me.
I know you’re jealous of me, because I’m jealous of you.
We’re in the exact same boat. The only difference between me and you, is I know the boat is full of fucking holes.
I know that while you and I are measuring dicks, Grayson’s dick is probably in someone else right now.
The difference between me and you, is I’ve had two weeks in a mental institution and vigorous therapy to snap me the fuck out of it. ”
“You should go back because you’re fucking delusional,” she sneered. “He could never love you. He loves me.”
I barked a laugh. “That’s the exact words I screamed at my therapist’s face.
He loves me. You wanna know what she said to me?
If he loves you that much, where is he?” I leaned forward.
“So tell me, Raina. Where is he? He’s probably the best thief of this century because he can get in and out of any place he wants, and no one can stop him.
If you’re the one, why is he leaving you to rot in here? ”
Raina stilled.
Yep. That would do the trick. “Face it, Raina. Grayson doesn’t love. He’s incapable of such a thing. He uses. That’s all. He used me, and he. Used. You.”
She shook her head, turning from me in dismissal. But she was quiet. I was getting to her.
“When I was on that side of the table, he didn’t come to save me. I saved myself. And I promise you, he’s not coming to save you, Raina. You need to woman up and save yourself.”
Her chin trembled and my heart bled. That had been me.
“He’s not looking out for you, so stop looking out for him. Speak to us, and we can ensure that you get to serve your time in a better place than this hell hole.”
Raina whirled on me and slammed her fists onto the table, making me jump.
“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t have all of them to protect me.
” She pointed to Owen’s badge. “And not even they would be enough. You said so yourself, no one can keep him from walking in here! If you think he wouldn’t come after me when I talk, then you don’t know him at all.
He would decorate the fucking banisters with my intestines!
” She slumped back into her seat. “Nowhere is safe. He already knows you’re here.
He’s hearing every word we say. So you can go fuck yourself. I’m not ready to die yet.”
“Raina…”
She slammed her fist on the table. “I said I’m done!
And word of advice, sweetheart. You need to shut your pretty little mouth.
You’re so fucking blind, you have no idea, do you?
You have no idea what he’s capable of. But me?
I’ve seen it. I might be stupid enough to love Grayson, but I’d rather let your agent boyfriend shoot me in the head right now, then let him get a hold of me.
So I’m done talking.” She banged on the table again and screamed at the one-way window, “You hear that? I’m not talking!
So get me the fuck out of here!” She was visibly shaking.
It was no act. She was scared shitless of Grayson.
Owen and I exchanged a look.
It was hopeless.
Owen leaned forward, placing the photos back into his file.
“You’re still new to the Russian prison system, but have you heard of Mordovia?
That’s where you’re headed. You think this place is fucked?
” Owen snorted. “Nothing Grayson can do to you is worse than that hell. You’re gonna talk, Raina.
You’re gonna beg us to come chat. It’s just a matter of how many days you can stomach that place.
So give us a call when you’re ready. We’ll be patient. ”