Chapter 52
Being tied to a chair in a madman’s office was a helluva lot different from being tied up in Varen’s bedroom.
“Don’t bother struggling, dear,” Ravenwood said, leaning against his desk and lighting a cigar.
Two armed guards stood on either side of Nala, who was tied tight to a Robert chair.
The only reason she now knew this kind of chair was called a “Robert” was because Ravenwood called it that about fifty times.
“As much as I would love to see you struggle, my dear, it won’t do either of us any good. It will exhaust me to watch. And, well, you won’t make any headway. All of my top guards are well versed in knotsmanship.”
Nala made a sour face.
“Why look so upset?” Xan moved his cigar before approaching her, placing both hands on her face.
“Any death should be perfectly beautiful. Second only to the body they place in the casket… and don’t worry. Since you’re Tasha’s little sister, I’ll make sure you have a peaceful death, body fully intact. It was the least I could do for her.”
Nala shirked from him, trying to get away from this monster’s cold touch. “But not Desirée. Fuck that pregnant bitch, right? How dare she get knocked up after you assaulted her!”
“Shut your foul mouth. I would never do such a thing.”
“Not according to those emails.”
“Ah, yes, such an astounding hack job. I admit, I was impressed your girlfriend could hack through my firewalls. Then again, I was impressed with how good her app was for my company… I shouldn’t have been impressed that second time.”
Ravenwood smirked, finally drawing his hands away.
“What happened between me and that sweet, curly-haired vixen is neither here nor there anymore. All I’ll admit is that we had relations. She was a magnificent sub, by the way. Your girlfriend had trained her well.”
Nala knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help it – she surged against her ties, growling in rage at the man before her.
Xan remained unfazed while two strong hands pulled Nala against the back of her chair.
The guards gave her stern looks that would make a woman not overdosing on adrenaline squirm in her seat.
“Possessive, are we? Don’t like the thought of her being with another woman?”
“Fuck that! I don’t like the idea of you having innocent people killed!”
“It’s a rough world out there, Miss Nightingale. The more successful you become, the rougher it becomes protecting your holdings… not to mention your ideals. As for Desirée…” he looked away. “I believed she would keep quiet about our affair. Then that thing happened.”
“A baby, you sick, twisted fuck. A baby happened.” Nala was one of the least maternal women in the world, and even she was beyond horrified by what he had done. “Not just any baby, right? Your baby. She wouldn’t ‘get rid of it,’ would she?”
“Now would be an excellent time to shut your mouth.”
Didn’t he know Nala didn’t take orders well? “Did you know that Desirée had a miscarriage before? She would have given anything to have a baby. Even if it was yours. No. That took things too far. That took power out of your hands, and you are not the type of man who has power taken away, are you?”
Ravenwood mindlessly buffed his nails with his thumb. “You are very different from your sister. You’re lucky I liked her so much. She’s the only reason I’m not having someone slice that mouth off your face right now.”
“I’ll be sure to thank her for it when I see her.”
“You do that.” Ravenwood motioned something to his guards. Something like, “Time to get out of here.”
“Wait,” Nala said, before the man could suddenly disappear. “Tell me one thing. Something I haven’t gotten a straight answer for.”
Ravenwood gave her a numbing look. “What?”
“Why did you kill Tasha?” When he was not immediately forthcoming, she continued, “Was it because she was too close to a cure, and that would have ruined your business?”
A snort shot through his puffy nostrils.
“I’ve already told you that Tasha was no closer to a cure than anyone else. I never lied about that. Besides! Why would I kill her for that? A cure would only increase my brand and fortune! The Nobel Prize, for God’s sake!”
He shook his head. “Do you want to know why your poor sister had to be taken care of?”
Nala steeled herself. “Yes.”
Ravenwood picked up his hat and put it on his head before gesturing to the guard again. “Because, my dear, if I couldn’t have her, then nobody could. I don’t like it when my toys take themselves home.”
The guards left. Nala sat alone, with Ravenwood, almost in complete disbelief.
She died because of a creepy, possessive boyfriend?
It seemed too unreal. Too… anticlimactic, almost.
Nala had built a narrative about cancer and pharmaceutical conspiracies in her head for so long that this was a fucking disappointment.
Tasha was nothing more than a statistic for college campaigns and public TV PSAs.
“So,” Nala chuckled, grinning at Ravenwood, “you loved her back, huh?”
He turned. “What?”
“In your twisted way. You loved my sister back, after all. That’s all she ever wanted.” Nala didn’t touch the other shit that would’ve doomed her sister, anyway. She wanted to get a final jab in before dying.
So did Ravenwood.
“You know what the most satisfying thing about seducing Desirée was?”
He loomed over Nala, a man who wasn’t so big when she was standing, but now seemed like a shadowy giant.
Nala shivered to smell that strong cologne and realize that his face was coming closer to hers.
Cologne turned into aftershave. Smelling his breath meant he was way, way, way too close.
“Knowing that she belonged to someone else. Those are always the most fun. And… oh, you both belong to the same person, don’t you? I wonder… how would Varen feel knowing that two of her precious women knew me last?”
All the blood froze in Nala’s veins.
No matter how much she struggled in her bindings, no matter how far she twisted her head, and no matter how she bore her teeth once he had her mouth open, Nala could not avoid that lecherous look on his face.
Fucking. Kill me. Now.
“We’re done here.” Xan adjusted his suit jacket before heading toward the office door. “I’ll give you a few minutes to think about your life. Treasure them. I won’t be more generous than that, Nala Nazarov.”
He left, locking the door behind him. Nala stared at the office before her.
Am I really going to die? With that on my mind?
Until now, Nala foolishly hadn’t considered that an immediate possibility.
She was prepared for anything, but to be left here, alone, wondering about her fate?
It seemed almost too simple for a man like him.
Varen… What would happen to her? Nala was prepared for something bad to happen, but… for her to lose two lovers like this…
She slumped against the chair. I wish she were here. She wished Varen would come crashing through the window, untie her, and make off with her. She knew that was stupid. Not only did Varen not know she was here, but what could she do? Throw herself into danger as well?
As Nala wondered how she was going to die, she realized she had been staring at the same paper weight on the desk for five straight minutes. That the world was becoming blurry. That sleep sounded like an awesome idea.
Her eyelids became unbearably heavy. Slowly, they fluttered shut, and the last thing Nala remembered were two memories coming together: her tenth birthday party, wherein her sister and mother pooled their money to buy her a handheld video game she had always wanted…
and those walks on the beach with Varen.
I’m sorry, Mam. You’ve lost everyone now. I’m sorry Ven, you’ve lost another one.
She fell asleep.