Chapter 35
DOVE
Reese throws me to the ground and pain shocks up my thighs from the impact, but it barely phases me.
He took his time getting here and in that time, all I focused on was the fact that Alex was safe. Reese’s threats that I’d remain in the dark about whether Alex is alive or not just simply didn’t land.
I know Felix.
I know he loves me.
And I know he will do everything in his power to keep Alex safe. There’s no one else in the world I trust more, so when I lift my gaze and find Caterina glaring down at me, the poison in her eyes means nothing.
“And the boy?” Caterina tears her gaze away from me. “Bring him in too.”
“The boy?” A note of confusion enters Reese’s voice.
“Yes? Alex. Where is he?”
“You told me to exchange them.”
Tension ripples through Caterina’s face and one brow twitches. “Did you actually exchange them?”
“Of course I did,” Reese replies, his voice low as if somehow that would prevent me from hearing the conversation happening over my head.
“You fool! You weren’t supposed to actually let them walk out of there!”
“But Felix was—.”
“I don’t give a shit!” Caterina cuts him off sharply.
“Are you thick? Were you stunted as a child? What part of this entire situation made you think it was okay to actually let that child walk free? I can’t believe I thought you were capable of something so simple, so easy as this.
This is child’s play. Were you born yesterday?
!” Higher and higher her voice climbs. “A hostage exchange isn’t supposed to be an actual exchange, you fucking imbecile! Go and get me that boy right now!”
Reese’s thundering footsteps as he flees the office bring a smile to my lips. He’ll never find them, not now. Felix is far too good at what he does and with Bree on his side, I know my son will be safe.
That’s all that matters.
“Drink?” Caterina’s voice is suddenly completely different, soft and almost loving as she steps away from her desk. The change is jarring, and it’s hard to believe she’s the same woman who screeched in fury a few seconds ago.
“No thanks.”
“You’re having one. Discussions like this need drinks.” She turns her back on me and focuses on the golden trolley filled with an array of crystal decanters filled with all sorts of amber liquids.
I could kill her right now.
I don’t need any tools to do it. My bare hands are enough.
Very slowly, I climb to my feet.
Each movement is slow and calculated to minimise the risk of a floorboard giving away my change of state but just as I make it to my feet, a low throat clearing alerts me to the two guards still at the door.
I didn’t even see them when Reese dragged me into her office.
There’s no way I can kill her before they drag me off her.
Fuck.
“You look like a brandy kind of girl,” Caterina says, pouring two drinks and then turning back to me with them in her hands. “Am I right?”
“No.”
“Shame. Your father was a brandy man.” She hands me the glass anyway and I take it just to keep my hands busy. I will kill her, but doing it here and now risks ending my life before I’m ready.
“No, he wasn’t. He was a scotch man.”
She pauses on her way to the couch, then elegantly lowers herself and invites me to sit across from her.
I take it just to keep my eye on her.
“He drank brandy every time we met.”
“Just because he accepted what you gave him doesn’t mean he liked it. My father was a calculating man.”
“Then what would he gain by feigning to drink Brandy?” She scoffs as if it’s a ridiculous notion.
“Trust. Those who knew him knew what he liked. If you went to someone claiming to be a friend of his and told them he drank brandy, they’d immediately know you were no friend of his. His friends knew what he drank.”
She freezes, her glass halfway to her lips, and her eyes remain locked on me.
I can almost see the gears turning in her mind.
Has she spent these past years claiming to be friends with my father?
Every time she lied, anyone who knew the truth would have seen right through her.
“I don’t believe you,” she says finally. “You lied about my son. I believe you would lie about this. You’ve made enough of a fool out of me.”
“I didn’t lie,” I reply sharply. “Your son was a rapist.”
Her head jerks as if my words landed with a physical blow. “Liar!”
“Not my fault you can’t handle the truth.” I set my glass down on the coffee table between us.
“You’re lying,” she repeats, and some of the unstable, furious woman from before slips back into her voice. “Nico was a good man. He was my baby boy. And now you sit before me with your horrible lies trying to cover up for the fact that you slept with him and you don’t want Felix to know!”
Is she really this delusional? I can’t fathom her thought process but the glint in her eyes tells me she really believes what she’s saying.
“I have nothing more to say to you. I don’t need to argue this. I know the truth and I know you know it too. You’ve nothing to gain from trying to rescue your son's long destroyed reputation.”
“I thought we could have a real conversation, woman to woman,” Caterina replies tightly.
“You should have tried that before you tied me up in your basement and whipped me.”
Caterina’s eyes flicker as if suddenly struck by the memory of that very event, a memory that eluded her and her gaze hardens. “I will give you one last chance. Take back your lies about my son.”
I meet her gaze steadily and even as my heart begins to race, I don’t waver. “No. Your son was a rapist and I’m glad I killed him. And next, I’m going to kill you.”
Her eyes close briefly, then she softly begins to chuckle.
“I wonder if you will keep that cavalier attitude after my entire organization has had a run at you.” She opens her eyes and nothing exists there but darkness, cold and empty.
“After after every one, I’ll ask you again and I won’t stop until you finally take back your bullshit.
And once you’re begging for my forgiveness…
” She slowly stands and gestures to the two men at the door. “I’ll let everyone in for round two.”
“You’re as sick and as twisted as he is,” I snarl while being hauled up by the two guards. “You deserve to be in the ground right alongside him!”
“Perhaps,” she replies slowly. “But you’ll be next to him long before I will be.”
They haul me out of the office and what little fight I manage to put up, is quickly softened by two solid punches to the face and one to the gut.
Double over, I half-stumble, half-walk through the Manor with my escorts, gasping for air as nausea burns hot amidst my bruised muscles.
This is fucking insane.
There’s a way out of this.
There has to be.
I just don’t see it yet.
At the top of the stairs leading back down to the cells I’m so familiar with, the door opens to reveal Reese who smirks coldly when our eyes meet.
“I’ll take it from here,” he remarks, stepping around me and cuffing my hands behind my back.
“Whatever,” grumbles one of the guards, and they leave without complaints.
Reese escorts me down the steps with a cold, dark chuckle. “I wanted to see you before I went out and got Alex. Sort of commit to memory what you look like before Caterina gets started on you.”
“What was that? Sorry, I couldn’t hear anything over the ratty squeaking that erupts from your lips every time you open them.”
“Motherfucker!” He slams me into the wall, crushing my shoulder as he throws his weight against me and pins me there.
“You’ve no clue the amount of shit you’re in, do you?
You’re trying to act all cocky, like there’s anyone here who could help you, but let me tell you, Caterina is a force to be reckoned with. You’re going to die here, bitch.”
As he drags me into a nearby cell, I fear he’s right.
“Aren’t you supposed to be looking for my son?”
Reese doesn’t reply.
The metal inks between the cuffs around my wrist are attached to a small hook and chain dangling from the ceiling.
Reese hooks me up and quickly tightens the chain, forcing my arms to rise behind my back.
Higher and higher they drank until I’m forced to lean forward, but he keeps tightening it until my arms are raised parallel to the floor, then he forces them higher still.
Sharp, throbbing pain pulls through my shoulders from the angle and I grit my teeth, glaring down at the stone floor.
His boots walk into my line of sight and he cups my chin, then forces my head up.
“One more thing that you, and everyone else around here, seems to have forgotten. I didn’t know Felix back then, it’s true. But you know who I did know?” He leans forward and his sharp, acrid breath floods my lungs. “Nico was my friend too. I hope you rot in here, Dove. It’s the least you deserve.”