Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Viktor
I t’s been a long few days, and there has been no word on Fiona. Oliver has men searching, but hasn’t found her. I’m beginning to think it was just a rumor to unsettle me. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Fiona is my past, and I want nothing to do with her. I have other things I need to worry about.
Right now, I’m walking to the guardhouse where they’re holding Joe. I normally wouldn’t have brought him here, but I can’t seem to be away from Ava. She has woken screaming and in tears every night since the incident. Last night, she spoke in her sleep. She was telling Joe not to touch her. To get his hands off her breast. I nearly got in my car to kill him then and there. I immediately ordered for him to be found and brought to me today.
I enter the guardhouse and walk to the stairs that lead to the basement.
“Sir, everything is ready,” one of my men says as I reach the door. I walk downstairs and hear Joe scream.
“Dougal will hear of this. He won’t tolerate me being held against my will,” he yells at Oliver.
“Bringing my father’s name into this room will do nothing for you,” I cut him off.
“Viktor, you must believe me. I didn’t do anything to her. Whatever she’s saying is a lie. She’s playing you.” I walk straight up and punch him. The chair he’s sitting on rattles.
“You’re a waste of a man,” I say.
“You’re believing a whore from the projects over a man of my reputation.” I hit him again.
“Your reputation is the reason you’re here. You knew it was only a matter of time before you paid for your sins.” I stare at a pathetic man, now covered in blood.
“You wouldn’t believe what I found,” Oliver says with a grimace.
I look at Oliver. “What?”
“We didn’t even come close to the evil shit he does.” Joe spits out blood, but Oliver ignores it and continues talking. “There was porn everywhere, with women younger than Ava, and we found a woman tied up in a closet in his house. He’s the worst kind of man.” I take my gun from my back.
“Please don’t kill me. I swear, I’m sick. I’ll make things right.” Joe pleads.
My thoughts are clear. He’s a pathetic worm who doesn’t deserve to live. I walk to him and pull the trigger.
“He deserved it, but I hope you know what you are doing. This will have consequences,” Oliver says as I walk toward the stairs.
“This is a kill I’m willing to pay the price for,” I reply as I take the stairs, leaving Oliver to clean the mess.
I know what he’s talking about. If my father learns I killed Joe behind his back, he’ll want to punish me. He won’t care that I killed him, but he’ll care that I didn’t discuss it with him first. It wasn’t an order that came from him. But I couldn’t stand knowing he was breathing after what he did to Ava. She hasn’t been the same since that night.
Mary pulled me aside two days ago because she was beginning to worry. Ava isn’t her usual smart mouth and has been distant, mostly staying in her bedroom. When I come home, she’s always asleep. Sitting and watching her sleep calms me after a long day. It’s how I learned about her nightmares. I go back into the house and walk to the kitchen to find Mary cooking.
“Good evening, Mr. Manarch.”
“Hi, Mary. Where’s Ava?”
“Asleep already.”
“Did she eat?”
“I managed to get her to eat a few bites but still nothing. Mr. Manarch, I know it isn’t my place, but I’m beginning to really worry about her. She’s jumpy half the time and hides the rest of the time. She won’t even come out of her bedroom to eat. I take her meals to her most of the time.”
“I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“She’s lost weight,” she adds, like I should know what she means.
“Everything will go back to normal after this weekend. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Would you like dinner?”
“No. We’re good for the night.”
I walk upstairs to my bedroom. As I pass Ava’s bedroom, I notice that her lights are off, and it’s quiet. I’m about to open her door to watch her sleep when I realize I smell like blood and gunpowder. Instead, I walk to my bedroom, pour myself a drink, and drain it in one swallow. I take off my clothes and get in the shower. As the water hits my head, I think about what Ava’s presence is doing to my life. She’s turned it upside down like no woman has.
Earlier today, my mother told me I look happily in love. I nearly spilled my secret about not loving Ava and how this was an arrangement. I’m not a man who loves, and Ava won’t stay once the year is up. She’s caused more than enough disturbance in my life. So I changed the subject, and she laughed.
“I see the way you look at her. You worship the ground she walks on. That first night I warned you. If you pursued her, you wouldn’t be able to be without her.”
Her words replay in my mind. Is Ava more to me than I’m willing to admit? I get out of the shower and pour another drink, which I also drain. I walk over to my dresser to get pajama bottoms, and I’m about to throw a T-shirt on when I hear her scream. I run to her bedroom, knowing that she won’t have to fear anything again after tonight. I’ll end all her nightmares like I did with Joe.