Chapter 12
ATOMIC BOMB
* * *
I woke up feeling groggy and pissed off. But at least I was blissfully alone.
The animal in me had gone absolutely feral when Darren had tried to comfort me through the trauma he had once again caused.
I hated it when he tried to do that, but eventually, the exhaustion of fighting would hit, and I’d just collapse against him, hoping sleep would come and rescue me sooner rather than later.
Sitting up in bed, I stretched my arms high above my head, then turned to look out the window at the setting sun. Squinting, I could see Sloane standing on the dock, pointing toward the water as various divers surfaced from under it.
I laughed internally. They must be searching for that stupid necklace.
Hopefully, they never find the damn thing.
Standing up from the bed, I made my way out into the hallway and decided I might benefit from some rage painting in my art room. People usually left me alone when I was in there since Sid had managed to convince Darren that creating art was therapeutic for me, and should therefore be encouraged.
But the second I walked through the door, I paused in my tracks when my eyes landed on the massive mess someone had made of the room.
Red paints were spilled in puddles on the tile floor and walls, blank canvases punctured and broken, pencils and brushes clearly flung across the room, and all my unfinished projects ruined with slashes and tears.
“What the hell?”
A pained gasp stole my attention, prompting me to quickly round the corner of the room and freeze in place.
Daniel had one of the cleaning staff bent over my drawing desk, his uninjured hand wrapped around her mouth as his hips bucked wildly against her ass.
Her face was red with tears coating her eyes and skin, her body’s reaction indicating nothing but pain.
I saw red.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” I shouted, my nauseated stomach twisting with disgust.
Daniel looked up from his position, his eyes shifting from focused to absolutely deranged as he sneered back at me.
“Well, well,” he slurred, slowing his pace as he continued to fuck the poor woman. “Look who it is. The little home-wrecker.”
My eyes widened at his comment but ignored it to center on the pained woman still pinned underneath him. “Says the man wrecking his own home this very second. Let her go, Daniel. She clearly doesn’t want you, and you’re a married man, for fuck’s sake!”
He scoffed with a drunken laugh and then abruptly increased his pace, fucking her brutally for another ten seconds before he finally stopped and groaned lewdly against her.
I took a deep breath and turned my eyes away, trying to regain my composure.
If Darren hadn’t confiscated my knife, I would have thrown it at Daniel’s throat by now.
“You piece of shit,” I growled as I watched him stumble away from the poor woman and fumbled with his belt. As soon as Daniel stepped back, she took off running, clutching her torn clothes to her body as she moved for the door behind me.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, but she ignored me, sniffing back her tears as she rushed past me, slamming the door shut behind her. Turning back to Daniel, I scowled at him in disgust, but all he did was sneer in return and waved his other hand that appeared to be wrapped in a cast.
“Bye!” he slurred again, continuing to wave long after the woman had already barreled through the door. “Thanks for the good fuck!”
I could feel my scowl intensify as he stumbled another step closer.
Sick fuck.
“Why the hell are you in my art room? Did you do this?” I asked, gesturing to the destruction scattered all across the room.
“What, you don’t like my masterpiece?” he snarked, gesturing around.
I folded my arms across my chest, unsurprised. “Well, it has the creativity of a five-year-old having a temper tantrum, so no, not really.”
He scoffed again, rearranging his pants as he stumbled to the side. “You wrecked my relationship with my brother. I thought it was only fair I wreck something else of yours since he already ghosted your stupid dog.”
“Oh, fuck off, Daniel!” I shouted at him. “The only person ruining their relationship with their brother is you and your—”
“Shut the fuck up, you little whore,” he snapped at me. “My weakling of a brother might enjoy your smart mouth, but I’ve seriously heard enough of it.”
I glowered at him. “Fuck you, Daniel. The only weakling I see here is you.”
His face twisted into a menacing scowl as he took a few steps toward me, scoffing with humor. “Please. You’re the one falling apart over a damn dog who should have been put down right after she bit me. Talk about weak and pathetic.”
I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms. “We all mourn those we love,” I seethed. “You did the same when Dominic was killed.”
“Dominic was human. There’s a difference.”
Human, my ass.
“Didn’t seem like it made much of a difference when you killed Regina.”
A sloppy smirk curved up the side of his face. “She was a bitch too, so it also didn’t count.” Daniel chuckled as he meandered closer, his steps suddenly faltering out of place as he stumbled to the side.
“Are you drunk again?” I asked, my eyes assessing his slackening form.
“That and heavily medicated,” he answered, lifting his hand with the cast and waving it while his badly split lip curved into a crooked grin. “Sid always carries the good shit. Can’t feel a thing.”
I narrowed my eyes at the fresh cast wrapped around his hand and wrist. “Yeah, that sounds like a smart combination.”
“Just as smart as you and your fucking mouth,” he retorted bitterly.
I tilted my head at his growing hostility, liking my chances of a meaningful escalation more and more. “Nah, my mouth is probably smarter.”
Daniel paused for a moment as he stared back at me, a glimmer of something sinister flashing in his gaze.
Come on, motherfucker. Give me something to work with.
When he did nothing, I figured he was still deliberating in his head and needed a little more encouragement, so I did the two things that I knew would instantly piss him off—I rolled my eyes and turned away to leave.
“Whatever, I’m leaving.”
“Hey!” he shouted just as I had hoped. “Don’t you walk away from me. I’m not finished with you yet.”
I cocked a brow at him as I glanced back without breaking my pace, trying hard not to smile. “Well, I’m finished with you, asshole.”
“I know you’ve been conspiring against us!” he suddenly accused, making me stop in my tracks because that was not what I was expecting him to antagonize me with.
“What did you just say?” I asked cautiously.
“I don’t know how you’re doing it, but I know that somehow you’re responsible for all our latest misfortunes.”
Both my brows rose in suspicion this time. “Is that so?” I asked calmly. “And what misfortunes would those be, I wonder?”
Come on, Daniel, spill that fucking tea, you bitch.
“You’re really gonna play dumb, huh?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess I am.”
His mouth slowly morphed into something dark and wicked, the twisted smile suddenly looking uncomfortably familiar.
“Darren warned me you were smart,” Daniel commented as he took another step closer. “But I just don’t see what he sees.”
I gasped, dramatically laying my hand over my heart. “I’m devastated.”
Kicking an empty can of paint out of his way, he stepped near the window to glance outside.
“Somehow, he sees everything he’s ever wanted in you, which has clearly blinded him from seeing what a lying manipulative bitch you are.”
I paused for a moment, slightly amused. He really thought he had me all figured out.
“Mmm…no, he definitely knows that already,” I replied with a nod. He’s punished me enough for it as it is.
“Not like I do,” he countered. “I know you’re hiding a lot more than just that letter my mom wrote.”
My stomach suddenly clenched at the mention of the letter. Because he was right, I had hidden the letter for a long time. So what else did he think I was hiding?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know a lot more about what’s going on than you should, and Darren is too much of a pussy to interrogate you himself. So I’m going to have to do it for him. And when I’m done, he’ll finally see just how deep your deception really goes.”
I could feel my head tilting as I narrowed my gaze at him. He was clearly planning on some kind of physical altercation here, which made the situation much more difficult to manage. But maybe that was exactly what I needed to make it look like.
“I’m not sure what it is you think I know or have done, Daniel, but I can assure you, it’s all in your head.”
“Bullshit!” he howled viciously. “You know something, and you’re going to tell me right fucking now.”
I shook my head at him, catching the aggression growing in his tone. “That bullet really did a number on your skull, huh? You used to be so pragmatic, and now you’re nothing but a goddamn confused mess,” I fired back, gesturing at him with my hand.
Daniel’s jaw ticked as he glared back at me, his gaze shifting into something menacing and feral. “I’ll show you a fucking mess.”
And then he charged for me.
Sudden indecision flashed before my eyes, slowing the world down as two choices abruptly presented themselves.
I could stand my ground and fight this bastard until my knuckles were raw and my arms were stiff.
I could stab him in the eye with the dull end of the paintbrush within my reach.
I could trip him and smother his face in the puddle of paint he’d spilled behind my feet.
I could even strangle him with the clay wire cutter he’d just haphazardly kicked in my direction.
Everything was a weapon if you were creative enough.
Or…
There was another weapon at my disposal, a choice I had never sought the opportunity to use until now, something that would be far more effective than anything I could ever do myself.
Darren.