Page 88 of Reckless Seduction
“Lina,” I breathe. But she doesn’t look like Lina. Not anymore. The soft glow of her face is hardened and narrowed. She stands taller, her shoulders back, head held high. A far cry from the meek but headstrong woman who mentored me through my career.
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?” she sneers at me, her lips curling up into an angry snarl. “Had to go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
I blink up at her. The drug Tatem gave me is starting to hit me harder. “I’ve been trying to find you.” Disbelief is no doubt my current facial expression. At least I think it is. I am having a hard time controlling my facial muscles. Whatever they gave me is trippy. “I thought…” What did I think?
Lina laughs heartlessly. “You really are naïve, little princess.” She shakes her head. “I don’t need saving. If anyone needs saving, it is you. You couldn’t leave well enough alone. Had to stir up a whole bunch of shit.”
What? I don’t stir anything up… do I? Maybe I do.
Wait… what are we talking about?
“Looks like your drug is finally starting to work.” Lina cocks her head, studying me. Huh, why do I feel so warm and fuzzy inside? Medications have always been touch and go with me. My body usually takes a while to absorb most sedatives and painmedication, meaning that it takes longer for them to kick in, and when they do, it’s never all that pleasant.
“Victor,” she barks, the sound floating in the air before my eyes. I snort. You can’t see sound… can you? “Get her loaded up in the car and don’t let her escape.”
I wonder if it can be felt.
Maybe. Maybe not.
A sliver of laughter slips through me, and then a hysterical giggle. The burly mountain man named Victor slings me over his shoulder, and I giggle again, smiling at the lights that dance across my vision in rhythm with the music that vibrates through the floor.
My gaze catches Kiernan’s, and suddenly, the lights darken and the tune grows sad. He looks sad. His brow is furrowed, and his hands are clenching and unclenching at his sides. It is one of his tells when he wants to punch someone. Lina stands by his side, facing away from me, whispering in his ear.
If only I could shoot daggers into her back.
Fucking Judas.
Traitors.
Assholes.
Betrayers.
I let out a heart-wrenching sob as the bitter dagger of betrayal twists deeper into my heart, and then I know nothing at all.
THIRTY-SIX
The room isdark and small, holding nothing more than a thin, dirty mattress that reeks of sex and urine. I gag when I wake up, face down in the filth, barely managing not to wretch up the last vestiges of food that remain in my stomach.
I sit, my head buried in my hands, for what seems like hours before the door finally opens to reveal the man who has been nothing but a lie my entire life. He tilts his head, studying me, his cold eyes assessing in a way they never have before.
My body is still clothed in the sheer red dress I wore at the auction. A symbol of my non-virginity, apparently. The hairs on my arms stand on end when the man I’ve known as father steps into the room with Drew on his heel, shutting the door firmly behind them.
“Hello,daughter.” He draws out the former familial title. Drew licks his lips, his eyes lighting up as they roam my nearly naked form. I keep silent, not wanting to engage them further, my eyes locked on the far wall. “I’m sorry it had to come to this. Although this is where the path would have eventually led.” He shrugs nonchalantly. My life means that little to him. “You just ended up here slightly sooner than either of us would have liked.”
My jaw tightens to the point of pain. It wouldn’t surprise me if I cracked some teeth with how hard they are clenched. There are so many things I could say. Sewage I could spill about his life, but I won’t. Even if Kiernan and the rest of the Kavanaughs deserve to be put in their place. I could easily tell Crowe about the information they truly have. I’ve seen flashes of what had been uploaded and none of it was good. Every corrupt judge, politician, and police captain will go down for what they’ve taken part in.
That is my hope.
Kiernan may have sold me out, but I don’t believe for one second the lie he told Crowe about their shared interests. The drive he handed over hadn’t been the one I gave him, which means they still have a plan to take him out.
It just doesn’t involve me.
Crowe kneels in front of me, his eyes burning a hole in my face, but still, I refuse to acknowledge him.
“Let me tell you a little story.” From my periphery, I can see a slow smile spread across his face. “Once upon a time, there was a man who was building himself an empire.”
Cue eye roll. My inner bitch is sitting in the corner, ready to pounce, but fear keeps her contained.
