Page 97 of Manic

His free hand clenched in his lap, his knuckles white. Axell glanced at us in the mirror, carefully watching—listening. Nausea curdled in my stomach as the shouting ensued, leaving Manic to say little else. Then his eyes grew distant, like he’d gone somewhere else in his mind as his father continued his rant.

After a few tense minutes, Manic flexed his jaw and then snapped his fingers at Axell. The car immediately turned down another street, racing toward the highway, and I knew we were headed to the Mortaine mansion.

24

MANIC

I hardly remembered the drive to the mansion. My father’s angry voice had my vision going in and out, from blurred to focused. Over and over again.

The pressure in my skull pushed until I could do nothing but blink and stare at the polished wooden floor at our feet, momentarily forgetting where I was. It took me a while to reorient myself, and I steadied my breathing.

Nothing in my life made sense any more. None of it mattered. Nothing and no one except for Sutton.

I’d be damned to let her see the extent of my rage, too frightened I’d scare her more than she already was. Frightened that she’d see the fucked-up beast beneath the man, and she was the only reason I was keeping it somewhat together. The nervous doe-eyed woman who’d arrived at my penthouse weeks ago had re-emerged, her body trembling with residual shock beside me.

I looked up and numbly stared at the stained bookcases in my father’s study, blinking hard, forcing a long breath, desperate to drown my rage before he arrived. He was toying with me, drawing out the extent of his arrival because he knew it would piss me off and leave me spiraling.

It was working.

My thoughts circled, continuously bringing me back to the heated conversation at the port. Dmitri’s prize.

He wanted Sutton for himself, and it took everything not to shatter my own knuckles from how tightly I clenched my fists. If Grave and Axell hadn’t stood in the way, I would have slaughtered them all without a tinge of remorse.

The door finally opened behind us, and we turned our gazes. Axell held the door open as Father brushed by, his bare feet padding on the floor. It was nearly three in the morning, and even though he wore a casual black shirt and loose sleep pants, unwavering authority rippled off his taut shoulders.

Sutton visibly swallowed, bringing a hand up to her aching ear, the blood now dry and crusted around it. Exhaustion settled in her face, but my blood boiled, as I was reminded of how much pain she was in. Something I had caused.

“Explain to me why you thought killing a Russian heir after forming a new alliance with them was a good idea?” Father started, pinning me with a glare as he sat in his leather seat.

“I was only doing my job,” I said coolly and unfurled my hands, placing them into my pockets.

“Your job?”

“Was I not supposed to keep her alive? That Russian went after Sutton after I was told to keep her as my captive. We have not completed our tasks, therefore, she is still my responsibility.”

Tension roiled off his shoulders as though he hated my answer, then looked at Sutton. “Is that true? Did they go after you?”

She nodded.

“Very well.” Father sighed and leaned back, his focus still on her. “The casinos are doing quite well. It looks like you were right about being able to launder so much in that time frame. Over the next few weeks, we should be getting a little more than our goal.”

“Really?” she asked, brows pinching.

“Yes. And it looks like you’ll be able to go back to your parents within the next three weeks.”

His voice was flat, but Father studied her as he breathed the words—voiced her opportunity to leave. Yet my lungs constricted, the trembling rage ceasing in my chest only to be replaced with shock and an ache I couldn’t quite place.

Was he really allowing her to walk free?

My eyes suspiciously narrowed as I glanced at Sutton, but her gaze remained fixed on my father. His face was a cool mask, giving nothing away, but I’d known him long enough to realize it was only a front. He wanted her to believe she’d earned her freedom. A false promise. I clenched my jaw, fighting the darkness clouding my vision again and blinked.

Snapping now wouldn’t be a good idea.

“And… I’ll be able to leave,” she said with a blink.

“Of course. I always keep my word, and since you’ve done more than enough on your end, you will be able to leave soon.” Father gestured toward Axell lingering near the doors. “Take Sutton to see our nurse. That ear needs to get looked at.”

“Of course,” Axell replied.