Vivian’s mouth drew tight, unprepared to answer.
“With Avaston’s dealings, it’s not far-fetched to think the law might come for him. If he was apprehended, you’d be on your own once again. Tell me, Avaston, whose idea was it to sell your product in Delaga House?”
“Mine.” Avaston tried to sell the fiction, but I could hear the fracture in his certainty.
“It was? What was the inspiration? Delaga House had been in business long before you found an interest. By any chance did Vivian mention something about how Rother didn’t allow drugs here while she was getting dressed one night? Or something like that?”
Avaston’s gaze lowered, shifting back and forth as he searched his memories.
“You were planning on scaring Rother into letting you in, weren’t you? What changed that? Did the idea of coming after me happen the same way? Did she cry a bit when David died and urge you to ruin Delaga House? She couldn’t have been that attached to David. He wouldn’t have touched her.”
While Avaston digested this, I attacked Vivian once more to keep her off-balance. “So you help him sneak in so he can do your revenge for you.” She seethed, and I wasted no time turning back to Avaston. “Rother always said Vivian could pull any secret from a man with the magic between her legs. I guess she can make men do stupid things. You didn’t strike me as someone who takes personal risks.
“If I was gone, she could try to seduce Rother. They’ve slept together before. It wouldn’t be that hard. But when that failed, you decided to ruin the business. What would you gain out of this? You don’t look like you’re on the top of the world right now.”
My intuition must have been striking true because Avaston was fraying. The growing vibration made his hand twitch and his brow furrow. Vivian’s faith in her scheme paled.
“I think we’re all here so she can either own Delaga House or destroy it.”
“Shut up!” Vivian lurched forward and slapped me again. Hard.
Gathering my wits, I blinked the spots out of my eyes. “Ow. I suppose what they say is true. The truth does hurt.”
Hissing through her clenched teeth, Vivian was almost out of control. Her cosmetics were failing to hide harsh lines digging into her face.
“I’m glad I was right to get rid of you. And now look what you’ve done. What you’re going to do here.”
Her headshake would have been comical if it hadn’t been underlined with madness. “It didn’t have to be this way. You brought this on yourself.”
“Funny. Rother said the same thing before he branded me.” The sad laugh was more real than I wanted, but I couldn’t waste time trying to cover my fear. I had to strike now.
“Rother hired you to spy on Avaston and give him information, but he shouldn’t have counted on you. You’re a traitor. You stood on whichever side paid you more. If you were so loyal to Avaston, why would you have demanded a pay rise? My word, you are the best whore Rother ever employed. He just assumed you were actually working for him.” I gave Avaston a derisive snort. “Sleep lightly. I’m sure she’s completely devoted to you.”
Avaton’s rage sat under the surface, picking the lock to be free. He knelt close and gripped me by the collar. “No one controls me.”
One last chance. I urged a tear out of my eye, which the deadly tension made far too easy. I softened my voice, as sympathetic as I knew how.
“Avaston… it’s her profession to make men believe they’re important to her.”
The grip faltered, becoming a feather touch. Avaston’s confusion began to give way to clarity. Gears turned behind his eyes, about to strike midnight.
Vivian clutched his shoulder. “Don’t listen to him.”
“Don’t let her tell you what to do,” I implored to Avaston, giving Vivian none of my attention.
“Baby, he’s trying to confuse you. But you need to do him now—”
“That’s where it starts, Avaston. Even in my family, my mother knew her place.”
“I didn’t bring you here so we could discuss this. We’re here to do a job.”
“But she did bring you here. All of this is what she wants because she couldn’t have Rother, or Delaga House.”
Vivian lost her composure and snapped at me, “I would have had both if you hadn’t come along!”
“Rother wouldn’t have given in to you.” I went back to Avaston before he could accept any of her pleas. “The police are coming for you. You said it yourself. You kill me, then destroy this place and ruin Rother. Then what? They catch you. What happens to her? Nothing. She dragged you along so you’d do her dirty work and she could walk away untouched. Who’s the little bitch now?”
Vivian leaned in, stroking Avaston’s head. “I’ll be by your side the whole way.”
“She’s in love with my husband, and has no problem grinding him into dust. What makes you think she’ll go to prison for you?”
Avaston closed in, his face less than an inch from mine. “I’m not going to get caught.”
“Constable Worthingfield knows we suspect your hand in my mugging. Vivian wasn’t here but she knows enough of the staff, she could have found out easily enough. Was coming here always the plan or did she tell you, with the police on their way, you had to come now?”
Vivian had yet to release him and Avaston was moments away from believing me or slaughtering me in my own bedroom. All of us stood on the precipice.
Nudge.
“Avaston, your whole organization is falling apart and instead of retreating to fight another day, she has you here at a known adversary’s place of business, committing capital crimes.”
My heart pounded under my ribs, a chaotic tempo reaching its apex as Avaston rocked back. His crazed eyes went red and wet, the mark of the betrayed.
Avaston spun on Vivian, a new hold on her shoulder. “You’re dicking me around?”
She panicked. “I would never—”
I kept feeding his paranoia. “She has nothing to lose in this. She’s using you. Is it common to keep the murder weapon around after the deal is done?”
“It’s all going to hell. Are you gonna walk outta here and leave me to take the fall?”
“N-no, baby—”
Avaston’s rage was consuming his self-control. “Don’t lie to me!”
One more nudge. “After you’re done, make sure she gives you your manhood back.”
And he snapped. Avaston grabbed Vivian by the throat with both hands. “Fucking bitch! You did this to me!”
No sounds came out of her as she struggled and slapped at his hands to no effect. Her skin turned purple, and she jammed her hand into her pocket and drew out a knife. With a frantic strike, she sank the blade into his thigh. A desperate inhale echoed in the room as he dropped her.
“Fucking bitch!” Avaston punched her square in the face, knocking her down at my feet.
Chest heaving, Avaston howled as he wrenched the knife out of his leg. Dazed, Vivian only released an awkward yelp when Avaston lifted her up by her hair. Twisting his wrist, he tilted her head back, exposing her neck as he raised the bloody steel.
“You’re just a whore. Don’t pretend you’re important.”
Knowing what came next, I closed my eyes and said a prayer. It couldn’t save my soul from the wet gasp, the hollow gurgle, or the hot spray splashing over my chest and arms.
Chapter 27
I’VE SEEN men die before. In front of me by another man’s hands. Few things steal a part of your innocence so completely it cannot be retrieved. Nightmares filled with blood and screams sometimes wake me at night, even though the dead men deserved their fate. It was either us or them.
So this time I held my eyes closed. It didn’t help. Hiding the sight did nothing but allow my imagination to fill in the gaps, matching the audible horrors with grotesqueries.
I was more creative than I’d realized.
Vivian’s labored gasping faded to silence, signaling her final moment, and I started to cry. Not because I felt sorry her. N
o. I would never fall victim to that guilt. I wept over my hand in making it happen, a vicious game to protect myself. The kind of game I expected from the most soulless and ruthless of degenerates.
A sharp slap across my cheek spun my head.
“Open your eyes.”
My reluctance only served to earn me another slap.
“I said open them.”
This time I complied. The burning sting across my cheek made my eyes shut tight, and I had to force them open. In the periphery, Vivian’s body lay crumpled and undignified. Before me, Avaston huffed through his teeth like a feral beast, soaked in a greasy sweat. Ruby spatter stained his shirt, and the same color dripped from Vivian’s knife in his hand. Murderous intentions were clear in his glassy gaze. I’d set them against each other and in the process only delayed the inevitable.
A thread of drool strung off Avaston’s chin. “Don’t think you’re free. You still owe me for David.”
“We were defending ourselves.”
“A debt’s a debt.” The blade gleamed with slick gore, catching the light as he rolled it, posed it for its next act.
I turned my head. “Please don’t.” He couldn’t expect me to face my own end any more than Vivian’s.
“Look at me.” Fingers squeezing my chin, Avaston wrenched my head forward, trying to force our eyes to meet. “Look at what’s about to happen.”
I left my vision fixed over his shoulder, finding what little strength I had left. “I am.”
My meaning registered a glimmer of awareness on Avaston’s face as a shadow fell over us both. Blythe dropped like a specter, his thick arm locked around Avaston’s throat. As Blythe dragged him backward, Avaston lost his footing and toppled. When Avaston hit the ground, Blythe wasted no time stomping on Avaston’s hand. Bones snapped and the knife stayed behind.
Blythe’s rage in the alley had been fearsome, but nothing compared with the onslaught he wreaked upon Avaston. He roared, pummeled, kicked, and stabbed without remorse, and little humanity. Avaston attempted to defend himself, but it was a useless endeavor. His body stopped reacting to the brutal impacts long before Blythe’s berserker impulse faded.
Sitting back on his heels, Blythe heaved and growled as he surveyed the carnage. There was no chance Avaston would rise again.
I was wound so tight, I could manage only minuscule breaths. I’d been saved but couldn’t release the tension rampaging inside me. Blythe turned and crawled to me, his eyes fierce and sad. I flinched when he reached around me to find the knots.
Blythe’s jaw sat so rigid, it distorted his begging whisper. “I could never, ever hurt you.”
My bonds fell and I slumped enough to need support from his gentle touch. Worry and shame burned his face. He waited for me to respond, gauging me and my potential fear. And it was legitimate. Releasing his inner monster saved me, but showed how fragile the line between demon and man could be. Without another thought, I threw myself forward into his arms where I knew I’d be safe, knowing he would always be my guardian. Blythe let out a ragged exhale and wrapped himself around me.
I buried my face into his expansive chest to muffle the screams until my throat became hoarse. The cage of his embrace locked down my ballooning hysteria and brought me back to a semblance of sanity.
Squeezing me hard enough to make my battered body ache, Blythe whispered against my temple. The ragged vibration gave away his struggle to stay strong. “Too close. That was too close. Never gonna leave your side again. Ever. Don’t ask.”
I meant to answer. I meant to tell Blythe I loved his suggestion. But the enormity of all this caught up with me and put me in a full-blown panic. Fighting my way out of his arms, I sprinted for the en suite. I should have said something, but I didn’t dare open my mouth. Thankfully I managed to vomit only into the privy.
The scent of bile kept me going until I emptied. I felt jittery and embarrassed, but Blythe continued to pet rings on my back until both feelings wound down. All the murderous power in his hands was leashed into gossamer touches for me.
I sat back on my heels, taking careful inhales to settle my stomach. “That wasn’t my reply.”
Blythe snorted. “I hope not.” He rubbed the back of my neck, sending silver threads of comfort down my spine. Blood spatter and rage sweat highlighted his rugged scar and imperfect features.
He’d never been more handsome to me. “I’ll always want you by my side.” Rolling forward, I pressed myself into his familiar bulk, absorbing his shelter.
“I’d kiss you right now, but you just puked.”
A small laugh filled with relief spilled out of me. “Aren’t we a pair?”
The night had worn me so sheer, I swam between crying and laughing. The more I touched this flawed man, the more he touched me back, the more I craved him and the more the evening’s madness shrank. Crass yet loyal, he’d stood by my side from the first day. I was sorry I hadn’t found a way to him sooner, but now we were here. Nothing could change that. We would find a way to survive this.
“Well, isn’t this just fucking precious.”
And the madness found fresh power with Rother standing in the doorway.
We both stood. Slow and cautious because Rother couldn’t be trusted. Blythe attempted to shift me behind him, but I was having none of it. I would not cower ever again.
“My husband disappears, then not long after, my faithful man. This isn’t exactly how I expected to find you together, but I knew I would. You should have a great deal of fun explaining the dead bodies to the constable.” Rother flashed a glance at Blythe. “I assume that’s your handiwork. Why are they here? I’m not complaining; you’ve rid me of my rival and a faithless employee.”
I gave Rother a dubious stare, trying to read him. “I don’t know why they came, but they planned to kill me when I found them. Avaston killed Vivian when he discovered she was going to leave him holding the blame. Blythe protected me. He’s the only one who ever has. You seem awfully calm considering the state of your bedroom.”
Calm wasn’t the correct word. Rother paced in a lazy arc before the doorway, defending the border. A shiver of excitement laced his posture. He was scheming. Anticipating. His blasé response at finding two people dead showed they weren’t his main focus. I was. And in a way it reminded me of the night he branded me.
“A letter arrived for you today. I wondered why the new Chief Magistrate, Basil Addledale, would be writing you. He was thanking you for your help in the case against my solicitor, Gabriel Marquis, and noted he might need your testimony after the arrest had been made. What case would he be speaking about?”
Blythe took one step forward, fists clenched. “None of your fucking business.”
Always believing he had the advantage, Rother passed back a smug grin. “Back down, you brainless retard, or the police will find a way to hang you for real this time.”
Without hesitation I put a hand on Blythe’s arm, hoping to calm him. Despite having killed Avaston only minutes ago with his bare hands, Rother was now goading him. The man was either mad or prepared. No matter how much Rother might deserve the beating or worse, I couldn’t swallow more violence. For now we would see what Rother’s game entailed. He wasn’t the only one with moves to play.
“It’s all right, Blythe. Rother’s the one who will have to explain his connection to a known pedophile.”
“You have no proof of that.”
“I found that horrible pictograph of Gabriel and the young boy. How old was he? Disgusting. Addledale should be kicking down his door any day now, if he hasn’t already.”
Rother’s expression flattened while sparks ignited in his eyes. “That item was locked in my safe.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve opened a door you’ve locked.”
And there was an idea he found unpalatable. Rother sneered as I trumped his move with one he hadn’t foreseen. Always the one in control. Always the one with the advantage. I’d outmaneuvered him and it stung. It didn’t make me feel proud. I
hoped the pressure wouldn’t cave me. My constitution had taken a beating. Shaken and traumatized, I fought to stay strong and face off against Rother when I wanted to wither.
He continued to stalk the doorway, leaving us cornered in the room, although Blythe had the sheer strength to move the barricade if we needed.
“And here you had me fooled you were sending letters to Deilia.”
I leveled my shoulders, presenting a self-assurance I didn’t quite feel. “Oh, I did send letters. Not to my father’s rivals, just to him. I threatened to tell them all about his hand in my new life unless he sent me my portion of the family wealth. I needed a proper bank account and wanted to be sure he wouldn’t jilt me.”
“That accounts for one or two.” Rother pulled a stack of folded parchments from his vest and dropped them to the floor. “But then I found the rest of your letters. Care to explain them?”
Events had spun me so fast I assumed Avaston and Vivian had been robbing the upstairs when I ran into them. I had been too confident over my hiding place, believing Rother couldn’t find the evidence. His tenacity had won out, destroying his own home to divulge my secrets. The window to do so had been narrow. An hour or two at most.
I rolled my eyes. “How very dramatic. Considering how you left the room, I suppose you didn’t have time to read them before we opened the doors tonight.”
“I caught a few highlights.”
“Did you see my copy of the deed to Delaga House in there? It has my name all over it.”
Flint met steel and pushed Rother’s sparks past a smolder. “You couldn’t possibly make that legal. You’d need my seal.”
“As much as I loathe touching that thing, I found it in the vault too.”
The seal had been the hardest hurdle. Access to the safe had been rushed and limited in every instance, and afterward every detail had to be back in its rightful place to avoid suspicion. The first time I had to use the seal I nearly gave up. I wanted to destroy it and have the pieces follow my chastity belt into the hearth. But I stayed my hand and followed the plan.
Innocence and Carnality Page 36